iPhone 6s Camera Worse than 5s? Pics

[CE3]

I'd like to see photos from the 6S scaled down to 8Mp, before determining if the camera is worse. Pumping the pixels always confers some return, albeit a diminishing return. I think Google (and others) had the right idea, in going for a larger sensor, but this will effect the form factor of the device.

So, when will we see the first 4K feature film, shot entirely on iPhone?

It would cool if Apple decided to go all out and create a camera centric model next year in addition to the regular 7.. just keep the initial production numbers down to see how well it sells. There are definitely people who don't care about having the thinnest iPhone or protruding lenses if it means a larger sensor and better camera. Either way, they need to really kill it with the camera in the 7. I'm happy with the 6S camera so far though. I'm planning some big travels next year, and between the 6S and my G7X I feel like I'll be able to leave my heavy DSLR and big lenses at home and still be able to capture amazing photos and video. I'll also have a Shure MV88 with me for better audio.

 

[5105973]

This is sad when you have to purchase apps in order for a quality high end phone to take great photos. I guess I will wait again. Aargh

That's the thing, though, these products work great to take standard photos. If you want the living photo feature you still need to use the regular camera.

The actual camera on the iPhone is really good for a point and shoot. You'll find out how good with 645 Pro in most lighting conditions and with Cortex in low light on subjects willing to sit fairly still for you. (I've not yet tested it on my fast moving cats and kids).

And both are a painless option. On my main screen I've got the icons for Cortex and 645 Pro loaded up next to the icon for my regular Apple camera. A photo op comes up, instead of clicking the Apple camera icon I click 645 Pro, which came up already defaulted to auto, and I've got my camera and my pic! It saves to my camera roll same as always.

It's football Sunday so I've not even scratched the surface of what either program can do yet. But already I've got two wicked good options. And it's not like the Apple camera software is complete fail. I can get really beautiful pics in good lighting with it. And the fun and cool living photos.

There's no need to wait if you want good pics now, unless for you it's the principle of the thing and it really vexes you that the default Apple software has specific egregious flaws. I can't fault you for that. I understand your feelings completely. But I made my upgrade decision based on the total package: improved call quality on AT&T, overall faster performance due to the new processor and extra memory, improved Touch ID sensor, to name a few things off the top of my head. Oh yeah, and the improved selfie camera is really a worthy one. Even my ugly mug looks cuter now and I don't shy away anymore when the kids ask for a group hug selfie with Grumpy Mom.

I believe you can test the software now on your existing iPhone. Check and see if you can and if so, give it a try. See what you think.

 

[roeiz]

iPhone 6 sucks:

http://improvephotography.com/30019/iphone-6-camera-depth-review/

hey is that your blog?

 

[5105973]

Apple should provide Cortex for free.

Cortex is an independently produced app that costs only $3.99 or $4.99. I forget which, but it's very reasonably priced and the creator certainly deserves to profit from such good work. It has a rather limited targeted function of improving low light photography, and it seems to be doing this well so far as I've seen in my brief testing.

645 Pro is meant to bring the existing point and shoot hardware up to a level of complexity aimed at the so called "pro-sumer" market. While it can run in auto mode, one look at the interface lets you know you're entering a new level of photography. It's not meant for kids or grandmas unless the kid or grandma is already a photography buff.

Apple's own offering is meant to be general purpose and for everyone, from kids to grandparents to use. As a result it reaches for the lowest common denominator and lacks finesse in the results. It gets the job done in most cases and is decent all around. Not as great as the hype in my opinion, but still really good for point and shoot photography.

The App Store is there for a reason. At some point it's the responsibility of the end user to determine what their skill level is, what their needs are, and find the software solution that bests matches those skills and needs.

 

[5105973]

GSMArena shows that the 6S is much better than the 6S plus..WTF?

I haven't read it yet and I've got to return to the football soon. Does it have anything to do with OIS actually screwing up the autofocusing? That's actually why my 6plus made a hash of pictures sometimes. Mine was in the group that qualifies for the camera recall. Since I'm giving it back to AT&T I am not bothering.

 

[VesselA]

So pretty disappointed out of the gate. There is pitting on the corners and sides of the phone ever since I picked it up. That was a major downer. Now I finally started playing with the camera and am not impressed.

I loved the 5s camera. It took amazing pictures. So I splurged and got myself an iPhone 6s on launch day thinking it would be a major step up in the camera dept.

I took some pictures of family during the supermoon. It was unbelievable how bad how they came out. I thought it was a fluke. However, I just did some test shots and I can't believe how bad they are. The iPhone 6s side by side to the 5s is washed out, low contrast and the details are non existent. The 5s keeps the details in the image.

Same OS, same lighting, tried using both autofocus and touch focus. Same results. Notice how on the 6s, you don't even realize there is a pattern in the wood floor or any detail in the jeans.

Am I missing a setting somewhere?

5S:
View attachment 587517

6S:
View attachment 587518

Thanks

Updated: thumbnails only - click for normal size

I noticed the 6+ is worse than the 5 in some ways, its like the software rendering is over exposed on the 6+, whereas on the 5 the image is much richer and not over exposed, also the 5 seems to focus faster before taking the shot, whereas the 6+ sometimes doesn't focus before shot. The 6+ has less grain in sky and dark areas, but the 5 produces better images in bright light as 6+ seems to over expose. It can be correct a bit if you slide the exposure down, but you shouldn't have to do that for each shot, its like its been calibrated wrong in the software.
I took some amazing butterfly photos with the 5 a year ago, but this year with the 6+ the results were mostly poor, out of focus more and highlight areas way over exposed which didn't happen with the 5 - it was much more difficult to get a good shot with the 6+

I also noticed the old IPAD 4 had a better camera than the iPad Air, probably due to the thinner design, the iPad 4 definitely was a sharper image and less grain in low light, but as with the iPhone no reviewer seemed to pick up on these things, they just usually gloss over it assuming the latest version is the best, which is poor analysis

 

[jerwin]

I'd like to see photos from the 6S scaled down to 8Mp, before determining if the camera is worse. Pumping the pixels always confers some return, albeit a diminishing return. I think Google (and others) had the right idea, in going for a larger sensor, but this will effect the form factor of the device.

So, when will we see the first 4K feature film, shot entirely on iPhone?

Until the iphone is capable of shooting like this

,
what would be the point? There's 4K as in "beyond the limits of the best 1080p", and then there's 4K as in "bullet point".

 

[roeiz]

645 Pro is meant to bring the existing point and shoot hardware up to a level of complexity aimed at the so called "pro-sumer" market. While it can run in auto mode, one look at the interface lets you know you're entering a new level of photography. It's not meant for kids or grandmas unless the kid or grandma is already a photography buff.

can you maybe link me to a photo with and without 645 pro on a recent iphone?

 

[CE3]

Until the iphone is capable of shooting like this

,
what would be the point? There's 4K as in "beyond the limits of the best 1080p", and then there's 4K as in "bullet point".

It may not be capable of shooting 4K that looks like that, but if you take some well-shot 6S 4K footage, edit and scale down to 1080 60fps, it should look pretty amazing.

 

[roeiz]

It may not be capable of shooting 4K that looks like that, but if you take some well-shot 6S 4K footage, edit and scale down to 1080 60fps, it should look pretty amazing.

already done and succeeded

 

[5105973]

can you maybe link me to a photo with and without 645 pro on a recent iphone?

When I get a chance. The photos I've shot so far are too personally identifying of our home and family for me to post here. Edit to clarify: the test shots I've taken so far are in my daughter's room because the lighting and decorations in there make good test subjects. She wouldn't be too happy to have pics of her room and her stuff up on the Internet. I'll have to do some test shots tomorrow under similar lightning conditions in a more neutral room in the house.

 

[jerwin]

already done and succeeded

hmm. While DLSRs have had some advantages over EVIL cameras (go on, look it up), all those disappear once the mirror flips up and opaques the viewfinder...

The Panasonic GH4 does seem a bit closer to the 4K ideal than the iPhone 6s.

http://thisweekinphoto.com/4k-video-comparison-panasonic-lumix-gh4-vs-iphone-6s/

Curiously, the Video Stills from the iPhone may be less susceptible to the impressionism effect than still photos themselves. It may just be a side effect of looking at a video that was shot in reasonable light...


B&H suggests looking at the Samsung NX1 and the Sony A7S as well, though the Sony A7S needs an hdmi recorder. The example footage I alluded to earlier was shot on an Red Epic.

All of these cameras are more expensive, yes, but the 4k footage from the gh4 strikes me as "more compelling" than the iphone 6s

Though it's not a direct comparison, the NX1 footage below is amazing.

 

[CE3]

hmm. While DLSRs have had some advantages over EVIL cameras (go on, look it up), all those disappear once the mirror flips up and opaques the viewfinder...

The Panasonic GH4 does seem a bit closer to the 4K ideal than the iPhone 6s.

http://thisweekinphoto.com/4k-video-comparison-panasonic-lumix-gh4-vs-iphone-6s/

Curiously, the Video Stills from the iPhone may be less susceptible to the impressionism effect than still photos themselves. It may just be a side effect of looking at a video that was shot in reasonable light...


B&H suggests looking at the Samsung NX1 and the Sony A7S as well, though the Sony A7S needs an hdmi recorder. The example footage I alluded to earlier was shot on an Red Epic.

All of these cameras are more expensive, yes, but the 4k footage from the gh4 strikes me as "more compelling" than the iphone 6s

Though it's not a direct comparison, the NX1 footage below is amazing.

The gh4 a fantastic (hard to beat) choice for video, but I'm pretty impressed with how well the 6S holds up in both of the comparison videos on this page. The biggest benefit of shooting video with the 6S is that you can get high quality results from it and can put it in your pocket when you're done.

 

[Beards]

Cortex is an independently produced app that costs only $3.99 or $4.99. I forget which, but it's very reasonably priced and the creator certainly deserves to profit from such good work. It has a rather limited targeted function of improving low light photography, and it seems to be doing this well so far as I've seen in my brief testing.

645 Pro is meant to bring the existing point and shoot hardware up to a level of complexity aimed at the so called "pro-sumer" market. While it can run in auto mode, one look at the interface lets you know you're entering a new level of photography. It's not meant for kids or grandmas unless the kid or grandma is already a photography buff.

Apple's own offering is meant to be general purpose and for everyone, from kids to grandparents to use. As a result it reaches for the lowest common denominator and lacks finesse in the results. It gets the job done in most cases and is decent all around. Not as great as the hype in my opinion, but still really good for point and shoot photography.

The App Store is there for a reason. At some point it's the responsibility of the end user to determine what their skill level is, what their needs are, and find the software solution that bests matches those skills and needs.

Totally agree on using alternative software.
As GrumpyMom has already mentioned, if you want to get the best out of the iSight camera you are at some point going to need alternative software that'll allow you to be more free in controlling the shoot. It'll not only give you a much more rewarding photo but allow you to be more creative to boot.
There are quite a few titles to choose from in the App Store so you are spoilt for choice.
Many recommend Cortex and for those that are happy with it then fine enough. My alternative choice is NightCap Pro. It too is a highly specialist software that identifies where the default camera app lacks and improves night photography no end. It has a healthy set of controls and can initially appear daunting but learn which setting is what and you can achieve some amazing results.
The same can be said for titles that allow you to control areas normally associated with dedicated cameras ~ ISO, Speed, Focus, etc. Just a shame you can't control Aperture but that's a fault of having a fixed lens that can not open or close, thus not allowing the aperture to change. For these titles my choice is either Camera+ by tap tap tap or Manual by Little Pixels. Both are great at what they do but again you can find others that you feel more comfortable using.
Whatever your choice, don't just sit with the default app, it either works or it doesn't. Put the work and effort in and use alternative software, it'll give you a much more rewarding experience.

 

[x34]

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/ph...re/cameras/iphone-6s-camera-on-test-1305786/1

thanks for the link, worth a read!

 

[x34]

http://austinmann.com/trek/iphone-6s-camera-review-switzerland

 

[roeiz]

which one is it? (6S+ and N5)

 

[thedatapusher]

which one is it? (6S+ and N5)

They both look like ****.

 

[roeiz]

They both look like ****.

really? for extreme low light as this, i think the Iphone's look decent enough.

 

[x34]

i wouldn't say like ****, but i don't like them either.

but...

i was in den woods hunting for mushrooms this weekend and took a lot of pics with my 6s, some came out really beautiful. still some look like painted. also, i got hands on the cortex camera beta update, great results so far with it!

 

[jerwin]

really? for extreme low light as this, i think the Iphone's look decent enough.

What ISO?

This is what "extreme low light" means these days.

 

[roeiz]

i wouldn't say like ****, but i don't like them either.

but...

these are not pictures you suppose to "like"
just extreme low light situation with 6s+ and N5,
i asked you guys which do you prefer...

what's this has to do if you like them or not??

 

[roeiz]

What ISO?

This is what "extreme low light" means these days.

what's that has to do with these very limited phone cams?
it is what it is, either decent or crappy... make what you will from it.

 

[x34]

what's this has to do if you like them or not??

i like to prefer the camera that i have with me and i have a problem if i do not prefer the camera i have with me LOL
obviously i prefer the shot with the more details in it.

 

[roeiz]

i like to prefer the camera that i have with me and i have a problem if i do not prefer the camera i have with me LOL
obviously i prefer the shot with the more details in it.

so this would be.... the left one, right? yup.