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Hieveryone

macrumors 603
Original poster
Apr 11, 2014
5,632
2,346
USA
I have the iPhone X and it’s got a great camera.

But I’ve noticed that when I upload a pic to Facebook for example the image quality doesn’t look as good to my naked eye as it did in my camera roll.

I know Instagram must keep the same quality bc I’ve seen other people’s pics and it’s good
[doublepost=1547592065][/doublepost]I guess my point is that if the pics don’t look as good on social media anyway which is why many young people want a good camera then why would a better camera even matter. Unless it’s for Instagram maybe idk. I think for many it is for Instagram lol.

Fb isn’t as popular amongst young people I don’t think.
 
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Any social media platform compresses images for obvious reasons. Don’t think having a good camera is directly related to social media. Camera is directly related to photography more than anything else.
 
Any social media platform compresses images for obvious reasons. Don’t think having a good camera is directly related to social media. Camera is directly related to photography more than anything else.

Most people I know just want the best camera so their posts look better.

But my point is if their posts are being compressed or whatever then iPhone X camera is good enough?
 
Most people I know just want the best camera so their posts look better.

But my point is if their posts are being compressed or whatever then iPhone X camera is good enough?

iPhone 6 camera should be good enough.
 
You're asking in the wrong place. Ask Facebook. Ask Instagram. (Which is Facebook...)

There is no simple answer. It's doubtful that ANY of them use the full image quality as captured. The storage requirement would be YUGE!

Instagram is more oriented toward pictures, so is likely to retain greater quality.

In addition to (re)compression of uploaded images, the could also be (re)compression upon download. If you are using a browser, Chrome on a mobile device will (helpfully - cough!) ask the server to (re)-compress if the data lies on a Google data server. Of course, there are no (major) social networks hosted on Google servers.

The full image quality captured on the best mobile phones is not actually useful when display on a mobile phone! It is only useful when going to print, displaying on a large desktop screen, etc. It would be silly for social networks to retain the full image quality.

I'm using "image quality" loosely here. Of course, it is a combination of pixel count, color depth, compression ratio, etc. etc. etc. At least the pixel count of today's best phones far exceeds the pixel count of the screen. Each generation is typically a "better camera", in many ways beside pixel count. At today's pixel counts, and with today's sensors and image processing, I'd think the one thing that would most improve image quality is "better glass".

For example, the iPhone xsMax has a 12 megapixel camera, and a 3.3 megapixel display. It would be silly to download 12 megapixel photos - it would only waste bandwidth.
 
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Yes, Facebook and other social media sites compress photos.....even WhatsApp does it. Compressing the photo increases the loss of detail in the image reducing its size. Visually this results in a loss of sharpness and sometimes a reduction in dynamic range.

What it doesn’t alter is the framing and composition of the photo. This is the real magic of an image. Even shallow depth of field can add a ‘wow factor’. These aren’t lost when a photo is compressed.

So ‘doesn’t look as good’ is subjective. Yes the resolution / sharpness of the photo is reducesd, but none of the ‘art’ that the composer put into the image is removed.
 
if you buy better pots and pans, does that make you a better cook?

Sometimes. If the pan is limiting.

And sometimes "better" comes in unexpected ways. Now that I have seen the light, I would never use ANY pan without an accurate (NOT IR!) digital thermometer with a surface ribbon probe, and letting the pan "soak" slowly at far less than maximum throttle to spread heat evenly. Memorize a few smoke points, and you are golden.

Applying some science to cooking DOES make you a better cook!
 
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