A very popular Youtuber called Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD, recently shared his findings in the 2022 Smartphone Awards. In the awards, the iPhone 14 Pro won in the Best Camera category.
However, the YouTuber also pointed out some issues with the quality of photos taken with the device. In a follow-up video, MKBHD explained that the reason for the inappropriate photos was post-processing.
The iPhone fell short of the Google Pixel 7 in a blind camera test
Ahead of the 2022 awards, MKBHD conducted a blind camera test. In the camera test, the Google Pixel 6a surprisingly took first place. In second place is the Google Pixel 7 Pro. This has led to speculation about the iPhone’s camera performance.
To produce high-quality images, it is essential to have a sensor that can capture a large amount of light and detail. Unfortunately, smartphone camera sensors are much smaller than those in DSLR cameras.
So, smartphone manufacturers apply various post-processing techniques (software processing) to improve the quality of these images.
In most cases, smartphones use both hardware and software to manipulate images after they have been captured. This allows them to improve their appearance and compensate for the smaller camera sensor size.
This can include techniques such as noise reduction, white balance adjustment, and brightness enhancement. The end result of this is more detail in darker scenes.
Google Pixel image processing is better than iPhone
In recent years, however, Apple and other companies have gone even further in their software processing. On the iPhone, the Smart HDR function combines multiple images taken under different conditions into one. This allows the phone to select the best elements of each image to create a superb photo.
Unfortunately, excessive software processing can result in unnatural looking images. This has been an issue with the iPhone camera in recent years. Meanwhile, Google Pixel smartphones handle it better.
As MKBHD notes, most phones perform well in normal lighting conditions, such as clear skies or when the subject has a plain background.
However, with a scene that includes a lot of colors and textures. Post-processing must be very complex. It must be intelligent enough to determine the best settings for all these elements.
As the Youtuber demonstrates in his videos, Apple doesn’t handle software processing properly compared to companies like Google.
The iPhone 14 Pro consistently tries to lighten the shadows. This mostly happens on people’s faces. This ends up creating an artificial looking look.
The iPhone also exaggerates the sharpness of photos
The iPhone also tends to oversharpen photos compared to other smartphones. MKBHD even pointed out that his skin tone looks different when taking photos with the iPhone camera.
There’s no denying that the iPhone has high-quality camera hardware. But smart features like Smart HDR, which Apple has introduced in recent years, affect the quality of the resulting photos.
Every year, the company adds more steps to the camera’s post-processing process. But rather than improving the images, these changes rather make the pbots look more unnatural.
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Sebastiaan De-With, developer of the popular Halide camera app. It also identified various problems with Smart HDR in its review of the iPhone 14 Pro camera.
This effect is part of Apple’s Smart HDR, which “segments” human subjects in photos and significantly increases their brightness when backlit after capture.
We’ve illustrated the object recognition and what it likely “looked like” to the camera:
(This doesn’t happen when shooting RAW) pic.twitter.com/nKjaYQgVnc
— Halide (@halidecamera) September 20, 2022
For example, when there is a very bright background, the iPhone also tries to increase the brightness of the people in the photo. This makes them look too white. De-With said, “I’ve honestly never seen him take a better picture. The result is just annoying.”
In another case, the iPhone’s camera implements numerous “weird artifacts.” For selfies taken in very low light conditions in an attempt to save the image. But this results in an “absurd watercolor-like mess” instead of a typical dark photo with a reasonable level of noise.
I’ve also noticed that Smart HDR degrades the quality of some of my photos. It does this by making them too sharp and oversaturating the colors. Many iPhone users on Reddit are also sharing similar issues.
The tables turned on the iPhone
For years, iPhone users mocked other smartphones for creating artificial-looking photos. But now things have turned around and iPhone photos have become too unnatural.
While I hope Apple improves Smart HDR. I would prefer the option to reduce or completely disable image post-processing in the iPhone camera.
Google Pixel smartphones on the other hand do a better job with software processing in most cases than the iPhone camera. Note that Google Pixel phones also do a lot of software processing.
But Google managed to strike a good balance between hardware and software. This helps Google Pixel smartphones take better images than the iPhone.
It’s quite a shame that the performance of Apple’s iPhone is quite declining while other brands are improving. Hopefully, Apple can fix this in the upcoming iPhone 15 series.
You can also try third-party apps if you want to take RAW photos
It’s possible to take a RAW photo using apps like Halide (although it should be noted that ProRAW photos are still subject to some post-processing). But this results in a much larger image file to achieve a more natural look.
As an iPhone user, have you also noticed this? Has excessive photo processing also ruined your photos? Well, not everyone can realize it. You may need to compare your photos with those of a very good phone like the Pixel 7 Pro. Or you can start scrutinizing your photos.
At first glance, it looks very good due to the software processing, but if you look closely or zoom in a bit, you will realize that it looks a bit artificial. You can also share your experience in the comment section.
Source / via: 9to5google.com
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