Nick Heer on Computational Photography’s Uncanny Valley

Nick Heer, writing at Pixel Envy regarding Kyle Chayka’s aforelinked argument in the New Yorker that iPhone cameras have gotten too smart:

There are many things about the default camera app’s processing that are not to my tastes, but one attribute tops the list: its aggressive noise reduction. I wish it would back off and permit a little more grain, which gives images texture and compromises details less.

I understand why Apple’s Camera software is so aggressive about noise reduction, but I’m with Heer in preferring a little noise and texture in my low-light photos. It would be great if noise reduction were added to the list of Photo Styles we can adjust in iOS 16 this year. Keep the default aggressive but let us choose to dial it back.

★ Tuesday, 22 March 2022