Other iPhone photography - accuracy and expression

[Ukiyo Evenings]

Hello fine members of the forum! I'd like to know what those of you who regularly use dedicated cameras think of the photos taken with your iPhones.

I ask because the last time I enjoyed shooting with a phone was when shooting with my S6 Edge Plus (28mm focal length; samples attached) back in 2016-17. Since then, it seems that a combination of shorter focal lengths and aggressive use of computational effects has generated a shooting experience that appeals to the wider public, but may not allow for photographic expression in a way that I find accurate to the scene or what I want to capture.

I'm not a fan of artificially generated bokeh nor do I need capturing a wider FOV at the expense of straight lines converging/diverging unnaturally if the shot is taken at even a slight angle. As for dark scenes, I would rather have the dark areas remain their degrees of dark and true to the actual mood, than artificially brightened.

I'm aware that all photography is processed and subjective, and that we are privileged to have such power in our pockets now, but still... 😊 Also, I looked through the iPhone 11 photography thread and while I saw some fine shots, I also saw examples of what I described above. So, once again - and pocketablity aside - what do you make of your iPhone shooting experience relative to that with your dedicated cameras?

 

[akash.nu]

You should ask this question in the photography forum. You’ll find Dedicated camera shooters there who can provide the information you’re looking for.

 

[e1me5]

I rarely use any sort of a digital camera on my free time to take photos, I only use my 6s and I only take pictures with the Lightroom app. This allows me to shoot in raw and post process it the way I want. No computational effects or fake DoF. I also like the limitation of one focal length to rule them all and what a tiny sensor can do. Check my photos if you want: https://www.instagram.com/e1me5/

 

[akash.nu]

I rarely use any sort of a digital camera on my free time to take photos, I only use my 6s and I only take pictures with the Lightroom app. This allows me to shoot in raw and post process it the way I want. No computational effects or fake DoF. I also like the limitation of one focal length to rule them all and what a tiny sensor can do. Check my photos if you want: https://www.instagram.com/e1me5/

Some real good shots there. Followed.

 

[alpi123]

The artificial bokeh can look very convincing if the edge detection is on par, which is not very often. Depends on the object, but for the most part with faces/people, I think the iPhone is doing a really good part mimicking what a real lens would produce. It's not a simple gaussian blur with bokeh balls here and there after all.

Unless you need Night Mode, I would advise you to shoot on RAW mode pretty much all the time, you're skipping all the computational processes and can tweak the photo to be as accurate to real life as possible (that's what I do, because I want the colors and exposure to be accurate)

 

[Ukiyo Evenings]

You should ask this question in the photography forum. You’ll find Dedicated camera shooters there who can provide the information you’re looking for.

Thanks Akash, didn't realize there was one 😅 I've now posted there.

I rarely use any sort of a digital camera on my free time to take photos, I only use my 6s and I only take pictures with the Lightroom app. This allows me to shoot in raw and post process it the way I want. No computational effects or fake DoF. I also like the limitation of one focal length to rule them all and what a tiny sensor can do. Check my photos if you want: https://www.instagram.com/e1me5/

Good to see this, perhaps I should do the same with my S9. Also, this beach shot of yours is lovely and shows what can be done. Encouraging!

The artificial bokeh can look very convincing if the edge detection is on par, which is not very often. Depends on the object, but for the most part with faces/people, I think the iPhone is doing a really good part mimicking what a real lens would produce. It's not a simple gaussian blur with bokeh balls here and there after all.

Unless you need Night Mode, I would advise you to shoot on RAW mode pretty much all the time, you're skipping all the computational processes and can tweak the photo to be as accurate to real life as possible (that's what I do, because I want the colors and exposure to be accurate)

Agreed that it can look convincing and even pleasing, however, I often can't unsee an artificial DoF 😅 Points noted about shooting RAW.

Thus it appears that shooting RAW is once again a good solution; how about lens distortion and lens flare, the latter of which seems to be more prevalent in the last couple of generations?

 

[Ukiyo Evenings]

Hi all, I've replied but the comment has been pending mod approval for ages. Thanks for the responses! I've posted the same in the photography forum. Thanks also for the RAW and Lightroom suggestions; they've breathed new life into my S9.

 

[alpi123]

No fix for lens flare, except adjusting your point of view. Regarding the distortion, depending on which kind of, it can be fixed via software. But I think only the ultra-wide gives you a noticeable distortion, which is also needed, otherwise the photos wouldn't look so wide angle.

Lightroom automatically applies wide angle dist. fix if you take photo from the app, but that's for the main sensor, I think currently the ultra wide is not supported, but I don't have an iPhone 11 so I can't say for sure if that's the case.

 

[LonestarOne]

All photography is artificial. glass lenses and microprocessors are both silicon devices created by human beings. The bokeh effects created by one are no more natural than the other.

This is like the argument 20 years ago that digital imaging was not “real” photography because it used physics instead of chemistry.

Whether an one effect is better or worse than another is purely a matter of taste. As Shakespeare said, “Nothing is either good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.”

 

[Ukiyo Evenings]

All photography is artificial. glass lenses and microprocessors are both silicon devices created by human beings. The bokeh effects created by one are no more natural than the other.

This is like the argument 20 years ago that digital imaging was not “real” photography because it used physics instead of chemistry.

Whether an one effect is better or worse than another is purely a matter of taste. As Shakespeare said, “Nothing is either good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.”

In my post I stated that "I'm aware that all photography is processed and subjective" so you are repeating what I already admit to. I am inquiring about the iPhone experience, not looking to relaunch the debate of what 'real' photography is

No fix for lens flare, except adjusting your point of view. Regarding the distortion, depending on which kind of, it can be fixed via software. But I think only the ultra-wide gives you a noticeable distortion, which is also needed, otherwise the photos wouldn't look so wide angle.

Lightroom automatically applies wide angle dist. fix if you take photo from the app, but that's for the main sensor, I think currently the ultra wide is not supported, but I don't have an iPhone 11 so I can't say for sure if that's the case.

Excellent info about both iPhone and LR, which is what I sought when I posted. Thank you.