iPhone 13 Camera is blurry

Hello ~ More please…as I think those pictures are wonderful. By the time I drag out my Canon EOS R5 and get around to taking the picture…I’ve missed the shot. Candid shots are my favorites so thank you Apple for all the wonderful pictures and memories that my iPhone has given me…shots that I never have gotten any other way.

~Katana-San~

I feel like this macro could be a lot of fun. I played with it for the first time last night (excuse the fact that I didn't wash my face first). I also have a pic of a bird sitting atop of a tree across the parking lot and then zoomed in. It's pretty awesome I think. I hope it stays that way.

I guess it's all personal taste; I like the ones from the 13 much more - sharper with better detail and white balance.

It's hard to compare directly given they were taken years apart and the vaguely yellow appearance of the 11 photos is likely due to a lighting switch from sodium vapor to LED by the park.

Thanks a lot man for your reply. I see the same feedback from you in every single page.

You're right - purple snow it’s ok and more natural comparing to yellow and it’s the led lighter with sodium vapor 🤦‍♂️

I don't see purple snow at all, and the iPhone 11 photos have a distinctly yellow cast. If the light is LED, the iPhone 13 is getting the color and quality right - a cool white with a slight touch of blue, but nothing I'd call a purple cast.

Might I suggest you calibrate your monitor?

Mine is calibrated monthly with a datacolor SpyderX Elite.

There is absolutely no issue here.

The camera did a great job of white balancing and went for white lights rather than an over all yellow cast, and you can adjust the white balance yourself by moving one slider In the photo editor of your choice.

But feel free to leave comments:

Feedback - Camera - Apple

I just received the iPhone 13 for Christmas I am truly so sad. I feel so bad telling my parents but I want to keep my old phone (iPhone X). I don’t understand why Apple changed the frontal camera! I can’t possible believe there is no one in their team that didn’t think that it just looks terrible. I look like a ghosts and I come from a warm country (i am naturally tanned). I truly believe Apple is behind their competition in various aspects but camera was always first place for consumers choice so why the change?

does anyone have any tips to improve? I’ve even tried to use Instagram filters and it’s dreadful

I have one more question, maybe someone can confirm it or recreate it.

Is it normal that the tele lens cannot work as a separate lens but only works together with the wide-angle lens? This is the case with my iPhone 13 Pro, and I have also found the same thing with another iPhone 13 Pro. Regardless of the light conditions, a picture can only be taken together with the wide-angle lens. If I cover the wide-angle lens, the image becomes blurred at 3x magnification. I have not yet managed to take a picture with the telelens working separately. Not even on the brightest day.

The 13 Pro has macro mode for close photos.

No close focus specification was given for the 13.

Ultimately it's up to the purchaser to decide whether the camera suits their needs, one reason why Apple has their return policy.

Posting examples of various photos has absolutely no purpose here; the camera is what it is, and if you prefer photos taken by your iPhone 8, great for you, there's nothing any of us here can do about it.

That said, I certainly can't stop you, I just wonder what you are trying to achieve.

I just got the iPhone 13 pro and was SO excited for the camera! I was not disappointed when I took a selfie and it was SO FREAKING clear and crazy good quality. I was so excited to shoot some outfit photos. So I had my husband take a photo of me and the photo was horrible. Sooooo grainy and low quality! I’m the exact same light, same settings, I even had him take the photo multiple times and it’s HORRIBLE. It’s literally so grainy, noisy and just bad. My iPhone XR took better phones. And now it’s too late to return this one :( Apple please make an update to fix this camera!!!!

Yes, because 2x is always digital zoom on an iPhone 13 and is very much not recommended for best quality.

If you have a 13 or 13 Mini, the only optical zoom levels are .5x and 1x.

If you have a 13 Pro, the only optical zoom levels are .5x, 1x and 3x.

Using any digital zoom level will always reduce image quality, as you're effectively zooming in on an existing digital image, cutting resolution in half.

Stick to .5x or 1x, or only if the lighting is good if you have a Pro or Pro Max, 3x.

I just tried something similar and the minimum focus distance for the "wide" (1x) lens is far enough away that by the time you crop to just the watch face the image is being digitally zoomed to appear the size it does on this site.

At 1:1 I see something more like this:

If I use the macro photo capability with the ultra-wide lens, I can get something like this:

omg thanks god, I thought I was going crazy!

made the switch from an android just for the cameras…

been tweaking with the cameras settings for a few days and trying to understand if I’m missing something.

comparing pics I’ve taken with my old huawei p30 pro phone and my new iPhone 13pro, and the old one’s are way better made me doubt my decision.

Then Apple's marketing for this phone is a giant fail. On their own website it touts the ability of the phone to get "sharper, more detailed photos and videos in any light." That's a direct quote. But what you're saying is it can only do so in good light.

No, I’m saying it does what it can and bright light is best.

You can get completely incredible night photos, but you have to be aware of how the camera works and the limitations of the process.

It’s described well at the link on Night Mode I posted above.