iPhone 13 Camera is blurry

Sorry to tell that is effect is applied also shooting in RAW when using native camera app.

not the case of digital zoom instead of 3x. Apple gives us the ability to check which lens was used to take the shoot (see image’s info).

test done outside on a sunny day too.

instead of focusing on a single device I suggest you to go to an Apple store with an iPhone 12 Pro (or another previous model) like a did and compare to notice this “oil paint effect”.

(It’s about a filter to reduce noise that is applied after the pic is taken. Not an hardware’s problem.

you can easily see it in my previous comment)

I am sure that People working at Apple would be happy to assist and help you.

Cheers

isazavakos wrote:

So! I found a temporary fix.

If you download Adobe’s editing app, Lightroom, for mobile, you can use the camera in the app.

I have RAW only used in the camera app so this may be affecting it. But it will take two photos, one HDR and one DNG. The DNG version is the best version.

Unfortunately it does not automatically save photos to your camera roll, but, the quality is infinitely better.

I have attached a comparison of two photos. The left was taken in the default camera app, and the right was taken in Lightroom.

Only you with knowledge of the original subject can decide which image is better. As I have pointed out in another thread if you choose to reject the automatic iPhone's processing and use RAW images they will almost certainly need some level of post processing because no sensor is perfect. It is of course highly subjective, and two humans may apply completely different post to get what each considers to be the desired final image.

If using the Camera app currently does unwanted processing you either have to shoot via the Lightroom App or shoot in RAW and process the photos on your Mac.

Those are your only choices at this point.

The closest you can come to what you want is to either shoot your photos using a third party app such as Lightroom, or with the 13 Pro/Pro Max, shoot your photos in RAW mode and process them on another device.

There is no way to modify the default image parameters for the Camera app.

Sonkeli12 (and people affected), if you shoot a Live Photo then when viewing the photo you tap and hold on the picture (10 seconds video demonstration) do you still observe the over-smoothing effect, or instead you only see a blurry picture, as if the lens were "soft" overall (do not mistake this for out of focus!)?

Best done: shooting with camera mounted on tripod and a non-moving subject such a person standing no more than few feet away, carefully tapping the focus on the person figure.

___

I am also seeing the not over-smoothing version (but still blurry/soft) when I take a photo using Continuity on my Mac (right click on desktop - import from iPhone) and well as when I setup a timer (and the result is a burst of 10 photos).

I have covered person's face for privacy in my video sample linked above (cannot attach/upload the short video here; watch it at https://imgur.com/a/jdFAqSP), but you could easily observe persons' exaggeration of hair white color, then the non-HDR but blurry version. Note if you're wondering why is a SE in the video: the Live can be played back using any older iPhone.

Editing the import/burst/different key photo versions using a third party app that can do HDR effect and sharpness/details = I get almost identical results as the Live version, therefore my conclusion the cause is SmartHDR + noise reduction.

I wish Apple would give us some control over the SmartHDR toggle like they allow it on previous generations of iPhones, as well as the noise reduction (I think that too intense noise reduction causes the blurry versions, while adding SmartHDR on top of that causes the smeared effect).

Some of us prefer the more grainy non-HDR classic photography, or at least be able to flip noise reduction and HDR individually. Not everyone can shoot ProRaw workaround which is available only on pro, and anyway shooting ProRaw is not the proper solution IMHO for a point-and-shoot pocket camera.

Using third party apps (Lightroom Mobile) does eliminate the cartoonface/oilpainting for me, so clearly one of the issues is caused by Camera app.

I use a mini so no ProRaw for me, but both the DNG as well as the JPG done by LR mobile are free from the exagerated SmartHDR effect done when using native Camera app. (By the way LR DNG result is not a true raw, the compression type in the DNG file is type 7 which corresponds to JPEG)

BUT even without the oilpainting on third party camera app I still get less details than my iPhone 8 in more than half of cases especially on home indoor lighting. I hope to be able to reproduce the experiment using a tripod and upload the samples soon.

I wish I had an 11 or know a friend with 11 to objectively compare same scene at home.

I went to a showroom but it has strong light and it was difficult to tell which one did better sharpness. I airdropped them to my phone and to be honest the 13 is not really standing above the 11 and 12 and the 2020 SE that were displayed in store. Not to mention I could focus a bit closer with the 12 mini and the SE2 and really much closer with 11.

I mean iPhone native cam app for single shots iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 pro in low light blurry, overharped and oversaturated other apps from AppStore - ok you can try any lightroom, moment, bestcam etc and compare. video in native app ok

Then you've found a solution.

However, I can confirm that less processing is performed with ProRAW, and a third party app like Lightroom Mobile, Halide or Snapseed has direct access to the camera sensor.

You have to take special steps to either take a photo in ProRAW or to bypass processing in third-party apps, so you may need to double-check your settings; for example:

Capture photos with Lightroom for mobile (iOS)

Note that you will need to process the ProRAW or third-party DNG files using software, either on the iPhone or on a computer, to see their full image quality.

I've experienced all of the problems mentioned in this thread with my new 13 Pro Max. Selfie lens over smoothing, making my skin look like wax. Blurred and over smoothed watercolor-like images taken on the 3x telephoto that remind me of a 2009 Nokia. The main lens being totally unsuccessful in focusing on certain items, particularly in low light shots or when shooting through a window. Macro/Bokeh auto switching in a completely erratic fashion. And to add insult to injury, even the allegedly light-sensitive main lens has been steamrolling overcast skies, especially if shot through a window. Last, when shooting in a low light interior with the main lens produces dark artefacts on the corners that didn't use to be there with 11 Pro.

No amount of settings toggling helped improve those results. Although the broad daylight pictures turn out fantastically sharp and nicely calibrated, any other condition (low light and indoors) has produced potato results. I returned the phone and switched back to the reliable combo of my old 11 Pro + Halide. I've had several people second guessing my experience and suggesting I have a faulty unit, but there's a slew of user reports and feedback about this issue, Sebastiaan de With (founder of Halide) also covers this problem on his review of 13 Pro. Below just a sample of the aggressive oversmoothing by the 3x lens - the detail of the cars is gone, and the text on the record is not even legible!

I'd be disappointed enough if the camera performance had stayed the same over 3 generations, but to actually make it worse on the latest and greatest model? That makes me livid with whoever is in charge of Apple's QA!

Note that no other smart phone brand allows you to control processing either.

The way to avoid it is to use a third party app such as Halide, Lightroom Mobile or Snapseed to shoot all your photos in RAW mode and do processing of your RAW image in the app.

I have no intention of "gaslighting" you. I, nor any other user, is affiliated with Apple in any way. The camera issue, however, is related to the automatic HDR effect iPhone 13 applies to certain photos. It has been around for a while, but just recently has it not been able to be disabled. You can read about that here - Adjust HDR camera settings on iPhone - Apple Support

I understand you dislike it. That's fine. Submit feedback here - Product Feedback - Apple

Additionally, you can take it for a checkup if you want - Find Locations - Apple

Thank you veeeeeeeery much. I took my lens protector off and have no more issues!!!!

Had same problem that front camera is blurry when using snapchat or just normal camera. Found article about disabling ”Lens Correction” in camera settings and it looks good.

Hey bleblans, I have the same phone and had the same problem. Go to settings, select camera, scroll all the way down and disable ”Lens correction”. It fixed my blurry camera.

i have had this issue but there is a way to make it a lot better. go into settings > camera > lens correction and toggle it off. this pretty much fixed my problem.