Level 1

10 points

iPhone 12 not taking HDR Photos

I have just bought the iPhone 12 and the HDR is not working with photos, but it works on video. The 'HDR' is showing on screen when taking a photo, but when I review the photo the HDR is not showing on the top left above the image and they are definitely not HDR.

I just upgraded to the latest software (14.2) hoping that would fix it but no. All my photos indoors are lo-res, underexposed and grainy. HDR is just not working.

This was a similar issue with the iPhone X years ago but a software upgrade seemed to fix the issue. Anyone know something I could try to fix it?

Posted on Nov 10, 2020 8:41 PM

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61 replies

Mar 1, 2021 1:03 PM in response to ZAVWizzard

Would you be open to sharing an iCloud link to the photos you're referencing above? I'd love to take a look.

DeviL04

Level 1

4 points

Dec 5, 2020 11:27 AM in response to Spits

I am also facing this issue. It doesn’t take hdr photo even in required condition and whenever theres a light in the background it make it completely white. I tried everything but nothing works. I hope it gets fixed via Software update.

Spits Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 5, 2020 3:28 PM in response to Spits

Ok, so it seems that someone else is having similar problems. But not that many people it would seem. Maybe I just have a dud iPhone.

Just to update you, I have been working with Apple engineers for the past month on this issue through phone hookups. We have been going through the issue step by step and I have run and sent them so many diagnostic reports from my NEW iPhone it's getting ridiculous. Plus the hours spent on the phone trying to work this out is becoming increasingly frustrating. I have sent them test photographs and videos, done factory resets, they've even remotely accessed my iPhone and did whatever they do to find a fix. Tomorrow I have yet ANOTHER phone hook up with them as the engineers want some more diagnostic data.

This isn't some silly thing that can be fixed by turning features on and off or turning the phone off and back on again. It has been 4 weeks of deep diving into the iPhone with no result yet. Who knows what will come out of tomorrow's call.

I don't know why they just don't give me a new iPhone. They can have the one with the bug and play with it all they like!

Spits Author

Level 1

10 points

Jan 21, 2021 4:41 PM in response to PHTeston

I haven't been able to resolve this. If I go to the Telco where I bought it from (Telstra here in Australia), they won't care and say I have to take it to Apple. If I go to an Apple store, I bet I'm going to have to go through all this garbage again as they won't know the back story and all I've been through to get it to work. They won't just change over the iPhone, they'll want to send it away for 'repair' and knowing Apple, it'll take weeks. I need my phone for work and can't afford to lose it while they stuff around.

Spits Author

Level 1

10 points

Jan 24, 2021 2:34 PM in response to ZAVWizzard

It's not just 12 Pro models. Mine is a standard 12 and has the problem. It all boils down to the numbers. If enough people had the issue, Apple would fix it quickly. As there appear to be so few of us, Apple don't give a crap.

Feb 3, 2021 1:18 AM in response to Spits

Yea will probably try submitting a suppor ticket, but I just don't want to be bother with the back and forth in troubleshooting, I believe I have tried everything out on the interwebs at this point and judging from your experience I doubt it's going to fix anything. Does Apple bother checking this forum for such issues?

Feb 4, 2021 11:54 AM in response to Spits

HDR is working on my iphone 12 pro.

Here are two examples, one with and one without. As you can see the one without has all the highlihts around the light blown. the other keeps all the detail. (IOS 14.4 - but as far as I am aware - it has always been working)

Spits Author

Level 1

10 points

Feb 4, 2021 2:06 PM in response to TonyCollinet

If you bothered to read the entire discussion, you would have read that I was working with the Apple engineers for 2 months trying to resolve the issue. I was working with their techs both here in Australia and they were liaising with their counterparts in the U.S. Apple admitted there was a problem. And by the way I know what HDR is and I know what it is supposed to do and look like. I've been shooting HDR with SLR's, video and drones for 20 years, I think I know what I'm doing.

Spits Author

Level 1

10 points

Feb 16, 2021 1:46 PM in response to ZAVWizzard

Why do people assume that those who are having the problem don't know what an HDR photo is? This is a real problem. Apple have admitted it is a problem. Simple. I can sympathise with you. Just out of interest, are you running the latest iOS which is 14.4?

Feb 16, 2021 2:54 PM in response to ZAVWizzard

Perhaps you intended to reply to someone else, but I was agreeing with Spits that I see the same thing that he does. I also never made a comment on whether you knew the difference or not.

I am concerned with your response though. If you take a photo on you iPhone and then view it on your IPad, the camera on the iPad has no impact on the quality of that image. Why would you think that?

Most of the more recent iPhones have HDR capable displays and I believe only the iPad Pros (3rd gen and onward) are capable of displaying an HDR image. So if you look at the same photo on the HDR iPhone and SDR iPad, it becomes very obvious which images are HDR and which aren’t. That is to say, you can only see real HDR content on an HDR display. A real HDR image will not show up as rich on an SDR display.

Feb 23, 2021 1:01 PM in response to ZAVWizzard

There are many different kinds of HDR formats: HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, Technicolor, HLG, etc. The iPhone captures their HDR video format in Dolby Vision, which is different from how they capture their photos. So when you say they don't take a real HDR photo, what exactly do you mean?

Feb 23, 2021 7:51 PM in response to Tiberius Maximus

... I mean the iPhone 12 Pro doesn’t take ANY kind of HDR photo. Any at all.

An HDR photo, is achieved by taking no less than 3 consecutive photos in rapid succession, at different exposure levels. Then using computational processing, the photos are fused together, taking the best parts of each photo for a final processed image that should look better than otherwise. Particularly the contrast. Well, again, the iPhone 12 Pro doesn’t do ANY of that. I don’t care how many varieties you say there are of HDR. Non of them are happing in the last 2 years of iPhones.

Mar 1, 2021 9:53 AM in response to Dogcow-Moof

I do not believe that bs at all. I know the difference between an HDR photo and a regular photo. Something else is going on here. I had (on more than one occasion) Apple reps straight up tell me, that HDR on iPhone 11s 12s is a known problem. So yeah, there’s reason number 6.

Mar 1, 2021 10:34 AM in response to Tiberius Maximus

Nothing makes my iPhone take an HDR photo. Not smart HDR, not manually selecting HDR, nothing.

What’s funny is, I actually took 2 HDR photos with my iPhone 12 Pro Max. So I don’t believe you when you say Apple isn’t putting HDR badges on newer iPhones.

So tell me, how was I able to take two HDR photos, but no more?

There is an iOS issue with the newer iPhones, nothing more.

All this makes my 1-3 relevant again...

Mar 2, 2021 7:05 AM in response to Tiberius Maximus

@Tiberius Maximus

I will straight up share them here...

Well, the files are too big. I’m not sure how to send an iCloud link..

Here are the two photos in “large size”. Not sure if the metadata is present, as it didn’t give me the same share options I get when sending a photo other ways.

enjoy.

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iPhone 12 not taking HDR Photos