MKBHD claims that post-processing is ruining iPhone photos – and I agree with that - 9to5Mac

YouTuber Marques Brownlee, besides cognize arsenic MKBHD, shared the results of his 2022 Smartphone Awards past month. And though the iPhone 14 Pro won successful the Best Camera System category, the YouTuber pointed retired immoderate flaws regarding the photos taken with Apple’s latest smartphone. Now MKBHD is backmost with a video successful which helium details wherefore immoderate iPhone photos are getting worse – and the reply is: post-processing.

Before the results of the 2022 Smartphone Awards, MKBHD besides shared the results of its unsighted camera test. In this one, Google’s Pixel 6A took archetypal place, portion the Pixel 7 Pro came successful second. This led the YouTuber and galore radical to wonderment what’s going connected with the photos taken with the iPhone.

Image post-processing is becoming exaggerated

In bid to instrumentality a bully picture, it’s important to person a bully sensor susceptible of capturing arsenic overmuch airy and item arsenic possible. However, since camera sensors recovered successful smartphones are precise tiny compared to DSLRs, telephone manufacturers person been introducing caller tricks each twelvemonth to amended these images with post-processing.

Pretty overmuch immoderate modern smartphone uses a operation of hardware and bundle to set images aft they’ve been taken successful an effort to marque them look amended and compensate for the deficiency of a ample sensor. This includes things similar reducing the sound level, adjusting the achromatic balance, and expanding the brightness to amusement much item successful acheronian scenes.

But successful caller years, Apple and different companies person been taking this to the adjacent level. On the iPhone, Smart HDR combines aggregate photos successful antithetic settings into one. This allows the telephone to take the champion aspects of each of them to effect successful a amended photo. But erstwhile there’s a batch of post-processing going on, these images tin look unrealistic. And this is what has been happening with the iPhone camera.

As pointed retired by MKBHD, astir phones grip good successful favorable scenarios, specified arsenic a wide entity oregon a taxable successful beforehand of a wide background. But erstwhile you person antithetic colors and textures successful the aforesaid scene, the post-processing indispensable beryllium astute capable to recognize what volition beryllium the champion mounting for each these elements.

But the happening is, portion companies similar Google are doing it the close way, Apple is decidedly not. As shown by the YouTuber, the iPhone 14 Pro ever tries to lighten the shadows, particularly connected people’s faces, making the photograph look precise artificial. The iPhone besides exaggerates the sharpness of the photos compared to different smartphones. MKBHD adjacent complains that his tegument code looks rather antithetic connected the iPhone camera.

Apple is ruining the iPhone camera with each these astute features

Even if the iPhone has large camera hardware, it’s being ruined by each the astute features similar Smart HDR that Apple has been introducing successful caller years. Every year, the institution adds adjacent much steps to the camera post-processing. But alternatively of making the photos better, they conscionable marque it much unnatural.

In the iPhone 14 Pro camera reappraisal by Sebastiaan de With, developer of the fashionable camera app Halide, helium besides pointed retired aggregate flaws successful Smart HDR. For example, each clip there’s a precise agleam background, the iPhone besides tries to boost the brightness of the radical successful the photo, making them look precise white. “I person honestly ne'er seen it marque for a amended photo. The effect is simply jarring,” helium said.

In different example, the iPhone camera applies a batch of “bizarre artifacts” to selfies taken successful truly low-light environments to effort to prevention the image, but this ends up resulting successful an “absurd watercolor-like mess” alternatively of a regular acheronian photograph with a batch of noise.

Personally, I’ve besides been noticing however Smart HDR is ruining immoderate of my photos, which besides get excessively crisp and with exaggerated colors. On Reddit, galore iPhone users look to hold with this.

Apple should springiness users the enactment to instrumentality earthy photos

For years, iPhone users made amusive of different smartphones due to the fact that their photos looked excessively artificial. Now we person reached the constituent wherever iPhone photos look precise unnatural. While I anticipation the institution improves Smart HDR, I would similar an enactment to trim oregon wholly crook disconnected representation post-processing successful the iPhone camera.

You can, of course, instrumentality a RAW photograph utilizing apps similar Halide (it’s worthy noting that ProRAW photos are inactive post-processed), but past you’ll person a overmuch larger representation record conscionable to get a much earthy result.

What astir you? Has the iPhone camera’s exaggerated post-processing been ruining your photos too? Let america cognize successful the comments conception below.

Read also:

• Feature Request: iPhone 14 Pro needs an enactment to instrumentality non-RAW 48MP photos (with nary Smart HDR)

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