iOS 7 Camera HDR Not Saving Two Photos

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iOS 7 Camera HDR Not Saving Two Photos

I have HDR turned on.

I have the setting to "Keep Normal Photo" turned on. Every time I take a photo, there should be two copies saved - one HDR, one normal exposure.

When I take a photo, sometimes it only saves one copy as though HDR were not turned on - no progress indicator or delay. Sometimes it performs the normal HDR process - complete with slight delay and progress indicator - and saves two copies. It appears as though, when HDR is enabled, the camera decides at random whether to use it or not each time I take a photo. I can't seem to replicate this issue. It's completely random. Sometimes turning HDR off and back on again will make the camera start saving the HDR again, but sometimes it doesn't. And even if the HDR starts working again, it's only a matter of time before it eventually decides not to save HDR again.

This is a new issue I have only experienced since installing iOS7 on my iPhone 4s. I thought perhaps Apple made the program smarter, so it only saves the HDR version when it's actually better (avoiding unneccessary duplication where the normal exposure is just as good). However I can't seem to find mention of this being a new or intentional feature anywhere online.

Any thoughts?

iPhone 4S, iOS 7

Posted on Sep 23, 2013 12:36 PM

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Answer 1

sterling r

Community Specialist

Sep 25, 2013 7:38 AM in response to 378rtyawg

Hello 378rtyawg,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

I would recommend starting with turning off the Keep Normal Photo option in Settings > Photos & Camera.

Close all the apps that are running:

Double-click the Home button.

Swipe left or right until you have located the app you wish to close.

Swipe the app up to close it.

From: iOS: Force an app to close

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5137

After doing those steps, restart the phone:

iOS: Turning off and on (restarting) and resetting

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1430

If that does not resolve the issue, I would backup to iTunes, and then reset all the settings on the phone.

iOS: How to back up and restore your content

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766

Reset iPhone settings
Reset iPhone settings. Go to Settings > General > Reset, then choose an option:

From: iPhone User Guide

http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1565/en_US/iphone_user_guide.pdf

Regards,

Sterling

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Answer 2

378rtyawg Author

Level 1

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Sep 27, 2013 12:53 PM in response to sterling r

Hi Sterling,

Thank you for the reply. Seems like apple support has one answer for every problem: Hard reset. If that doesn't work, then wipe it and re-install. If that doesn't work, get a new phone.

Luckily, with a little tinkering and experimentation, I've found an actual solution to the problem: Looks like in iOS7 they added a neat little feature. When you press either the button on the screen or the volume buttons to take a picture, there is a timer now. If you press and hold the button for a second or so, the phone takes pictures in "burst mode" (lots of pictures in sequence right after each other, stop-motion style). In order to do this, the phone has to switch off HDR mode temporarily, then switch it back on as soon as the burst of photos has been taken. Pretty cool feature, having burst mode so easily accessible.

It seems I was holding the button down just a split second too long on some of the photos I was taking. Not quite long enough to take multiple shots, just long enough for HDR to switch off for that exposure. Seems like I accidentally discovered that, with perfect timing, it's possible to take a non-HDR exposure without having to manually switch HDR off and then on again. Just hold the button down for an extra half second to take one frame in "burst mode".

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Answer 3

Sep 27, 2013 1:30 PM in response to 378rtyawg

I dont see a hard reset recommended anywhere in there, and if this hadnt been due to human error, the steps would help!

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Answer 4

Dec 14, 2013 1:33 AM in response to 378rtyawg

Thanks 378rtyawg. I had the exact same problem and didn't know how to fix it.

Thank you for saving me from the reset. It takes so long to recover.

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