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TL24

macrumors 65816
Oct 20, 2011
1,401
1,262
4Obm88B.jpg


When you manage to get it right, it's absolutely magical

Can't wait to get my hands on the 7 Plus!
 

mikosk

macrumors regular
Sep 20, 2013
191
114
I have used my "old" 6S to get this effect by just holding the camera close to the object, which causes the background to go blurry naturally. Now granted this doesn't work in all situations but it does produce the desired effect without those weird edges from some of these sample shots (optics vs software).

Somehow I thought this would be done via the optics in the lens and not a post process software effect. Maybe my 6S isn't so bad after all.
 

tehreflex

macrumors 6502
Jul 30, 2009
295
28
It is still in beta but also those kind of shots work better or worse depending on lighting conditions.

We'll see how well they come out in 10.1 Final.
 
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cclarke99

Contributor
Feb 8, 2014
92
91
Seattle, WA
It is still in beta but also those kind of shots work better or worse depending on lighting conditions.

We'll see how well they come out in 10.1 Final.

Exactly! The shot of my dog I posted, I waited for good lighting as the sun was setting and shining in my apartment. I've done some of the portrait mode shots in low light conditions and they're crap. Good photography requires good light, that will never change.
 

ericgtr12

macrumors 68000
Mar 19, 2015
1,774
12,174
So far it looks like you would get better results with just a bit of Photoshop skills.
But this is much easier and faster. Most people will probably be happy with this.

For me it's still just a gimmick
Even some higher end point and shoot cameras offer this effect naturally, using software and tricking optics forces it and it shows. Don't get me wrong, these are nice photos even without the forced bokeh, it just looks unnatural. If photography is one's goal, they should get a real camera.
 
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TechnicallyTee

macrumors 68020
May 14, 2013
2,011
2,791
Atlanta
Yeah the bokeh effect really needs some tweaking because of the shots I have viewed, the blurring effect just looks unnatural to me. I do know this is the initial release and im sure Apple will clean it up in the next few betas.
 
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msae

macrumors member
Oct 2, 2014
64
20
Took this on a quick break at work. Plus, I needed the afternoon coffee. It's a win-win.

Edit: Definitely needs some work, but it's cool. I agree that it looks a tad unnatural, mainly around the edges of the subject. The blur sort of creeps in on the edges, so they're not perfectly sharp.
 
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Dekema2

macrumors 6502a
Jul 27, 2012
856
437
WNY or Utica
IMG_0417.JPG

I'll stick with my 5s and Canon EOS 20d (photo attached) from 2005.

But I will say that I don't know any other phones that can compete with the picture quality of the 7+.
[doublepost=1474575018][/doublepost]
Here's one of my dog from last night. Agreed that the edges are quite soft, but this is the initial release of the feature in to the wild. I would expect some tweaking to portrait mode before it's final release. View attachment 657216
Is that a Rat terrier?
 
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cruppga

macrumors regular
Jun 23, 2015
149
45
I think it's the software not doing a good job of distinguishing between the cup (object in the forefront) and the images behind the cup, the clear nature of the cup lid may have something to do with and that pic was obviously not taken with ideal lighting
 

eyeseeyou

macrumors 68040
Feb 4, 2011
3,383
1,590
Honestly, with my 6s+, I feel like I can get shots pretty close to what some of these pics posted look like at least for close up shots.
 
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lah

macrumors 6502
Mar 22, 2010
382
290
Again for a phone, these are fantastic.
Yes, if we're going to compare them to a DSLR or even some point and shoots, they don't look as natural. But for something that you carry around in your pocket, it's great. How does the expression go? "Best camera you have is the one in your hand".
 

alleggerita

macrumors 6502a
Dec 19, 2011
512
787
Singapore
Here's one of my dog from last night. Agreed that the edges are quite soft, but this is the initial release of the feature in to the wild. I would expect some tweaking to portrait mode before it's final release. View attachment 657216

It's normal that the edges (eg the ears) are soft. Because dogs have long snouts especially yours, and the ISP splices the image into 9 distinct layers to create a depth map. And every layer gets more blurred the further behind it gets. So your dog's ears are probably at layer 2 or 3, hence receiving some blur. I think it looks pretty realistic in your sample photo.

But nonetheless this is just beta 1 and there'll surely be improvements along the way.
[doublepost=1474592533][/doublepost]
Honestly, with my 6s+, I feel like I can get shots pretty close to what some of these pics posted look like at least for close up shots.

Yes you can get such shots on the 6s/6s Plus, but only in macro shots, like 3-5cm away from your subject, or the background is really very very far away like mountains at the back. For this depth effect on the 7 Plus you need at least 11" of distance between you and your subject because it uses the narrower 56mm lens as the main shooter with 28mm wide lens giving additional depth info. So you don't need the background to be super far away to start having a blurry background. Therefore it's really meant for portraits of human subjects.
 

eyeseeyou

macrumors 68040
Feb 4, 2011
3,383
1,590
It's normal that the edges (eg the ears) are soft. Because dogs have long snouts especially yours, and the ISP splices the image into 9 distinct layers to create a depth map. And every layer gets more blurred the further behind it gets. So your dog's ears are probably at layer 2 or 3, hence receiving some blur. I think it looks pretty realistic in your sample photo.

But nonetheless this is just beta 1 and there'll surely be improvements along the way.
[doublepost=1474592533][/doublepost]

Yes you can get such shots on the 6s/6s Plus, but only in macro shots, like 3-5cm away from your subject, or the background is really very very far away like mountains at the back. For this depth effect on the 7 Plus you need at least 11" of distance between you and your subject because it uses the narrower 56mm lens as the main shooter with 28mm wide lens giving additional depth info. So you don't need the background to be super far away to start having a blurry background. Therefore it's really meant for portraits of human subjects.


For my use the camera and this functionality is a major selling point
 

alleggerita

macrumors 6502a
Dec 19, 2011
512
787
Singapore
Even some higher end point and shoot cameras offer this effect naturally, using software and tricking optics forces it and it shows. Don't get me wrong, these are nice photos even without the forced bokeh, it just looks unnatural. If photography is one's goal, they should get a real camera.

You're missing the point entirely. As Phil said on stage, this wasn't meant to replace dSLR or PnS for that matters. For some people, the iPhone is their only device. Not all people appreciate photography to such extent as to get a PnS or dSLR because it's almost the price of another iPhone. So if the iPhone can simulate what the proper cameras can do, then all the better for consumers who only owns one device. And no other cameras are as convenient as the iSight camera as it can fit in your pocket and it's water resistant now. It goes wherever you go.

And yes, if photography is one's goal, you can be assured that guy already has another proper camera somewhere in his house. But for those whose goal isn't photography, money is saved and they can still simulate nice bokeh shots if the scenario and situation is right.
 

ohms12

macrumors 6502
Jun 21, 2012
338
142
Scotland
Coming from someone who shoots primarily on a Sony A7 with a multitude of fast Zeiss prime glass, I have to say i'm really quite impressed with the Portrait effect on the 7+. Here's a quick snap I took earlier on (the fall off from the in-focus area and "bokeh" seems quite natural):

IMG_0004-Edit_zpsxtpn0aw3.jpg
 
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