Why is the iPhone 7 camera so overexposed?

[zhenya]

Sample 1: Missing green color on iPhone 7

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=SEN1NmdXeHVCZUdTbEVVWVVtcFVIY05PeXZWald3


Sample 2: Too much yellow on iPhone 7

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=SEN1NmdXeHVCZUdTbEVVWVVtcFVIY05PeXZWald3

I'm still thinking it's a software issue in image processing and I think it can be fixed in future iOS releases.

Or there is no issue and it's simpy a matter of taste which color setting you prefer.

First one is hard to say which is more realistic unless you were there and saw the actual lighting conditions. Second one is much more natural on the iPhone. Sunset is yellow, and the sky, nor most people not a ghost, are not that white.

Mostly these look like white balance issues which can be extremely difficult to get right in all situations. Apple tends to be a little warmer than what is popular in other phones today. But warm is usually closer to reality than the ultra-high temp whites that most screens come set from the factory with these days.

 

[karmamule]

First of all, I think you misunderstand what 'vibrant' means. You're using it as if it means lacking in color, when it means exactly the opposite: if something is vibrant it means it is VERY colorful.

I own an S7 Edge and it has unnaturally vibrant photos. Yes, they can look pleasing if you like bright colors, but they are often NOT that accurate compared to what I'm actually looking at. iPhones, on the other hand, tend to take more naturalistic looking pictures that more closely match how things looked to the human eye.

In the end it's a matter of preference, so if you really do love those very vibrant photos that Samsung phones favor then perhaps that is the better phone for you, if that is an important enough feature.

 

[tommysm]

So glad you canceled your order, hopefully I'll get the phone you didn't want!!

 

[iPhaithful]

Sounds like buyers remorse for another reason (besides photo quality) here

 

[lancastor]

All of the images are going to be processed differently, different engines.....

Many thanks for your posting and the detailed explanation.

 

[off_piste]

As long as we can do on the phone itself, why on earth not? And if we're lucky maybe they'll let us set our own profile/preset, basically if you prefer more natural colors (but less vibrancy) just use that as your default.

I would like the raw editing feature but going back and correcting every photo would be a tiresome exercise that I have neither the time nor patience. Sure, when I'm feeling artistic or it's a really important photo I want to get just right, that's one thing. But every photo? That would be absurd.

 

[lancastor]

I thought the word vibrant means overexposed. So my Threadtitle is wrong.

 

[KillaMac]

Look at the Note 7 pictures. Gorgeous beatiful green gras. It seems iPhone 7 cannot produce green color.

There must be an explanation why the colors in the iPhone 7 are so bad.

No, it's called Samsung overly saturates their photos and they always get hit hard on this. To me, the iPhone 7 matches what a SLR does. Engadget even said the iPhone camera is the one they preferred.

 

[Oridus]

I thought the word vibrant means overexposed. So my Threadtitle is wrong.

Thank you for taking the feedback properly and admitting to the minor mistake. Most people would have gotten all up in arms in defense of their original statement. Doesn't happen like this every day. Good on you!

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

Look at the Note 7 pictures. Gorgeous beatiful green gras. It seems iPhone 7 cannot produce green color.

There must be an explanation why the colors in the iPhone 7 are so bad.

Judging by the examples provided in this thread, it is not that the iPhone 7 cannot produce the color green, it is that it accurately portrays the color green. I haven't seen grass as green as that in the Note 7 pic since buying by daughter neon paint for her art project.

 

[Gathomblipoob]

Judging by the examples provided in this thread, it is not that the iPhone 7 cannot produce the color green, it is that it accurately portrays the color green. I haven't seen grass as green as that in the Note 7 pic since buying by daughter neon paint for her art project.

When I was in the Air Force many years ago, we used to spray paint bare patches or brown grass green for inspections. Now that was a vivid green!

 

[lordofthereef]

You come on an iPhone forum and folks will wax poeic about iPhone camera.
You go on a Samsung subforum and people will wax poetic about the note camera.

The standard response on here is how oversaturated and crappy galaxy photos are and how iPhone is king. If you don't like the phone just don't get it. You aren't likely to get help on this page for these reasons, as you have probably already surmised. (By the way, in the sample pics you shared I tend to lean towards the note there, but honestly, they both look pretty damn good to me considering what it is they are being taken on; smartphones!)

I will probably do some iPhone 7 versus 6s plus shots for myself to compare the cameras. If it moves me enough I may even end up eventually upgrading. But since the camera is the only thing that intrigues me, it's going to have to be good.

 

[Neebee]

I have canceled my iPhone 7 Plus order cause of the awful camera image quality.

Why are the pictures of the iPhone 7 so vibrant and over exosered? The colors of the previous iPhone 6 and 6S are looking so much better.

Is this a software issue of iOS and the ISP?

Because people complained that the galaxy phones take better pictures.

Well to be fair, the Galaxy S7 did have a superior camera to the 6S.

OP, not sure what you're talking about. All the photos I saw looked better on the 7 than the 6S.

Sports Illustrated has some pictures up. They could be photoshopped. http://www.si.com/nfl/photo/2016/09/11/iphone-7-plus-sneak-preview-photos

The Galaxy 7 has a faster bigger lens. It's 1.7 vs 1.8 on the iPhone. Historically, many people have said high-end Android phones take better pictures than iPhone.

It's also pretty much a given now that OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) is not available in telephoto mode which is dumb. However, come next year for the 10th Anniversary, it will be a feature on both modes in the + iPhones. I don't like that Apple is doing this.

 

[bchreng]

I have canceled my iPhone 7 Plus order cause of the awful camera image quality.

Why are the pictures of the iPhone 7 so vibrant and over exosered? The colors of the previous iPhone 6 and 6S are looking so much better.

Is this a software issue of iOS and the ISP?

I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking this. I was browsing through CNET's camera review and found the iPhone 7 photos to be a bit more dull and colder than the photos taken with the 6s.

http://www.cnet.com/special-reports...-plus-vs-galaxy-s7-vs-iphone-6s-plus/#7-vs-6S

 

[Snot Rox]

I came into this thread looking to add to the conversation... then I read the OP's title, and then his complaints, and my head exploded. Vibrant and colorless... kind of like when food is bursting with flavor, and bland.

I see what you did there

 

[Titleist]

Going to shoot everything in RAW dng files anyway. Overexposed? Just manually bring the exposure down before you take a picture. Samsung always over saturates it's images. I prefer a flatter image, that I can edit how I want.

 

[Mike Boreham]

The highlight burn-out on the nose of the girl second from right is typical of phone cams and disappointing to see the iPhone 7+ worst of the group in the Verge Review. The iPhone 7+ has used more exposure than the others.

 

[pixelements]

You have clearly no clue about photography. Just saying.. iPhone kills that oversaturated Note 7 photos.

 

[Neebee]

No, it's called Samsung overly saturates their photos and they always get hit hard on this. To me, the iPhone 7 matches what a SLR does. Engadget even said the iPhone camera is the one they preferred.

In all fairness, Engadget isn't a photography site. I wouldn't take their recommendations seriously. Just use your own personal judgement. For me, the 6S had some shots I preferred over Samsung Galaxy 7, but for the most part, I liked Samsung especially in low light.

 

[bchreng]

Going to shoot everything in RAW dng files anyway. Overexposed? Just manually bring the exposure down before you take a picture. Samsung always over saturates it's images. I prefer a flatter image, that I can edit how I want.

Having to manually do so becomes bothersome when you're trying to capture something in the moment. I like being able to snap away with my 6s, knowing that the photos are taken with the amount of exposure I like.

 

[mildocjr]

Photographers: Yay, we have RAW capabilities

majority of iPhone owners: What I can already take raw photos

wa wa wa waaaaaaaaa


p.s. posting this raw steak is probably a macrumors first

 

[lancastor]

http://www.cnet.com/special-reports...-plus-vs-galaxy-s7-vs-iphone-6s-plus/#7-vs-6S

I like the 6S pictures more.

 

[Neebee]

Photographers: Yay, we have RAW capabilities

majority of iPhone owners: What I can already take raw photos

wa wa wa waaaaaaaaa


p.s. posting this raw steak is probably a macrumors first

+1

 

[Mike Boreham]

You have clearly no clue about photography. Just saying.. iPhone kills that oversaturated Note 7 photos.

Assuming your reply is to me, I was a working professional photographer for twelve years.

Poor dynamic range is the achilles heel of small sensors and the overexposure of this scene draws attention to it on the iPhone 7+ more than the other pics. Blown-out highlights can never be recovered.

My comment is limited to this scene, more general use might well tell a different story.

 

[Titleist]

Seems like it has better dynamic range, warmer tones, more magenta than green (6S). Some of the images seem a little over. Just give me an exposure compensation feature. Looks like it could be dropped - 0.7 of a stop.