Re:Face retouching settings should be off by default
by ricardobeat on Sunday October 04, 2020 @06:24PM
(#24682748)
I think he is referring to machine-learning features adjusting local contrast and color, not simple white balance. In recent phones it happens even when HDR is off. I've had a few photos ruined by it too, with a strong halo around people's faces or a red-looking sun.
You can install an alternative photo app like Halide to take control of every variable, even aperture size, but it's a bit of a hassle when any 'dumb' camera would do the job.
I know I'll come across as pedantic, but you'll have trouble doing that even with DSLRs. Whether you're doing film or digital imagery, you're not capturing reality. With camera sensors, the raw data you capture (RGB brightness for each pixel, for example), needs to have some color/brightness/contrast curve applies to make it look realistic (i.e. linear will not look like reality at all). Each manufacturer picks their own curve, and then also has options (vivid, etc) - and some of them do pick less realistic options for defaults as customers think they make for better photos.
Not to mention tricks to fix overexposed pixels, etc. There's quite a bit of manipulation done before you get the JPG.
Cell phone cameras are akin to cheaper digital cameras that used to be (and perhaps still are) on the market - where you don't have much control on this. This is not new to smartphones - it's just that smartphones have more processing power to do more.
Long time photographers know this. It's not "capture reality", but "how much deviation from reality am I willing to accept", with 0 not being an option.