Apple Photo Updates are Distorted

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Level 1

8 points

Apple Photo Updates are Distorted

I have a new iPhone 12 Pro. When I take photos, they seem okay on my iPhone, but when they sync to Apple photos, many come out all striped and distorted (see attached example).

I noticed it first when I synced using the cable to update my library. I'm not sure what to do. The photos do seem fine on my iPhone. They take on that striped appearance when I look at the photo library on my iPhone, but only for a second, then swap out to the normal undistorted photo. I just can't seem to get them to show correctly on the desktop. The attached example was dragged straight off of the desktop Apple Photos library.

I'm using a MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019), OS 10.14.6, Radeon Pro 560X 4 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB, 16 GB 2400 MHz DDR4

Posted on Feb 19, 2021 10:58 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

TonyCollinet

Level 7

23,966 points

Feb 20, 2021 3:36 PM in response to FlashInPan

The (likely) reason the entire photo is corrupted on your Mac is you have an older version of Macos (2.5 years old) that (and I'm speculating here - I don't know) can't work with the new format DNG files from your new phone. It is just rendering it incorrectly - edited or not (A raw file can't be just displayed - it has to first be converterted from the raw format into a viewable image - "developed" if you like). If that is the case then you can't edit on your mac unless you update it to a later version.

It may be that it is also generating errored thumbnails, and syncing those back to your phone. (I'm getting into further speculation here).

Another thing worth trying - is to edit one on your phone. That might generate a new (correct) thumbnail and preview that with a bit of luck will sync over to your mac at least for viewing - more speculation, but worth a shot.

Wired vs wireless: It is not that wireless is better - it is just that using two different methods to sync the same data may well cause confusion in the icloud sync process. Use one or the other. Not both.

Editing on Mac - covered above.

Hardware error: If you take a raw picture on your phone and without giving photos on your mac a chance to mess it up (IE leave photos closed). Does it behave itself on the phone. If so your hardware is OK. If it only misbehaves after photos on your mac has gone anywhere near it - then there is a software issue on your mac - most likely as described above - incompatibility with the file format.

Not working in Photoshop - that is more worrying. Does your photoshop have camera raw V13.1 or later installed?

https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/camera-raw/kb/camera-raw-plug-supported-cameras.html

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Answer 2

r_scheid

Level 3

887 points

Feb 19, 2021 11:37 AM in response to FlashInPan

It looks like a JPEG corruption, like a few bits in the image files have been written incorrectly, when you imported them. Are only the most recently imported photos corrupted or also older photos?

I take it, you already tried to restart the Mac and check, if the problem persists?

If you take a new photo with your camera and import it, will it also be corrupted?

There might be two possible reasons for the JPEG corruption -

a transmission error when downloading from the iPhone or card, causing corrupted originals to be written to your disk.
Or a problem with your system drive - bad blocks or similar causing the stored images to be modified.

If you have a Time Machine backup going back until directly after importing the photos, try to restore a version of your Photos Library to an external drive and compare the photos. Are the backed up versions o.k. or have they always been corrupted?

I'd run a hardware test to check the drive and your RAM, and make a backup now, if you do not have a current backup, just in case a hardware problem is corrupting your files, to prevent more data loss.

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Answer 3

FlashInPan Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 19, 2021 12:30 PM in response to r_scheid

Once the photos are synced to the desktop, they show up distorted for a second on the iPhone, then correct. If I try to open one of these, it appears correct upon open, but close the photo, scroll up and down, and the icon is distorted again. See attached video screen capture of this happening.

In contrast, on the Desktop, once it shows distorted in the icon, opening or editing does not open a correct version and the photo appears permanently damaged.

If I click the distorted photo image in the iPhone Photos app, it comes up looking okay, but if I then share the .DNG (which looks fine onto iPhone) using airdrop to my Mac, it comes across with the same distortion and is not salvageable.
These photos were shot in RAW format.
I have restarted my iPhone and had the same results.

My main concern is, since this iPhone is new, I want to be sure this is not a camera hardware error. There is a time period for which I need to return it if there is something wrong with the phone.

If it is a software error, I imagine at some point we will figure out what is happening, but my concern is, am I going to lose these photos I took? Should I stop using RAW all together? It's one of the reasons I wanted the upgrade.

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Answer 4

FlashInPan Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 20, 2021 12:19 PM in response to TonyCollinet

Thank you for your suggestions. I'd be happy with this explanation, except:

The entire photo is corrupted (when viewed on the Mac), not just the icon.
None of the photos that are corrupted have had any kind of editing done, so obviously there is no "revert" option available.

Wired vs. Wireless

It seems odd syncing via a wired connection would cause problems. Wired connections are always better in mission-critical situations. I would expect it would be more likely to have packet errors via a wire-less connection. However, the wired connection does seem to be the wild card here.

"Then never try to edit them on your Mac."

Editing on the Mac is much more precise than on a tiny iPhone screen. I have a full suite of tools on my Mac for photo editing (which accept RAW files) aside from just the Apple Photos App*. Anyone serious about photo editing certainly would not do it on their phone. It does not sound plausible to me that Apple would have intended large RAW photos (4032X3024 px/56X42 inches) to be edited on a 6.7 inch screen.

An encouraging thing so far, at least for me, is that you have not suggested a hardware error as the cause.

*The corruption the photo is present in Apple Photos, as well as Adobe Photoshop 2021.

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Answer 5

FlashInPan Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 19, 2021 7:08 PM in response to TonyCollinet

I use iCloud, of course. And I believe that syncs automatically.

However,..

When experimenting with RAW, I figured, due to the large size of the files, I might try using a wired connection to sync to avoid the upload/sync wait. That is when I noticed the distortion problem.

After the sync, I saw the distortion in both places, in the manner I described above.

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Answer 6

Feb 20, 2021 4:43 AM in response to FlashInPan

Transferring images via both wired connection and iCloud is not a good idea. It can cause problems.

What I suspect has happend here is your mac is unable to edit the files, and has created a corrupted preview - which has synced with your phone - which is why the phone is sometimes displaying it.

On your phone, try "revert to original" which (if I am right) should fix this.

Then never try to edit them on your mac.

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Answer 7

FlashInPan Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 21, 2021 8:28 PM in response to TonyCollinet

Those tips worked. It's likely some software glitch, like you said. Editing on my phone and exporting a corrupted image seems to be fine. It's awkward, but I can manage. It's probably best to just not bother with the wired syncing for now.

Thanks.

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