iPhone 11 Pro Max Camera issues

A lot of people I've spoken with who have the new phones, don't understand how Night Mode really works. If the camera is moved even slightly, during the countdown to the shutter sound, the photo will be uniformly crappy. What the phone is doing is letting the most light hit the sensor as possible. Movement during those precious seconds will destroy the photo. The phone is stitching together multiple images together to produce a well lit, in-focus picture. But ONLY if the phone isn't jostled when you tap the take the photo button until the shutter is released at the end.

An iPhone almost never comes with the latest version of iOS installed, if the latest version came out within the past week or two. That is especially true this year when we have had four version of iOS 13 already. The phones have to be assembled, boxed, and shipped from China. They are not updated once they are boxed up.

As to iTunes, I want to be very specific. What I mean is to restore the phone from a complete iOS image. I am referring to the instructions here:

https://support.apple.com/guide/itunes/restore-to-factory-settings-itnsdb1fe305/mac

As to whether or not to overlook some of the samples in here, I can't answer that better than rbrylawski has in his many posts.

OK........Are these photos being taken in low light when you see the digital noise?

If you believe something is wrong with your new iPhone show it to Apple. If they agree something is wrong, they'll replace it.

Calling me a fanboy wasn't necessary. I was trying to help you, actually.

No, I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying if in low light you see the graininess and you use Night Mode to take a photo, holding steady for the number of seconds the phone suggests, the end result won't look grainy.

If you are saying EVERY photo you try to take shows graininess on the screen before you take the photo, even in well lit spaces, you should have the phone looked at. That wouldn't be normal.

It’s definitely software. If I record a video using the front facing camera in moderate light using the camera app, it looks terrible. There is a lot of ISO grain and blurring. If I take the same video in the exact same conditions using something like Instagram, it’s fine.

If I record the same video in the same conditions using my old iPhone X using the camera app, it’s also fine.

I’m getting a little tired of people saying it’s “user error”, and we should all essentially “learn how to take a photo”. I hate to break it to you guys, but we never had an issue taking a photo before. Don’t get me wrong, my 11 has taken some stunning photos, but it’s also taken some pretty rubbish ones too, ones that would not have been an issue with my X.

The ultra wide lens should only be used in bright lit situations. The lens is slow (at f2.4) and offers no Optical Image Stabilization, so if you use it in low light, and you don't hold it perfectly still, the outcome won't be terrific. This is not a defect, but a limitation of a slower lens without OIS. It has it's uses for sure, but you need to be careful when you use it.

I had weird pictures sometimes so I went to apple iCare, they have checked my device and it has been sent for further process. I hope it got fix 🤞

I know it is very disappointing and painful. My suggestion: Go iCare let them fix it.

I took my 11 Pro Max back to Apple. They offered a replacement phone. I quickly checked a demo phone camera in the showroom. I had the same reflection issue on that demo phone too. It is pointless to replace to another faulty phone. It looks like all of them the same. So I decided to refund my phone price. It was less than 14 days old. I bought Android phone as a replacement. If the iPhone 12 will be any better I may try it again next year. Unfortunately this camera issue is a deal breaker for me. That's a shame as I like the iOS 13 otherwise.

Because now 4 different Genius Bar employees have confirmed Apple is experiencing issues with their cameras. That’s why. I don’t understand why you can be humble enough in this god like wisdom you possess that you can’t admit that there actually might be a problem with some phones. You keep claiming it’s the user that has the problem and not their 1200.00 phone. It’s ludicrous. I’m sitting here with proof, I read the notes on the Genius Bar iPad about coating issues on the lenses for Christ sake. Stop the jabs and undercuts. Every single piece of “help” you offer has insulted users. You’re rude.

It's quite unreal that people are blaming the users for taking bad photos when this is clearly an issue with the phones (possibly a software issue).

Both my iPhone 8 and my wife's iPhone XR went from being very capable cameras to produce worse pictures than my old iPhone SE. Am I better at taking photos with the old phone? Did I suddenly become a worse photographer after one of the iOS 13 updates? I can still shoot superb photos with my Canon 5D Mark IV and Sony A7M3. The only variable is iOS updates.

I've compared the EXIF between multiple photos shot with the iPhone XR, before and after iOS 13, under virtually identical situation, this is the trend.

Before (iOS 12)

• Shutter: 1/1200
• ISO: 20

Today (iOS 13.2.3)

• Shutter: 1/40
• ISO: 480

So before, the shutter was fast, resulting in non-shaky looking images and still subjects, and the incredibly low ISO returns clear , non-grainy images. Again, under the same condition, the shutter is going down by a lot and the ISO is being raised.

With proper IOS, shooting at 1/40 should be fine with if the subject is still and on modern DSLR you can blow up the ISO up to the 3,200 range (a lot higher on higher end models) before you can see any grain. Comparing DSLR and Phone camera sensors doesn't make a lot of sense, but since the main commenters defending Apple see themselves as professional photographers and think everyone else is doing it wrong, I felt like leveling the playing field.

Stop blaming the users, there is something wrong with the camera, the camera's api or something - but it's not the user as multiple users are experiencing the same issue.

Hey- I’m glad you got a good one. Mine isn’t I am a photographer and opted for the pro. I posted pictures on this thread. The sensor itself is bad. It can not reconcile differences in grey making it striped with green and red hue. If you have a phone that works and your pictures are fine you simply don’t understand what a large number of us have gone through. That’s ok. But this form was started because of actual hardware problems not subjective opinion as to if one photo is better than another. Simone can sprinkle paint on canvas and call it art but if you were expecting a portrait you may be disappointed. Good luck with your phone.

If it is not a hardware issue, which means the technicians will not find any issues while troubleshooting, in that case, they will give you a new device with a new Serial No. for a replacement.

Dont forget to check the device external and internal informations before you leave the store.

You can tell them that you need to play with the phone for someday and you can visit for another replacement if you are not satisfied.

Incase you want to sell then, you don’t need to go back.

Hope you get the right device, I know the pain.

If you actually read this entire thread, you will not come away with the same conclusion. The "above people" who you say will "deny the pics are bad" is simply not a factual statement. If you follow the posts by me, rbrylawski, William Kucharski, and Philly_Phan, you will not see responses that are homogenous. Instead, you will find posts that fall into different categories, such as:

1. Those that do not see anything wrong with the photos (sometimes).
2. Those which clearly see something wrong with the photos and recommend returning the phone for repair or replacement.
3. Those where a recommendation is given to return the phone and buy the model that the author is stating is clearly better. This one needs more explanation. All smartphones are performing post-processing on the photos they are taking. In addition, all smartphones have different displays and different ways of managing color presentation. All humans have different eyes, visual cortexes, and taste. What this means is that some people will absolutely be happier with another brand. They should use the thing that they like the best. They should not expect every phone to work in a way that satisfies them and thus leaves everyone who already likes the results of the iPhone 11 out in the cold.
4. Those where the person being responded to thinks that lens Apple should be able to defy the laws of physics and eliminate lens flare completely, even though cameras which cost tens of thousands of dollars are incapable of doing that.
5. And finally, those where the photos being presented show clear signs of user error which are typically some combination of poor framing, poor subject selection, and incorrect lens selection.

My two main points, which I've posted more than once, are that we have not told everyone with an issue that they do not have an issue and we continue to post examples of good photos and declarations that the iPhones 11 are perfectly capable of taking excellent photos in order to counter the notion presented by some people in this thread that all iPhones 11 are incapable of taking good photos. Heck, some have gone so far as to say that the iPhones 11 are incapable of taking better photos than an iPhone 6.

If you have a bad iPhone and want the iPhone 11 then get it replaced!

If you simply do not like the way it takes photos, please get a model which produces photos you do like.

So i gave the iphone11pro another shot and bought it again. Same problem! Camera just isnt right! So i tried a different path! Pro camera sent me a promocode and i got the app for free! I bought the hdr that they for sale as well. I also bought the moment lens three kit and im shooting the photo's raw. Man its amazing so much details! Reality check though i did not have to go to these measures with the iphone x. Also bought the joby tele pod adjustable snd their led not the mini one. Check the photos out!

Im truly loving it now!

If your iPhone is taking blurry video, return it for warranty service. I do no understand the idea where a person has an issue with their device and just assumes that every single device is broken and Apple needs to issue a blanket recall. Millions of people are using iPhones with no issues whatsoever. But you have an issue so the entire line must be bad. Do you apply this logic to everything you purchase? This is the reason that warranties exist.

A few months after I purchased my 2015 MacBook Pro, the SSD died in it. Apple replaced it under warranty and I haven't had any issues since. You know what I didn't do when that happened? I didn't assume that EVERY SINGLE MacBook Pro was faulty and expect that Apple should issue a recall.

Apple has sold tens of millions of these new iPhones since their release in September. Do you honestly think that if there were massive failures with the camera across the line that it wouldn't be front-page news in every newspaper and every technology site? Please try to get some perspective on this and call Apple so they can replace your phone.