The iPhone 6 Camera Has a Big Problem: iOS 8

[seancaptain]

The iPhone 6 hangs it hat on a new and improved camera, but our tests reveal serious image-quality problems and iOS 8 looks to be at fault.

The iPhone 6 Camera Has a Big Problem: iOS 8 : Read more

 

[house70]

Great. Now we have bendgate and cameragate, so to speak. Not to mention batterygate (always a given with iphones) and the good old antennagate.

Someone said that Apple is waiting for trends to "settle" in the general community before jumping in, that's why they waited a few years to increase the screen size. However, they should have not used the same beer-can aluminum on them and taken a clue from phablet manufacturers a while ago.

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

Batterygate?..lol I've always made it a full day on every iphone I've ever had. I don't have to cripple my device like you do with Android to make it last all day. Samsung releases a watch...flops badly...Apple releases a better watch which will they will sell millions. You wonder why Samsung profits are down 25% the last quarter...

I have an old-ass Samsung Galaxy S1 running Android 4.4.4 and I charge it once in 2-3 days. Never changed the battery. Say what about crippling?

Also, Samsung's watch can call, unlike Apple's. I don't care that people will mindlessly buy Apple's watch because it "sets a trend" or whatever it is the Verge and other BS news sites want you to believe, Samsung released a more functional piece of hardware. Nothing you say can change that.

 

[falchard]

Anyone else surprised that the article describes the camera on an iPhone good and completely ignores any Windows Phone cameras. Instead they pull up some Samsung as a comparison.

 

[BlankInsanity]

the ios8 issue needs resolving but I don't think the phone is the blame but rather the software, disregarding that, the bend issue with the iphone 6. Well use some common sense, you don't buy a 5.5 inch phone, put it in the back pocket of skinny jeans and then sit on it, it will most likely bend a clear example here: http/www.cultofmac.com/297404/get-bent-shocking-history-bent-smartphones/ All I'm saying is take proper care of your phone and it won't bend but don't hassle the Iphone 6 over being cheap, you just don't know how to take care of stuff.

just to say Samsung S5 user here, so don't call me a 'sheep' or anything

 

[fuzzion]

This is sad because many were hoping that the iphone 6 would be a good upgrade. I guess its the superior phone AKA Note 4 for me

 

[Tinny77]

http/www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/Apple-iPhone-6-and-6-Plus-review-Bigger-and-better.-Apple-set-gold-standard-for-smartphone-image-quality

 

[NightLight]

we know it'll bend, but will it blend?

 

[golftango]

"It may be that Android 4.2 is better at removing the artifact, or that the design of the camera prevents it. The iPhone 5 and 5s cameras are flush with the back of the phone, while the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus cameras protrude slightly. The Galaxy S5 camera, in comparison, is slightly recessed. This might block light from hitting the lens from the side, which is often a cause of chromatic aberration."

Could you have just put the phone in a case which recessed the lens to test this hypothesis?

 

[Alan Pritchard]

Not sure it matters, all pics taken on an iphone will be put through instagram filters anyhow......

 

[johnsaxon]

Hi- I've been a pro photographer for 35 years and would like to comment on the white balance issue. You will usually get better results using a fixed white balance like the "daylight" or "tungsten" setting. Auto balance is an imperfect solution that makes an educated guess based on the content of the photo. If there is no white or grey reference in the scene the camera has no way of knowing how to balance the color so you will get all kinds of strange results. So in the shot with the bell peppers the camera has no idea how to balance the shot and probably just sets itself roughly to daylight as a best guess. There is no magic to color balancing. For the best result you can shoot a reference photo of a neutral grey card and then keep that color balance (assuming that your camera has that capability). If the iPhone has the ability to set the color balance for "daylight" etc. I would do that rather than rely on auto balance.

 

[kdw75]

Wish there was a better alternative, but there isn't. All we have is Android, which I don't like because of Googles anti-privacy stance, and clunky OS, and Windows, which doesn't have many apps.

Guess we will have to stick with Apple for now.

 

[Jeremy Lips]

johnsaxon - I contributed to this article and am a Pro photographer as well. I am fully aware of the workings of white balance as some of my work is with the advertising and editorial industries. The standard camera app on the iPhone does not have the ability to set a white balance. It continually adjust the white balance and does not do a good enough job for the general public that has less knowledge of white balance than either of us. It is possible to get an app the will adjust it or allow you to set if before shooting, but the one I usually recommend ProCam 2 has issues with iOS 8. They added some features and many features went away, white balance being one of them.

 

[johnsaxon]

Hey Jeremy- Yeah, I just don't see how you're ever going to get consistent results with auto white balance. That camera really has no way to know what the balance should be when the scene doesn't have a white or grey reference in it. I've always been impressed with the results coming from iPhones in general. I guess I never considered how the color balance was being set. This may just be a limitation on how good totally automatic photography can ever be. This is why I always shoot RAW with a real camera and then tweak it in Photoshop.

 

[Jeremy Lips]

Hey Jeremy- Yeah, I just don't see how you're ever going to get consistent results with auto white balance. That camera really has no way to know what the balance should be when the scene doesn't have a white or grey reference in it. I've always been impressed with the results coming from iPhones in general. I guess I never considered how the color balance was being set. This may just be a limitation on how good totally automatic photography can ever be. This is why I always shoot RAW with a real camera and then tweak it in Photoshop.

I agree with what you are saying. With iOS 8, Apple has given developers the ability to add WB control to their apps. They can also control shutter speed and ISO. That will help a lot, but this particular camera test was to see if the app in the iOS along with the camera are as good as advertised by Apple. we will be reviewing camera apps as well, but not till the camera issues we see can be resolved by Apple.

 

[hahmed330]

They had to design just two phones and they did such a lousy job of it... Pathetic

 

[nthreem]

I am by no means an expert, but that purple haze does not look like chromatic abberation (CA). It appears to be more of some sort of lens flaring issue since it's in a particular part of the image and you even say that there were bright lights present when you noticed the issue.

You typically see CA along the edges or boundaries of objects especially if they have different focus points from the lens. These artifacts are due to lens design and compromise and can usually be corrected in software quite well.

 

[RK777]

It's interesting to see how this guy wrote: "Since the iPhone 4, Apple has taken a leadership role in developing innovative phone cameras.", while completely ignoring Nokia, which is the king of mobile photography almost since the beginning of mobile photography with N series, and now with Lumia series. Even Samsungs last 2 generations of galaxy and note phones had better cameras then iphone.
An you call yourself a tech jurnalist.

 

[flowingbass]

Looks like they've missed an infinitely self replicating bender... He still on the loose bending iphone 6'es and shit. Dont be surprised if one day all of the world's water turns into alcohol...

 

[Son-of Man]

Wow! So you guys sound like there is a disaster in the making.... All to get clicks, of course, like mine.

I have the 6+. It replaced a S5 and an Xperia. It's a MUCH BETTER CAMERA.

The GS5 has a very noticeable dynamic range issue: light areas in the image are blasted out, dark are underexposed. Very noticeable and much more significant than the WB shift you are jumping up and down about.

I am glad that Apple is "investigating the issue" based on your observations and I am sure it makes you feel incredibly important.

But the fact is, the iPhone 6+ camera is still the best camera I've seen on a phone and your article is..., just for clicks (mostly, OK).