iPhone 13 Pro Disgusting Photos

If you do some Internet searches you will see there have been several articles noting that especially for phone cameras, the largest group of customers is not interested in capturing the precise details of an image so much as what they think the image should look like, or basically they want a one button Instagram-filtered image without having to apply a filter.

This is what computational photography is bringing - photos that depict how most users want a photo to look rather than what has actually been captured.

Apple, Samsung, Google and others are all doing this, and Huawei was accused of using pre-saved images of the moon in its "moon mode" photos (they denied doing so.)

This has worried some historians as photos no longer can be counted on to in any way represent what anything actually once looked like; paint colors were never as vivid, architectural details didn't look like that, and now even photos in groups can be edited with a single swipe to remove things you didn't want to be in your photo:

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The key is, third party apps are able to obtain a true RAW image from the iPhone's sensors and are able to tweak to your specification, the same way anyone with a DSLR or mirrorless that wants the highest quality shoots in RAW mode and has to process those large files offline to create a usable image.

Apple also provides ProRAW files if you choose that have some processing applied but not all the processing seen in photos taken with the Camera app.

Personally I hope someday Apple adds the option to provide completely RAW files that you would need to process offline just like Nikon NEF or Canon CR3 files; for now you will need to use an app like Lightroom Mobile or Manual.

The stock camera is useless on this phone, cropped photos of the same scene at the same time. One is using light room the other is the stock camera app. You can VERY clearly tell the stock app is doing some insane post editing (which you can’t turn off) absolutely ruining the photo. Bottom is iPhone top is 3rd party app.

Nope this is not a solution. This has been confirmed multiple times on Reddit and other forums. Multiple permutations of settings have been tried many times to no avail.

Besides, there should be a simple setting such as “Disable Deep Fusion” that would be so much more obvious. But it is not present.

I talked to another mobile store (Apple were in denial) and they said it’s likely built into the chip and can’t be removed.

Use DNG to get the most flexibility in image processing. One may select DNG format from either the Camera app, or the third party imaging app.

Selecting the file format that Camera uses makes a big difference in photo quality. The JPG files are very compatible and quick to use, but low quality for many reasons. If one selects the DNG format, and then uses third party software, images can look very good for a camera with such a small sensor and short focal length lens.

I agree with the original poster and others that expect better results, or at least more control over processing.

The real nuisance is that DNG files are not visible to the MacOS Image Capture app unless they are first copied to an album. Some people use ImageCapture to transfer photo files in bulk from their Phone to a file folder on an external drive connected to their desktop or laptop instead of using Photos.

Most 3rd party photo post-processing apps that one might use for their DSLR or Pro camera can work with DNG format. Also third- party Camera apps offer more options, but sadly, they don't launch from the lock screen like the built-in camera does.

Quality is no match for a $300+ camera, but the iPhone does do amazing macro shots as well as great video with good dynamic range and very pleasing stereo sound.

Try not to feel bad about the smeary, melted ice cream with sharpened halos and crudely manipulated images that it makes right out of the box. You can get good photos from the iPhone with a little extra effort.

Warning, Rant Follows:

I too wanted to return my iPhone 13 Pro from the first day I got it. The much vaunted telephoto camera is not worthwhile. There are at least a dozen reasons. In the end, I kept the phone to stay in the Apple universe yet still get security patches.

If Apple offered me a full refund on the phone I bought in December today, I would send it back immediately and then just use my old phone another year. It is really amazing, but the sour combination of expense and kludgey operation smacks a bit too often. It just feels vulnerable to damage, heavy and annoying to use.

It would be nice if DNG files would appear in Image Capture for bulk transfer without Photos. Nice too if all buttons could be reprogrammed so that the side button simulates the old home button, and so that the shutter for the camera is a different button things would be much better for me. Camera is difficult to use with gloves in cold weather. Of course, it would be nice if Apple's camera app leveraged LIDAR features too. All in time perhaps.

Video with decent stereo audio is the forte of the iPhone 13 Pro so far, but even that works best with a popular 3rd party "Pro" app on the phone. But the video works better with a remote control app!

One might wish that Apple had a "tastemaker" again to pull all the pieces together, but those times are only a happy memory. Somehow, still image cameras do not seem to be a priority, especially for young users that expect more from technologies.

Considering the expense of an iPhone 13 Pro with enough extra storage to enable ProRes video, one should expect to buy a little more software and go to a bit more effort to get results that stand out.

It's not defective, it's not presenting the type of image you prefer.

You typically have 14 days after purchase to decide whether the iPhone 13 is for you and get a complete refund if it is not.

Tens of millions of users around the world are not only happy with their iPhone 13 photos, they love what the camera system does.

As an example, independent review site DXOMARK currently judges the iPhone 13 Pro's to be the best cameras available on a phone sold in the US.

For the rest, there is ProRAW and third party camera apps, where you can access photos that have little to no processing whatsoever applied if that's your preference.

sondra13 wrote:

You don't know anything about what people want. No one wants unnatural, unflattering pictures.

What is the number one photo sharing app? Instagram. As the head of a marketing company, you know that.

Instagram is popular because of easy to apply filters and processing.

Customers have asked again and again for "Instagram-ready photos without the need to apply filters."

I run a marketing company and have a media site, the photos and videos from the Iphone 13 cannot be used for anything. They over do the clarity so much that they accentuate every flaw on a persons skin tone. Food pictures look terrible and have awkward colors. The video footage is not visually appealing. A photograph should not look like an overly edited photo, that's what a filter is for.

So you're expecting to use your phone?

As a marketing company you should be using a high end DSLR or mirrorless, and for video I would expect you to be using a mirrorless, or more likely a RED KOMODO, Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro or Blackmagic Pocket Cinema as a source.

Although the iPhone 13 Pro is better than any device preceding it, any client would raise an eyebrow at your use of a phone rather than professional gear unless you were going for that run-and-gun look; lenses alone used in advertising and marketing photography and cinematography cost more the price of an iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Further, even if you were using a DSLR or Mirrorless, you'd be shooting in RAW, requiring post-photography processing in a program like Lightroom, and with video you'd need to edit the raw footage and apply color correction.

You can make this exact process work with the iPhone 13 Pro using ProRaw or third-party camera apps like Lightroom or Halide.

To expect equivalent results to come out of the Camera app is hopeful but unlikely.

The easiest things:

1) Shoot in ProRAW if you have a 13 Pro or Pro Max and post-process your photos later.

2) Use a third party camera app like Adobe Lightroom.

Me too, I am angry I kept the phone past the refund timescale thinking that Apple would roll out a software update for this soon. It has been 4 months and nothing. I have tried all variations of settings, lens correction, wide angle, using raw etc... nothing DISABLES this annoying AI!

The camera is fine in good light conditions, but any picture or selfie indoors makes you look like you have a skin disease. Kinda feels like Apple only bothered to field test this deep fusion correction in sunny California weather. Of course people are fooled by the camera quality in reviews because they mostly choose nice well lit locations to snap! I just wanna be able to sit in an moderately lit office and not look like I developed Tuberculosis on my snaps. It is frustrating when you see a lovely pic on the camera screen, but as soon as you open the picture in your gallery it looks like absolute garbage mush. Why on earth are they forcing this extreme watercolour like correction anyway? Let customers edit their own pictures!

I'll give them another few months, then if no update I will sell it back because it's not the money for a 1k phone. I hate carrying two phones around (using an older one - dare I say Android on this forum) to avoid having my pictures ruined.

Customers have a right to be mad, for some people 1k is a lot of people's hard earned money to drop on a phone that claims to have an amazing camera. And yes the camera is amazing BEFORE this correction negates any camera hardware you actually paid for.

Obviously this is an issue with Deep Fusion. Your old iPhone XR did not have Deep Fusion since it was introduced with the iPhone 11. Deep Fusion focuses on sharpening your picture and tries to reduce noise in medium to low light conditions.

When you snap a photo your phone has already snapped 8 photos beforehand, and then it snaps another one when you push the shutter button. It then combines the best parts of each photo and it takes about one second to proses the picture, which is the processing you are talking about.

I have experience myself with Deep Fusion destroying my picture, but it usually does an exceptional job. In other words, in most cases you should be happy it’s there. Unfortunately, there is no way to turn Deep Fusion of so there is not a whole lot you can do in this situation. But I hope this makes you better understand what is happening to your photos:)

So every photo from your $5700 Hasselblad requires zero tweaking in Lightroom or Photoshop after you take it?

After all you "shouldn't have to" after spending that kind of money, right?

That's nonsense; when I take photos with my DSLR I have to spend a minimum of two to three minutes tweaking each and every photo for contrast and other settings before the photo is something I would feel comfortable with others seeing despite using over $7000 in source equipment. A photo shoot may mean several days spent tweaking in Lightroom despite "all I spent" for the camera and lenses.

If you spend $36K on an Arri Alexa Mini and $10K on a Cooke lens to shoot your next commercial, are you going to have to color grade that footage? Why yes, you are, and it's likely going through multiple programs before even being ready to edit.

"Pro" does not mean what comes out of the device is perfect, it means it provides excellent raw material from which talent and skills can be used to provide the end product you are seeking.

Shooting in ProRAW or with the Halide or Lightroom apps provide the raw material from which a professional product can be created, the same as the RAW NEF files from my camera provide the data from which a final photo can be created; I'd never even dream of using the JPEGs the camera can save directly or complaining to Canon or Nikon that they should be perfect given they market their cameras to professionals.

I’ve had the same issue and Apple probably won’t fix this but here’s what you can do.

You can use burst mode, live photos or portrait mode and iPhone won’t process your pictures.

But yeah apple really needs to fix this lol it’s stupid how the picture looks nothing like how it looks in camera app

That’s what ProRAW and third-party apps are for.

I will switch to Halide or FilmicPro/Firstlight. I think it is in the wrong direction to **** off all the pro users and aim for the mediocre. I think that is a significant departure from the "It just works" Steve Jobs philosophy.

All the best. I have a case number now and am engaged with the engineers. I think it's good that the unhappy customers squeak, I do not think Apple is so entitled it will not encourage discussion and opinions on its products. Ideally, we get a 15.3 software fix that allows us to turn off the cheap-looking oil painting filter. It really is BAD IMHO

Thanks for your engagement.

all the best.

• I've shown all other premium smartphones have generated comments of "overprocessing" as well.
• I've shown the complaints are because of the focus on enhanced images due to "computational photography"
• I've shown "industry standard" is now to have to use third party apps to get a less processed image or to work with a processed RAW file in an app.

You should take it back and/or have it looked at. apple.com/retail/geniusbar