iPhone 13 Camera is blurry

isazavakos wrote:

...[snip]...

Left is iPhone 13 Pro camera app using RAW settings. Right is the same photo file put into Lightroom, with no adjustments made by me. The over processing on the left apparent. Nevertheless, while I don’t have a good flower comparison at the moment because I do not have access to all of my old photos:

Words almost fail me. If you are using RAW files I'm sure you will agree they are intended to be post processed by a human with relevant skills. Everyone with two brain cells to rub together knows an automated rendering from RAW capture is only a mean best guess to allow viewing and rapid assessment.

It is verging on delusional to think anyone can make a valid comparison of image quality from natural objects taken at different times, with different instruments, under non-standard lighting.

The spelling is different, and the adjustment is applied at a different stage of the process but IMO it would be difficult or impossible to distinguish between the results simply by looking at the image and pixels (using the functions available in current iPhones and iOS).

Kind of.

Digital crop is usually considered to be when you take say a 8K x 8K image and use it to make a 2K x 2K image by cropping an image that size out of the larger image.

Digital zoom is when you take an image that is 2K x 2K and resample the pixels there to make it a new 2K x 2K image.

That trick works in movies and on TV crime/spy shows but not in real life.

You’re correct here; I often will use digital zoom to try and figure out what a distant object is or read a distant sign and in those use cases it means little if the resulting object or letters look like they are made of Lego® blocks.

I’m thinking about swapping my new 13 PM too.

Please tell us what happened at the Genius Bar. I see your photo examples are over processed, like a software bug, and wondered if you got to test another 13 pro to compare with that had no issues? Did you get new evidence that a replacement phone would solve the problem?

More… I read that vibrations can break the sensitive image stabilization and maybe this could confuse the post processing on photos… resulting in the bad stuff experienced here. Some of us could have broken phones. If they we’re delivered badly. ….

JulieBurr wrote:

Mine is also unusable. Literally the worst camera phone I’ve ever used.

If you think there is a problem you have 2 choices. Either:

Arrange a Genius Bar appointment to get the camera performance checked by Apple's techs

-or-

If you are within the 14 day return/refund period, reject the phone.

I went from the iPhone X to the iPhone 13 pro. I thought I would be wowed by the improvement but it has been rather disappointing if not worst. I thought it was just me because all the reviews having been raving about the camera. Glad I’m not the only one who noticed that iPhone 13 pro camera is terrible. Photos are blurry in some spots and too sharp in other spots. Wish I could return it.

If it’s been 14 days or less since purchase, and you purchased it from Apple, you can return it for a full refund.

Otherwise, they are still in short enough supply that you could sell yours on eBay for a substantial amount and then purchase a phone that more closely meets your needs.

For what it’s worth, the 13 Pro Max’s cameras a way beyond anything the X was capable of, as the reviews state; it’s not just me.

So I went to Target yesterday and happened to see they had iPhone 13s on display. I saw that they only had the 13 Pro Max, but I tested its camera anyway. I didn’t save the photos from it, BUT. the camera on it was MUCH better than the one on my phone. The weird post processing was still there, but the quality and clarity of the photos were so MUCH better even before I took the photos. I have a feeling this might be a hardware issue due to the fact that Apple is having the cameras assembled separately, instead of preassembled together. It might be a phone to phone basis. I am gonna try to head to an Apple store today and compare with the floor models.

I also was coming from the XS Max and was very disappointed. iOS 15.1 seems to stop the face painting and you can turn off automatic lens switching for Macro shots. This prevents accidentally getting a ultrawide crop instead of the quality main lens.

I have taken same DNG scene shot with 8 and 13 using Lightroom and 8 clearly shows better details.

13 is only better in low light, but in bright daylight 13 is garbage.

(oh and portrait is also a total disaster... 🙈)

Actually I think its not too bad. The focus is right in the middle. Like where the spoon is. Also in this range is the coffee crema where you can see the foam. This camera seems to have a very thin focus area with the 1.5 aperture...

If you think this is an example of a bad photo, you may want to see your eye doctor. There is nothing wrong with that photo. You took in Portrait mode, which is why it posted sideways on the forum. It would have posted correctly has you taken the photo in landscape orientation.

There are things you could have to make the photo better. You shot the photo a bit too close to the subject. The camera was more likely thinking you were taking a macro photo. Had you backed up the focal point a bit, it would have turned out even better, but overall it's certainly not a horrible picture as you seem to think it is.

Honestly if you think this is bad, what on earth could you expect to be better?

nuama wrote:

I have taken same DNG scene shot with 8 and 13 using Lightroom and 8 clearly shows better details.

13 is only better in low light, but in bright daylight 13 is garbage.

(oh and portrait is also a total disaster... 🙈)

Every single post you've made here bashes the cameras in your iPhone. If the camera is really that disappointing to you, I'd sell the phone and get something better suited to your expectations.

My iPhone 13 Pro Max takes the best photos of any iPhone I've yet owned and of the more modern ones, that includes X, XS Max, 11 Pro Max and 12 Pro Max before the 13 Pro Max.