Google Pixel Camera Has Overtaken the iPhone Camera and This is Why

Tech

Google Pixel Camera Has Overtaken the iPhone Camera and This is Why

Published

1 year ago

January 8, 2023

A very popular Youtuber called Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD, recently shared his findings in the 2022 Smartphone Awards. In the awards, the iPhone 14 Pro won in the Best Camera System category.

However, the YouTuber also pointed out some issues with the quality of photos taken with the device. In a follow-up video, MKBHD explained that the cause of the subpar photos is post-processing.

The iPhone Trailed the Google Pixel 7 in Blind Camera Test

Prior to the 2022 awards, MKBHD conducted a blind camera test. In the camera test, the Google Pixel 6a surprisingly took first place. Closely coming in second was the Google Pixel 7 Pro. This has led to speculation about the performance of the iPhone’s camera.

In order to produce high-quality images, it is essential to have a sensor that can capture a large amount of light and detail. Unfortunately, smartphone camera sensors are much smaller than those found in DSLR cameras.

So, smartphone manufacturers have been implementing various post-processing (software processing) techniques in an order to enhance the quality of these images.

In most cases, smartphones use both hardware and software to manipulate images after they have been captured. This allows them to improve their appearance and compensate for the smaller size of the camera sensor.

This can include techniques such as reducing noise, adjusting white balance, and increasing brightness. The end result of this is more details in darker scenes.

Google Pixel Image Processing is Better Than the iPhone

However, in recent years, Apple and other companies have gone even further in their software processing. On the iPhone, the Smart HDR feature combines multiple images taken under different conditions into one. This allows the phone to select the best elements from each image to create a superior photo.

Unfortunately, excessive software processing can lead to unnatural-looking images. This has been a problem with the iPhone’s camera in recent years. Meanwhile, Google Pixel smartphones handle this in a better way.

As noted by MKBHD, most phones perform well in normal lighting conditions such as a clear sky or when the subject has a plain background.

However, with a scene that includes a lot of colors and textures. The post-processing must be very sophisticated. It must be intelligent enough to determine the best settings for all of these elements.

As the Youtuber has demonstrated in his videos, Apple is not handling software processing correctly as compared to companies like Google.

The iPhone 14 Pro consistently attempts to lighten shadows. This happens mostly on people’s faces. This ends up producing artificial-looking appearance.

The iPhone Also Exaggerates Sharpness of Photos

The iPhone also tends to exaggerate the sharpness of photos compared to other smartphones. MKBHD even pointed out that his skin tone appears differently when you take photos with the iPhone camera.

There is no denying that the iPhone has high-quality camera hardware. But the smart features such as Smart HDR that Apple has introduced in recent years is affecting the quality of the resulting photos.

Each year, the company adds more steps to the camera’s post-processing process. But instead of improving the images, these changes rather make pbotos look more unnatural.

Gizchina News of the week

<br />

Sebastiaan De-With, developer of the popular camera app Halide. Has also identified various issues with Smart HDR in his review of the iPhone 14 Pro camera.

This effect is part of Apple’s Smart HDR, which ‘segments’ human subjects in photos and boosts their brightness significantly when backlit post-capture.

We’ve illustrated the subject detection and a likely ‘how it looked’ to the camera:

(This does not occur when capturing RAW) https://t.co/5APCtqKu7t pic.twitter.com/nKjaYQgVnc

— Halide (@halidecamera) September 20, 2022

For instance, when there is a very bright background, the iPhone also tries to increase the brightness of the people in the photo. This causes them to appear overly white. De-With stated, “I have honestly never seen it make for a better photo. The result is simply annoying.”

In another instance, the iPhone camera applies numerous “bizarre artifacts”. To selfies taken in very low light conditions in an attempt to salvage the image. But this results in an “absurd watercolor-like mess” instead of a typical dark photo with a reasonable level of noise.

I have also noticed that Smart HDR is damaging the quality of some of my photos. It does this by making them too sharp and oversaturating the colors. Many iPhone users on Reddit have also share similar issues.

The Table Has Turned Against the iPhone

For years, iPhone users have mocked other smartphones for producing artificial-looking photos. Now, however, the tables have turned and iPhone photos have become excessively unnatural.

While I hope that Apple improves Smart HDR. I would prefer the option to reduce or disable image post-processing in the iPhone camera entirely.

Google Pixel smartphones on the other hand handles software processing better in most cases than the iPhone camera. Note that Google Pixel phones also do a lot of software processing.

But Google have been able to strike a good balance between the hardware and the software. This helps the Google Pixel smartphones take better images than the iPhone.

Its quite unfortunate that Apple’s iPhone performance is rather declining while other brands are improving. Hopefully, Apple can be able to fix this in the upcoming iPhone 15 series.

You Can Also Try Third-party Apps If You Want to Take RAW Photos

It is possible to take a RAW photo using apps like Halide (although it should be noted that ProRAW photos are still subject to some post-processing). But this results in a much larger image file in order to achieve a more natural appearance.

[embedded content]

As an iPhone user, have you also noticed this? Has over-processing of photos also ruined your photos? Well, not everyone can be able to realize that. You may have to compare your photos with that of a very good phone such as the Pixel 7 Pro. Or you can start looking at your photos closely.

At a glance, it looks very nice due to the software processing but if you look carefully or zoom-in a bit, you’d realize that it looks a bit artificial. You can also share your experience in the comment section.

Source / Via: 9to5google.com

Source link

Tech

The Ultimate Recap of Sea Otter 2024 – Pinkbike.com

Published

8 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Harry Miller

Tech

Vittoria Releases New Peyote & Mezcal XC Race Tires
Maxxis Team Spec Aspen ST Tire
New DT Swiss 240 DEG Hubs
Kali Protectives’ New Full Face Helmets
Industry Nine’s SOLiX M Hubs & Wheelsets
Michelin’s Aggressive New Wild Enduro Tires
Praxis’ New Flat Pedals, Stem, & Carbon Bottle Cage
Transmission Cage Upgrades from Kogel, Ceramicspeed, and Cascade Components
Randoms Round 1 – Sea Otter 2024
Madrone Cycles’ SRAM Eagle Repair Kits & Prototype Derailleur
Vorsprung’s New Telum Coil Shock
EXT’s Vaia Inverted DH Fork & Updated Coil Shocks
Randoms Round 2: New Tools, Goggles, Grips, Racks, & More – Sea Otter 2024
What’s New in Women’s MTB Apparel at Sea Otter 2024
Even More Randoms – Sea Otter 2024
Randoms Round 3: Dario’s Treasures
What’s New for the Kids at Sea Otter 2024
Deity Releases New Stems, Grips, & Pedals
Dario’s Final Sea Otter Randoms
Brian’s Randoms from Sea Otter 2024

Videos

With roots dating back to 1991, the Sea Otter Classic is one of the biggest biking events and tradeshows each year and brings together all sides of the biking industry from athletes to brands, spectators and consumers. Taking place in April in the sunny hills of Monterey, California, that means this event really feels like the official start to the biking season in North America. Christina Chappetta covers why it’s much different to an indoor European biking tradeshow, a World Cup racing weekend or even Crankworx mountain bike festival, in that it encompasses nearly ALL of the biking disciplines, including road cycling, enduro, downhill, dual slalom, XC, trials riding and more.

In the past fortnight, we have seen large amount of new tech releases. However, Sea Otter 2024 represents some of the first opportunities for many riders to see these things in the flesh, as well as take a deeper dive into what the product aims to do.
Welcome to a video summary from Day 2 of the Sea Otter Classic.
There are so many giveaways, interesting new products and colourful characters at Sea Otter Classic that it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. Ben Cathro takes a lap of the venue to find his favourites.

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

Tech

Apple iPad Air 2024: Insider Makes Hasty U-Turn On New Feature – Forbes

Published

9 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Harry Miller

Well, that was quick. On May 18, a respected industry insider predicted a new display technology for the iPad Air that’s expected in the coming days—Apple just announced its latest special event.

The new 12.9-inch iPad Air, the report claimed, would have the same miniLED backlighting currently found on the larger iPad Pro, using the leftover inventory from the current Pro as that model switches to OLED. That was exciting news.

But now, Ross Young, the analyst who made the claim, has changed his mind. The new prediction, shared with paid subscribers only, is that the miniLED technology won’t be coming to the iPad Air, in either size.

While it made sense that the inventory could be maximized in this way, it now “makes sense” that it won’t.

Young says that while he’d heard from supply chain sources that it would, he’d now had contact from “even more supply chain sources” that it won’t.

And the reason this change of heart now makes sense is that this miniLED technology is expensive, so it would be surprising if it made it to the iPad Air, which is more affordable than the Pro.

That’s not quite all the analyst shared. He also said that there are now reports of a new iPad coming later in the year. This is a 12.9-inch iPad, with miniLED backlighting and it could arrive between October and December this year.

function loadConnatixScript(document)
if (!window.cnxel)
window.cnxel = ;
window.cnxel.cmd = [];
var iframe = document.createElement(‘iframe’);
iframe.style.display = ‘none’;
iframe.onload = function()
var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document;
var script = iframeDoc.createElement(‘script’);
script.src = ‘//cd.elements.video/player.js’ + ‘?cid=’ + ’62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a’;
script.setAttribute(‘defer’, ‘1’);
script.setAttribute(‘type’, ‘text/javascript’);
iframeDoc.body.appendChild(script);
;
document.head.appendChild(iframe);

loadConnatixScript(document);

(function()
function createUniqueId()
return ‘xxxxxxxx-xxxx-4xxx-yxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx’.replace(/[xy]/g, function(c)
var r = Math.random() * 16 );

const randId = createUniqueId();
document.getElementsByClassName(‘fbs-cnx’)[0].setAttribute(‘id’, randId);
document.getElementById(randId).removeAttribute(‘class’);
(new Image()).src = ‘https://capi.elements.video/tr/si?token=’ + ’44f947fb-a5ce-41f1-a4fc-78dcf31c262a’ + ‘&cid=’ + ’62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a’;
cnxel.cmd.push(function ()
cnxel(
playerId: ’44f947fb-a5ce-41f1-a4fc-78dcf31c262a’,
playlistId: ‘aff7f449-8e5d-4c43-8dca-16dfb7dc05b9’,
).render(randId);
);
)();

This is intriguing. What could it be? Assuming that the iPad Pro and iPad Air are released in May, it’s extremely unlikely either will be updated later in the year. And if the iPad Air isn’t pricey enough for miniLED to be included, what tablet could Apple be introducing that is the same size as the bigger Pro, with a pricey screen tech, which would sit between the Air and the Pro, it seems?

Young is highly reliable, but this seems slightly preposterous to me. The only other iPad in the range due a refresh is the regular iPad (at 12.9-inches, the iPad mini is clearly out of the picture) and that doesn’t seem likely either.

It seems to me that any regular iPad will almost certainly have the same screen size as now, 10.9 inches. The regular iPad only grew to this size screen in the current generation, and Apple almost never changes designs after one iteration.

Perhaps things will become clearer as the year goes on.

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

Tech

Woman who left beaten dad on floor for 2 days was 'overwhelmed' with his care, judge told – CBC.ca

Published

10 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Harry Miller

A Calgary woman who abused her sick, 77-year-old father was “overwhelmed” at the task of caring for him, a judge heard Wednesday at a sentencing hearing.

In January, Tara Picard, 52, pleaded guilty to charges of assault and failing to provide the necessaries of life after her father (whom CBC News is not naming) was found injured on a basement floor, where he’d been lying for two days.

On Wednesday, prosecutor Donna Spaner and defence lawyer Shaun Leochko asked the judge to allow Picard to serve her sentence in the community under conditions as part of a conditional sentence order.

Justice Indra Maharaj agreed to a two-year conditional sentence for Picard followed by a year of probation.

“There is no doubt she became overwhelmed,” said Spaner in her submissions. “There is no question Ms. Picard has remorse.”

Leochko told the judge that caring for her father “was really more than [Picard] could handle.”

Maharaj heard that Picard is Indigenous and was the victim of abuse growing up. She lives in a sober dorm-style facility and is working with a mental health and addictions navigator, according to Leochko.