Issues with Photos 8.0 in Ventura 13.0.1

[hempomatic]

I've been using iPhoto and now Apple Photos for my editing and storage for a decade or more. It has always worked perfectly until the newest incarnation. Now, when I open Photos, any time I edit, I lose resolution and focus. I had a small photoshoot for a friend, the first one since Ventura and thought I had missed focus on every picture, until I realized it only happened after an edit of any kind. My workflow now has gotten a bit more complicated because now I have to open Affinity as a plug-in, edit, then export to another location. Other than the extra steps, categorizing is now difficult. Everything was always in my photos library, sorted automatically by date.

Another anomaly. I shoot almost exclusively in RAW and when I open Photos, click on a thumbnail and open a picture, the RAW file is displayed. When I click on the photo, it shows as a JPEG but the colors are exaggerated. When I edit the RAW file, in addition to it being blurry and out of focus, I can no longer drag it to my desktop. In the attached example, the only editing of the original picture was a slight crop of the RAW file. I didn't change resolution, make ANY adjustments or change the file type.

If I can't resolve this, what do I do with a 25,000 item photo library ?

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Threads merged - Please don't post the same topic twice.

If you don't get any responses, that's likely because others haven't run into it. You might want to provide any additional things you've learned/tried to see if it spurs any comments.

 

[hempomatic]

Threads merged - Please don't post the same topic twice.

If you don't get any responses, that's likely because others haven't run into it. You might want to provide any additional things you've learned/tried to see if it spurs any comments.

I assumed that after a couple of weeks with no responses and eventually disappearing altogether it would be ok to post where it might actually be seen and responded to. There have only been 71 views and no additional views in a week. When I post on the Operating System page, I get that many views in the first few minutes. Can I just delete THIS post and simply post where it may be seen one day?

I did also have several updates, but you seem to have deleted that one, so you didn't actually MERGE them, you deleted the one that was updated. I'm not sure what to do now.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

No, that's not how forums work. You don't create new threads to get more visibility, if sufficient time has elapsed with no response, you can bump up the thread with new information which will bubble it up to the top again.

I can confirm the issue you are seeing on my MBP running Monterrey. I open Photos and all the pictures are high quality. I can use the slider on the top left to change the size of the thumbnails of the pictures but the quality is retained. When I double-click on any picture, the same slider seems to jump toward the higher side with a percentage of 353% it says. If I move the slider to the right most position, it says 400% and the blurry image gets bigger.

All of this seems to happen with files in JPG format. But others pictures in HEIC format don't present this issue and the size slider does the right thing there.

I also notice that the JPG files are pretty low resolution like 640x480, 828x497 and other random sizes. However a JPG at 2400x3000 looks perfectly fine.

Looks like Photos is trying to blow up images with low resolution to be higher and messing things up.

If you are dealing with very high quality images, then it likely shouldn't be an issue.

If indeed Photos is no longer working out for you, you might be forced to switch over to something else.

 

[MacInWin]

No, that's not how forums work. You don't create new threads to get more visibility, if sufficient time has elapsed with no response, you can bump up the thread with new information which will bubble it up to the top again.

I can confirm the issue you are seeing on my MBP running Monterrey. I open Photos and all the pictures are high quality. I can use the slider on the top left to change the size of the thumbnails of the pictures but the quality is retained. When I double-click on any picture, the same slider seems to jump toward the higher side with a percentage of 353% it says. If I move the slider to the right most position, it says 400% and the blurry image gets bigger.

All of this seems to happen with files in JPG format. But others pictures in HEIC format don't present this issue and the size slider does the right thing there.

I also notice that the JPG files are pretty low resolution like 640x480, 828x497 and other random sizes. However a JPG at 2400x3000 looks perfectly fine.

Looks like Photos is trying to blow up images with low resolution to be higher and messing things up.

If you are dealing with very high quality images, then it likely shouldn't be an issue.

If indeed Photos is no longer working out for you, you might be forced to switch over to something else.

Curious. I am unable to duplicate your experience. I am using Photos 8.0 on Ventura 13.0.1 on the MBP in my profile. I can slide the zoom back and forth on jpg files and don't lose any detail at all. And I can open the images just fine. I wonder what the difference is that it works fine for me but not for you two. I do see that most of the images I have are in the 1000+ x 1500+ size, nothing smaller. I did import a small jpg, 720X540 and no problem zooming in thumbnail view or opening in full view, so that's not it.

 

[hempomatic]

It's happening with high resolution RAW files as well. I wish you didn't delete the other thread where I had all of the information and specific details. The pictures that I posted here are of screen captures. A VERY slight crop reducing the file size from 6000 x 4000 to 5541 × 3827 created that. It is a screen capture to show what is happening to the entire image. The blurry picture is from a RAW file. The program is NOT trying to enlarge a tiny image as you suggested. That is from a full resolution RAW file.

You guys have always been very helpful, but that's a non-answer. I explained in the other message, the one you deleted, that there are 25,000 pictures in the library. I also explained that transferring each file individually the another editing program not only increases my workflow significantly but eliminates 10 years of cataloguing. To do that with every photo in a 25,000 item library is virtually impossible. I'm presently the better part of a full day having edited 50 of 400 images from a recent photo shoot.

I just want to know if anyone is having the same issues and what have they've done to reconcile it.

I'm well aware how forums work. If after a full week with only 70 views and ZERO responses, I think it was a safe assumption that I wasn't going to be getting much in the way of help without moving the post.

 

[MacInWin]

Now, when I open Photos, any time I edit, I lose resolution and focus. I had a small photoshoot for a friend, the first one since Ventura and thought I had missed focus on every picture, until I realized it only happened after an edit of any kind.

That was your original complaint. I cannot duplicate it on my system, which is running the same software and macOS version. I tried it on jpg, heic, images. I don't usually use RAW, but the edit process should be roughly the same. Can you give more detail about what these "edits" might be? I tried cropping, resizing, filters, adjusting brightness, light, color and none of them produced any focus issue at all. Are you using some third-party add-on with Photos?

 

[hempomatic]

Is HEIC a phone format? I don't use a phone, and I only shoot in RAW.

 

[hempomatic]

That was your original complaint. I cannot duplicate it on my system, which is running the same software and macOS version. I tried it on jpg, heic, images. I don't usually use RAW, but the edit process should be roughly the same. Can you give more detail about what these "edits" might be? I tried cropping, resizing, filters, adjusting brightness, light, color and none of them produced any focus issue at all. Are you using some third-party add-on with Photos?

ANY edit, while keeping the existing RAW format. If I change size by cropping, changing to B & W, adjusting any parameter, exposure, contrast, etc.

Yes,I changed the details from the original edit as I gained more information as to what was happening, but that one was deleted. You guys are sticklers for details so I just gave as many as I could.

 

[hempomatic]

I assume that since this is part of the OS there is no way to just download a fresh version of Photos since it's not technically an app.

 

[MacInWin]

Yes, HEIC is an Apple format. High Efficiency Image File Format - Wikipedia

I was here: Get help with the Photos app on your Mac

and it suggested trying a different user to see if it's something in your account. Maybe try creating a new user, import ONE image to it and see if the problem persists. If it does, it's systematic, but if it does not show up in the new account, then it is something in YOUR setup.

Can you try that?

And we aren't really "sticklers for details" as much as we can't see what you are seeing or doing, so you have to describe it to us in detail.

 

[MacInWin]

I assume that since this is part of the OS there is no way to just download a fresh version of Photos since it's not technically an app.

Well, yes and no. It is part of the OS installation, but it is an app, nevertheless. It gets installed when you install the OS. Given your previous history of struggling with reinstalls, that is the absolute last resort, IMHO.

 

[IWT]

Is HEIC a phone format? I don't use a phone, and I only shoot in RAW.

The following link may assist you in understanding the File Formats for photographs and for Video - which to use and why - and also how to retain these (or not) when transferring to the Photos app.

Worth a read just for the information & explanation.

Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices - Apple Support

Upgrade to iOS 11 or later or macOS High Sierra or later to view, edit, or duplicate HEIF or HEVC media captured with an iPhone or iPad.

support.apple.com

Ian

 

[hempomatic]

Thanks Ian, but I don't have any iOS devices. I assumed it was a phone format having never seen it before. I don't even own a smart phone. My 18 year old flip phone works fine .

 

[hempomatic]

Well, yes and no. It is part of the OS installation, but it is an app, nevertheless. It gets installed when you install the OS. Given your previous history of struggling with reinstalls, that is the absolute last resort, IMHO.

So I was correct in that I would need to reinstall the entire OS, and even then, there is no guarantee that would even work.

I wonder now, since the symptoms can't be duplicated here that it may be an incompatibility with Sony RAW picture files. Going forward, I guess I'll just need to use another editing program, but that creates a whole new set of issues.
A.) What do I do with a 25,000 picture library?
B.) How do I divorce myself from Photos after using it for 20 years for basic editing and cataloging since that's the program that opens when I plug the camera into the computer?

 

[IWT]

Thanks Ian, but I don't have any iOS devices. I assumed it was a phone format having never seen it before. I don't even own a smart phone. My 18 year old flip phone works fine .

I kind of knew that, but felt your question deserved a fuller explanation . HEIC and its video counterpart are widely used formats away from iPhones.

No harm done. Really sorry you've such a troubled experience. I've not posted re these difficulties, because adding to the list of people unable to reproduce your problems isn't a big help.

Ian

 

[hempomatic]

I hope eventually I can get some help here. On every photo forum and Facebook group, all I get is Mac bashing. Perhaps there is a bug fix/upgrade to Photos in the future. I can't POSSIBLY be the only one unlucky enough to have this happen.

 

[MacInWin]

I hope eventually I can get some help here. On every photo forum and Facebook group, all I get is Mac bashing. Perhaps there is a bug fix/upgrade to Photos in the future. I can't POSSIBLY be the only one unlucky enough to have this happen.

It would seem you are. Sorry about that. Your general issues with Mac recently has your system in a strange state, which may explain part of what is going on. Do you have a Mac expert anywhere near you that might be able to go hands-on to see what they can find? A Mac user group?

 

[hempomatic]

Apparently I'm not the only one having issues. A thread has been started in the Apple Communities page.

 

[hempomatic]

It would seem you are. Sorry about that. Your general issues with Mac recently has your system in a strange state, which may explain part of what is going on. Do you have a Mac expert anywhere near you that might be able to go hands-on to see what they can find? A Mac user group?

The computer is fine. I drove 200 miles to the nearest Apple Store and the Geniuses had it for several days and said it was perfect. It's not like it gets a lot of use, I don't use it for work or anything. The initial issues last year resolved when it was updated to Monterey. With Ventura, everything EXCEPT Photos is running like a Swiss watch. This IS actually an issue and has been documented on the Apple Community page.

I just wish there was a way to divorce myself from Photos now, but I see no way to do that, since it opens as the default editor when I plug in the camera. Hopefully it will be resolved in the foreseeable future with an update, bug fix, or whatever they do to resolve these things.

The funny thing is, after updating to Ventura, I gave it a week, putting everything (except Photos apparently) through its paces. I had not one, but TWO bootable back-ups with Monterey. Because everything seemed to work so well, BOTH of those back ups are now Ventura, so, no going back. Live and learn. Next time, I'll give it a month.