Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

An 8-Megapixel Photo from the iPhone 4S

Leaping Tortois said:
Here's some photo's taken from my GS2, Some in low light-indoors, and one outdoors. There's been no editing or anything done to them. Unfortunately there's a little focus and motion blur because I have very unsteady hands.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68543243@N06/6233278054/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68543243@N06/6232745695/

In low light you'll notice that there's some noise on the images when you zoom in.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68543243@N06/6233271700/

Here's an outdoor shot, to show some colours and things.
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting those pics. I look forward to side-by-side comparisons of various cell phone cameras' pictures on standard reference subjects, taken in standardized conditions. I'll wait to see those sort of comparisons before calling the iP4S's camera "revolutionary" or not.
 
MacinDoc said:
Thanks for posting those pics. I look forward to side-by-side comparisons of various cell phone cameras' pictures on standard reference subjects, taken in standardized conditions. I'll wait to see those sort of comparisons before calling the iP4S's camera "revolutionary" or not.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the comparisons. It just seems odd that people claim how good it is when there's been no proper, public testing.

I put these pictures up to show what a picture taken by an everyday-not-so-great-with-photographer-and-has-shaky-hands person with a GS2 in everyday conditions. Also, I'll say that when viewed on the GS2 those photo's actually look really really good (possibly the SAMOLED+ screen).
 
Federal Reserve Note

Great! Now take a picture of something that actually has value.
 
So you just got an iPhone and the first thing you think of taking a picture of is a dollar bill? Come on, take that piece of slimish paper and buy some apples with it, take pictures of those for heaven' sake.
 
zorinlynx said:
Does the iPhone 4 or 4S even have an iris? I'd expect that would add unnecessary complexity; such a tiny focal length means really deep DOF anyway, and you can control exposure adequately with shutter speed.
Click to expand...

Even a lot of P&S cameras do not have an Iris these days. They have a switchable (LCD plane?) ND filter instead. I do own a Fuji JZ300 that works like this.

And I think this is a good idea, a small aperture on a small sensor camera would blur the entire picture instead of increasing DOF (diffraction limit).

But of course an ND filter only makes sense if you want a longer exposure (to get motion blur) or in very brigt sunlight (when the fastest time and the lowest ISO would still result in over exposure).

Christian
 
Jimmy James said:
The F2.4 aperture enables using a lower ISO, which is likely necessary to offset the denser [noisier] sensor. I'm guessing we'll simply getting larger images of similar quality.
Click to expand...

Yes, but going from f/2.8 to f/2.4 is not the dramatic change many people hope for. It is less than half a stop, it gives 36% more light. You will be able to use ISO 200 instead of ISO 300.
Going from 5 to 8 MP is an increase of about 60%, with 36% more light through the lens you still get less light per pixel if the sensor size is still the same. This may be offset by better technology in the sensor.

But the only real option would be a larger sensor. We do not know yet, but I doubt it given Apples obsession to make things as thin as possible.

Christian
 
Primate said:
Can you show a demo of your point and shoot making a phone call? How about playing angry birds? How about texting? Does it connect to exchange? How about step by step directions? Does siri work well on it? Does it instant upload to Facebook? Can you blog with your point and shoot? .. No? Well then I am not replacing my phone until your point and shoot can do all those things!
Click to expand...

No. My iPhone 4 does all of that. The iPhone is nice because it's always there. But if I'm going to be even remotely serious about making photos, I'm going to bring my point-and-shoot at the very least. If I'm really serious, I'll bring my DSLR.
 
Plymouthbreezer said:
The new optics and sensor on the 4S are the only tempting things beckoning to me to upgrade. This picture, and the sample images on Apple's site, are very awesome.
Click to expand...

You and me both. The voice, eh... but the camera... oh yeah! The one with the squirrels is freaking killer. Not to mention the depth of field for the lady holding the flower. WOW!!
 
LaMerVipere said:
Amazing photo coming from a device less than half an inch thin that's also a million other things and lasts the whole day in your pocket. We really are living in the future now.

What reason is there to carry around a point & shoot now? Other than battery concerns/don't care as much if you lose it/break it/etc. For most people, like Apple said, this will be the best camera they've ever owned that is also an iPhone to boot.

Obviously you can't compare this to anything coming out of a D-SLR, but the difference between this and a regular point & shoot is negligible, especially when you consider most people will never be printing up ANY of their photos, and they'll all be uploaded to facebook in crappy resolution anyway.

Here's to the 4S! (I'm still gonna wait for the 5 though, my iPhone 4 is doing me just fine)
Click to expand...

I disagree with this...not sure what kind of P&S you use but i have not personally used a phone camera that could hold up nearly as well in low light (obviously) and even in good light.

Though that one Nokia phone certainly looked very impressive. Anyway...I do use my phone as a point and shoot but i'm aware of its limitations and just look at it as a spur of the moment camera. Would never use it to take photos at say a wedding or something similar.

----------
tylersdad said:
No. My iPhone 4 does all of that. The iPhone is nice because it's always there. But if I'm going to be even remotely serious about making photos, I'm going to bring my point-and-shoot at the very least. If I'm really serious, I'll bring my DSLR.
Click to expand...

and i agree with this.

I have a Sony Nex-3 for more important shots....P&S when i know i'll want to take pictures but want to just slip something in my pocket...and phone for spur of the moment opportunities.
 
iPad 3 said:
try a bigger screen for one thing, more than half a gig of ram for another
Click to expand...

Apple keeps the 3.5" screen form factor because you can easily reach all areas of the screen while using one hand (with your thumb). Secondly, even with 512MB of RAM, this phone outperforms competitors even underclocked at 800MHz. :rolleyes:
 
DougB541 said:
I disagree with this...not sure what kind of P&S you use but i have not personally used a phone camera that could hold up nearly as well in low light (obviously) and even in good light.

Though that one Nokia phone certainly looked very impressive. Anyway...I do use my phone as a point and shoot but i'm aware of its limitations and just look at it as a spur of the moment camera. Would never use it to take photos at say a wedding or something similar.

----------



and i agree with this.

I have a Sony Nex-3 for more important shots....P&S when i know i'll want to take pictures but want to just slip something in my pocket...and phone for spur of the moment opportunities.
Click to expand...

At least when lighting conditions are good, I find that the iPhone 4 camera is good enough to negate the need for a point and shoot. The 4S seems to be even better, and promises better low light performance, so the need for a P&S is even less. If the phone had optical zoom, then it'd be perfect!

Of course I use the DSLR when I want to do some serious photography... though the iPhone will probably actually be better for macro shots since I don't own a macro lens at the moment.
 
Should be good enough for most uses but it is not comparable with current P&S offerings. Try to take photo in low light and you will certainly see the shortcomings of such a small sensor.
 
Artey said:
:rolleyes: So don't buy it then and stop whining.
Click to expand...

iPad 3 said:
No you don't get it, but don't worry plenty don't aswell.

The point is the phone does not cost $300, by upgrading you are extending your obligations to the provider for 24 months, you will be paying for the cost of the phone throghout that peroid.
Click to expand...

Now people this is a warning DO NOT FEED THE TROLL!!!!!!! if you see his other threads and posts you will be frankly disgusted:mad:
Edit sorry Artey you are not the troll accidentally muiltiqouted
 
christian_k said:
Yes, but going from f/2.8 to f/2.4 is not the dramatic change many people hope for. It is less than half a stop, it gives 36% more light. You will be able to use ISO 200 instead of ISO 300.
Going from 5 to 8 MP is an increase of about 60%, with 36% more light through the lens you still get less light per pixel if the sensor size is still the same. This may be offset by better technology in the sensor.

But the only real option would be a larger sensor. We do not know yet, but I doubt it given Apples obsession to make things as thin as possible.

Christian
Click to expand...

The iPhone 4 sensor is a 1/4" CMOS, while the iPhone 4S sensor is a 1/3.2" CMOS. That may not seem significant, but it is. The iPhone 4S sensor's surface area is 202% the surface area of the iPhone 4 sensor. The pixel count increased by 60%. Given the same general sensor technology (both omnivision BSI) and A/D converter noise, the iPhone 4S SHOULD perform marginally better than the iPhone 4 in terms of SNR as the iPhone 4S sensor should have ~26% larger photosites. However, Omnivision claims that the Omni-BSI2 sensors (iPhone 4S) are 35% improved in terms of low-light sensitivity than Omni-BSI sensors (iPhone 4) when comparing same-size sensors, so there is a slight architectural advantage with the new chip in addition to the larger sensor format. They actually claim that their 1.1micron sensors (8MP, 1/4") match or exceed the performance of their 1.4 micron sensors ([iPhone 4] 5MP, 1/4") due to these architectural changes.

In short, the iPhone 4S will most assuredly outperform the iPhone 4, in terms of IQ at equal sensitivity settings, though the actual gap between the two may not seem large.

Another advantage is that it appears the iPhone 4S' base sensitivity is ISO64, while the iPhone 4's base is ISO80, likely further reducing noise and allowing some compensation for the f/2.4 optics on sunny days.
 
Last edited:
I would like to know if the white balance problem under floresecent light has been improved? With the iPhone 4 pics are incredibly yellow under certain lighting - unlike the camera on the 2g and 3G iPhones. Is this the case with the 4s too?
 
I'd like to see a comparison of the Camera on this vs the camera on other phones. I do believe the Camera on the 4S is better though. And I am impressed.


dearfriendx said:
Apple keeps the 3.5" screen form factor because you can easily reach all areas of the screen while using one hand (with your thumb). Secondly, even with 512MB of RAM, this phone outperforms competitors even underclocked at 800MHz. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

That's not true, I remember reading somewhere on Engadget that someone said the same thing and a lot of people replied that they can easily reach all the areas of the screen with 4 inches or so with their thumb. If they couldn't, most phones would have bad reviews, which most don't.

Also, there haven't been any videos comparing the iPhone 4S to any other phone, so don't jump to any conclusions yet.
 
Leaping Tortois said:
Yeah, I'm looking forward to the comparisons. It just seems odd that people claim how good it is when there's been no proper, public testing.

I put these pictures up to show what a picture taken by an everyday-not-so-great-with-photographer-and-has-shaky-hands person with a GS2 in everyday conditions. Also, I'll say that when viewed on the GS2 those photo's actually look really really good (possibly the SAMOLED+ screen).
Click to expand...

Here you go a comparison:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/241955-2/smartphone_camera_battle_iphone_4s_vs_the_android_elite.html

GSII beat the iPhone 4S
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back