iPhone X iPhone X and iPhone XS portrait photos - false comparison?

[inaka]

So I read the review from John Gruber about the new iPhone XS camera and was left with a sinking suspicion that something wasn't right.

In his review, he used the following to shots as an example of the portrait mode of each camera:


iPhone X

iPhone XS

Here's the thing, that top photo looks so bad that it looks far worse than any portrait mode shot I've taken with even my iPhone 7+. I understand that light is coming directly at the camera, but still, I've usually seen even the standard HDR of the 7+ handle it much better than that sample shot on top.

Was the top image shot with HDR off completely?
Is there any way to tell if this was the case?

It sure looks like HDR was set to OFF in the top photo, and that the new SmartHDR was used in the second photo, making this not exactly a true comparison of the real-world results he claimed.

Any way to know for sure? *taps mic* John, are you there?

 

[JCCL]

Yeah I agree that with little effort, the photographer could have taken a much better picture with the X, it’s a very bad picture.

 

[Deguello]

Yeah I agree that with little effort, the photographer could have taken a much better picture with the X, it’s a very bad picture.

I think that was the point. It was to show the Xs adjusting something that the X didnt.

 

[inaka]

I think that was the point. It was to show the Xs adjusting something that the X didnt.

But this was a comparison photo of the two devices.

If the auto adjustment comes via the new iPhone XS smart HDR, he could have just turned it off completely on the XS and then showed the before/after on the same device.

His review makes it appear as if the iPhone X takes an unusable photo and the new iPhone XS takes an excellent shot. If HDR is off in the iPhone X shot, that’s a complete misrepresentation of the capabilities of the iPhone X, when making a comparison...that is *if* HDR is off in the top shot. It sure looks like it is off...is it?

 

[Nextup12]

But this was a comparison photo of the two devices.

If the auto adjustment comes via the new iPhone XS smart HDR, he could have just turned it off completely on the XS and then showed the before/after on the same device.

His review makes it appear as if the iPhone X takes an unusable photo and the new iPhone XS takes an excellent shot. If HDR is off in the iPhone X shot, that’s a complete misrepresentation of the capabilities of the iPhone X, when making a comparison...that is *if* HDR is off in the top shot. It sure looks like it is off...is it?

The point though is to show the improved smart HDR system in conjunction with larger sensor etc. While I agree it is somewhat disingenuous and perhaps should have been mentioned if HDR is off on the X photo, the point here is that with the Xs you can take much better point and shoot photos without tinkering settings in certain lighting situations.

You can look at it two ways: you can view it as false because the settings aren’t the same on both cameras, or you could view it as fair because all he is doing is taking the same photo with default settings and then the results are how both cameras automatically adjust to the tricky lighting situation.

I am not familiar with the X camera though, are you able to override and make it take the photo using HDR?

 

[inaka]

I saw via twitter that Gruber claims that HDR was set to AUTO in that top iPhone X shot.

I really don't know. I only have a 7+ and I've never taken portrait mode shots that look that bad as the example he's using from the iPhone X.

 

[Ntombi]

I am not familiar with the X camera though, are you able to override and make it take the photo using HDR?

Yes, it’s a choice in camera settings. You can’t MAKE it use HDR, but you can turn it off completely.

 

[jabingla2810]

Here’s another comparison.

Big upgrade to the phone this year.

 

[MEJHarrison]

Did you miss this part?

I never planned to put pictures of myself in this review. But these were so genuine. Not staged in the least. We didn’t pick our table. These portraits are how real people take real photos in the real world. Across a table from each other, enjoying a nice meal, on a nice day. Point, shoot. And this is what she got.

The point I took from those photos isn't that it was the perfect A/B comparison, thus the settings might not match exactly. I thought the whole point was "someone picked up a phone and snapped a photo and this is what they got". This wasn't a technical test, but a real-world test.

You can read it how you like. The way I read it, it was a fair test.

 

[Freakonomics101]

Rear camera on my iP10 takes amazing portrait photos. HDR is on all the time. Same with the front facing. I guess it varies with how the setting is. Bright, dark, colors, etc.

 

[1050792]

Here goes X users defending. Better admit the XS has a much better camera and stop with that “there’s no difference” nonsense. Finally an iPhone camera that doesn’t overexpose light and that is crispy sharp. I still don’t like how the colors are too saturated though.

 

[Freakonomics101]

Here goes X users defending. Better admit the XS has a much better camera and stop with that “there’s no difference” nonsense. Finally an iPhone camera that doesn’t overexpose light and that is crispy sharp. I still don’t like how the colors are too saturated though.

People have a right to feel what they feel. I agree that the new model does have an improved camera but there are those that don’t really care enough about it to spend another grand on an iPhone when the 10 isn’t even a year old yet. It’s not that I’m defending or being dramatic about the two. I’m just stating my opinion and a fact, and I have the right to. If the new model works for you, that’s awesome. Same with others. I wouldn’t mind seeing more comparisons to see what has changed.

 

[jona2125]

I also don't like his attempt to explain the picture field of view increase.

"And to geek out even more, even though the XS has a wider field of view, because the actual lens element on the XS is longer than the X, it gets this wider field of view without introducing additional wide-angle lens barrel distortion — in fact, because the actual lens is longer, I suspect there’s less barrel distortion. Slightly less of that generally undesirable fisheye effect, even though the field of view is slightly wider."

I'm not quite sure what he is trying to say here, the lens element length doesn't really mean anything. It's focal length that is important which Apple has said the equivalent focal length has been improved from 28mm to 26mm. They wouldn't have to do anything to the lens at all to achieve this, a larger sensor alone directly increases the equivalent focal length as it is. He repeatedly talks about the lens being longer which wouldn't make much sense. If you increase the sensor size and increase the focal length of your lens, the equivalent focal length overall would not decrease at all.