Next-Generation iPhone Again Rumored to Have 12-Megapixel Camera

[brdeveloper]

Welcome to not knowing anything about optics and thinking MP are sooooo cool and trump every other considerations. Have anything else to add?

I'm aware of that. I'm a long time photographer and photo geek. I like using phones for street photography, and some models already offer results comparable to premium compact cameras. If you don't know (and you probably don't), Nokia N8 is slow and obsolete as hell these days, but it still offers one of the best phone cameras in the market, even though it was released 5 years ago.

Without a image stabilizer and offering just a "dark" f/2.8 lens, it still gives better low light performance than most top-notch phones, thanks to a big 1/1.8" sensor, and ISO can be easily pushed to 800-1000 without big compromise on IQ (for a smartphone). Video-wise, an iPhone outperforms a N8 because of higher processing power. But in still pictures, a N8 still provides better results.

This said, I hope that the next iPhone release will at least be on par with N8 results in still pictures. Ok, even Nokia, now under Microsoft control, couldn't produce a better phone camera than the Nokia 808 Pureview (2012) yet.

It's not just the 12MP, but with better image processing algorithms, better lens and a more efficient sensor in terms of SNR, perhaps it will give better results than a N8.

 

[brdeveloper]

There's more to cameras than megapixels

Sensor size, lens resolution, sensor technology, post-processing algorithms, sensor efficiency (signal to noise ratio), lens aperture, and so on. Megapixels became a swear word in the compact camera era led by Sony, at the first half of 2000s. It didn't matter if you had a 3, 5, or 7MP camera. The results were nearly the same, with a lot of chroma noise and blurriness. Fujifilm changed the game with a big-sensor, 6MP compact camera, the Finepix f10 (2005). It was a very influent release which produced several changes in the compact camera market.

Now, sensor technology and compact lenses improved a lot, and more megapixels sometimes can result on better images. This is the case of the Nokia 808 Pureview, a 2012 release which produces the best still pictures in the phone market. Lumia 1020 decreased the sensor size and compromised image quality, but it's one of the best phone cameras (for still pictures) available, even having been launched almost 2 years ago.

 

[WaxedJacket]

Larger photo sizes, larger app sizes, still the same storage as a 5 year old phone.

C'mon apple, time to up the storage of your phone.

 

[MacFather]

Deleted.

 

[ValSalva]

I don't care how many megapixels the sensor has or how good the camera is. I don't care about battery life. I just want the next iPhone to be thinner.

This is the consensus among everyone here, right?

 

[Jimmy James]

Guess I'll be doing this now,but with 12mp

Image

If you're shooting video in 1080 that's actually 2MP.

 

[Locoboof]

If you're shooting video in 1080 that's actually 2MP.

It wasn't literal. It was a little joke

 

[co.ag.2005]

Guess I'll be doing this now,but with 12mp

Image

was anyone else anticipating this guy falling off or running into something by the end of the gif? no? just me? I guess I watch too much "Ridiculousness"...

 

[FieldingMellish]

Here is a killer idea for Apple. Invent 2 or 3 extra physical switches. Make them configurable per app.

For the phone app, allow them to make pre-shot settings in order to do better under crap lighting conditions or for scenes with excessive apparent dynamic range. Or any other idea that camera app designers can come up with.

 

[Lictor]

Well, at least, now we know Apple is run by the same stupid people from marketing as the other brands...
12mp on a smartphone is just insane. You don't gain any quality moving from 8mp to 12mp.
The effective resolution is limited by the lens quality, which you can improve, and by the law of optics (diffraction), which you cannot. Same with noise, which will increase with smaller pixels.
Moreover, noone needs 12mp. You can already print 60cmx40cm with 8mp. And only a few people print anymore and even less print that large.

 

[twilo]

They should focus on something more substantial like fixing the flash performance... its awful compared to some other smartphones, especially the ones with a xenon flash

I would actually rather they make the camera flush with the body again, rather than increasing pixels.

You can't have it both ways Good IQ requires more room for optics/sensor...

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Nokia 808 Pureview, a 2012 release which produces the best still pictures in the phone market.

True that. The IQ the 808 produces at times is astonishing... it just proves that good image quality is still very closely related to the hardware.

Apple did get one of the main engineers that worked on the 808.. so I am really hoping to see some results soon.

Granted, Apple's software processing is top notch already.. the fact that they can produce such great results from that tiny sensor is admirable.

 

[hleewell]

Well, at least, now we know Apple is run by the same stupid people from marketing as the other brands...
12mp on a smartphone is just insane. You don't gain any quality moving from 8mp to 12mp.
The effective resolution is limited by the lens quality, which you can improve, and by the law of optics (diffraction), which you cannot. Same with noise, which will increase with smaller pixels.
Moreover, noone needs 12mp. You can already print 60cmx40cm with 8mp. And only a few people print anymore and even less print that large.

If anything increasing the pixel count allows for slightly better digital zooming . Nokia did have that PureView 808 with 41MP and their algorithm produces good to very good images with a dslr-like quality. But as you know the market doesn't care for quality and now Nokia has become Microsoft

 

[kemal]

I want to read a rumor about the power button being moved on the 6 (non-+)

 

[Nickerbocker]

In other words, your iPhone will hold half the number of photos it was able to hold before! Terrific!

Perfect solution to sell more iCloud storage space and make folks who went with the 16GB iPhone feel terrible about it.

 

[Lictor]

Nokia did have that PureView 808 with 41MP and their algorithm produces good to very good images with a dslr-like quality.

No, not really. The IQ is indeed excellent for a smartphone. It's also very good compared to a point&shoot camera, but it's really nowhere near the quality of a DSLR. Not to mention that a DSLR is not only about resolution, it's also about dynamic range, color rendition, latency, noise level in high ISO...

 

[allanfries]

So does this mean the camera will stick out farther yet? You know that's gonna be a looker!

 

[LordVic]

So does this mean the camera will stick out farther yet? You know that's gonna be a looker!

I'm hoping Apple will take a page out of Huawei's book and figure out how to make it flush.

Huawei have managed to make the P8 thinner than the iPhone, AND features a flat back with no camera bulge. Running 12mpx, and early reports show the camera is performing quite well.

http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/181100-image/Premium-ultrathin-metal-chassis.jpg

 

[Dayv]

Ugh. Stop adding megapixels and focus on improving the lens and sensor, where it really matters!

 

[cocky jeremy]

Where's the people who said 4k video was pointless when other phone manufacturers bumped their megapixels?

It is still pointless. For me, 12 MP means nothing. I'd rather get some rumors on sensor size or an f/1.2 lens.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Ugh. Stop adding megapixels and focus on improving the lens and sensor, where it really matters!

Thank you!

I want better pixels... not more pixels.

Most iPhone pictures are viewed on the iPhone itself with its 2 megapixel screen. Or worse... shrunk down to a web-sized image or even smaller on Instagram.

Now before everyone jumps all over me... I know what you can do with higher-megapixel images. Cropping and such.

I just don't think that's what the majority of Apple's customers do.

If I had the choice... I'd prefer great 8MP images versus slightly worse 12MP images.

But maybe Apple will surprise us! Sensors keep getting better... and Apple's software processing is already great and should be getting better too.

We've got 4 or 5 months until we know.

 

[LordVic]

It is still pointless. For me, 12 MP means nothing. I'd rather get some rumors on sensor size or an f/1.2 lens.

it is not pointless.

if you have loved ones, family, friends, what not, and you're someone who regularly likes to preserve memories via video and camcorders, preserving them in the best, and highest available quality should be your #1 goal. Even if you cannot display them yet, or cheaply yet, The promise of having the original footage in future ready format that is of high quality makes them that much better.

in 10 years from now, when you're watching your babies first steps on your 4k standard displays, are you going to be happy you recorded 10 years ago in 4k? or would you still rather only record in 1080?

Dont get me wrong, i'm not advocating dropping Image quality just to hit the magic 4k number. But you shuold never, EVER count of recording of media in higher qualities than the playback media, just because you dont have it available to you in playback.

Think of all those old movies and TV. The only reason we have them in 1080p HD today is because they were originally recorded in such a way that far exceeded the playback quality of the time. TV shows were only displayed in PAL/NTSC, wich meant 320 scan lines. if they only recorded in 320, then we wouldn't have any 1080p rips of tday.

 

[NomadicTy]

OIS on the non Plus version would be good. One could probably get an extra stop or two just on that alone.

 

[TechGod]

Ahh... better looking Cat videos and 10MP more than you need to make a good photo.

It's ok, you can go back to the 3GS if you want.

 

[SinkOrSwim]

Some people here say they'd rather have this over that. I say I want them all. Better everything.

Apple, you hold off way too much.

 

[dampfnudel]

Apple needs to allow you to change the picture resolution if they are going with a 12 megapixel sensor. Last thing I need is to send and store 12 megapixel camera pictures. My iDevices already have a ridiculous amt of "other" taking up massive amts of space.

Another reason why the 16GB iPhone should go.