An 8-Megapixel Photo from the iPhone 4S

[sbnickv]

iPhone 4 vs. iPhone 4s

To all the people who say that the iPhone 4s upgrade is terrible. Yes it is not their most glamorous and radical product update. But it is an improvement and based on the fact that Istill have a crappy flip phone I welcome the new one. But because they only released a minor update, that means Apple has something bigger in the works so we should expect the iPhone 5 next summer?

 

[devilstrider]

For comparison, here's a crop of an unretouched £20 note taken with a Galaxy S2. I think the iPhone 4s camera is good but from the samples I've seen, it's no better than any other top end phone's camera and the Nokia N8 still sets the standard for camera phones (it's just a shame the rest of the phone is so rubbish!)

Of course, it's possible the 4s can take better photos than these samples, so it will be interesting to see samples once people get them in their hands

Here's another SGS2 photo.

 

[bacaramac]

Here's another SGS2 photo.

Not bad, as a non-photo professional, I would say this looks better then IP4s, but then again, take a pic with the IP4s in the exact same conditions to really compare.

 

[devilstrider]

Not bad, as a non-photo professional, I would say this looks better then IP4s, but then again, take a pic with the IP4s in the exact same conditions to really compare.

I agree.

 

[AlekNovy]

People who are whining that this photo is useless and want to see an exterior photo are missing the point.

The whole point of the update is that they bumped up its interior and low-light capabilities in general (better aperture). It's easy to get stunning and sharp pictures outside and shooting daylight scenery.

If people don't get why the sharpness of this dollar bill shot on someone's table at home is a big deal - then they don't need an updated camera I guess.

 

[akad]

That statement makes me think you did not order a 4s

Gary

haha you are correct. I, like most people with the iPhone 4, am not eligible for an upgrade until February (save the more expensive early upgrade). However, for people with 3GS's or earlier, it is an incredible improvement and a must buy. (so is the 4, but you get the idea)...

 

[TMay]

Exactly, "closer to low end compacts" people need to stop getting so excited, its a decent phone camera but its no DSLR replacement.

I think that Thom's point was that Apple is recreating the innards of a point and shoot by improving acquisition and such with a custom ASIC, and Thom speculated that there could be more functionality like a P&S in the future.

Moreover, Thom was pointing out that when manufacturer's (such as Sony) get folding optics figured out to fit in the constraints of a smartphone, it will probably doom today's point and shoot to an even lower end product niche.

I and others are excited about it, just as I am excited by the Nikon 1 series and micro 4/3 cameras. More options.

 

[mrsir2009]

I disagree. I've never seen a photo from a $200 (or even $300 for that matter) Android phone with photos that look this good. Outdoor shots, yes, but indoor, no.

Why are you comparing the iPhone to $200-$300 Andriod phones? The iPhone is worth more like $1000... I mean, the unlocked iPhone 4 is going for $900, so imagine what the 4S costs.

 

[slackpacker]

Nice pic of a 50-cent piece

 

[iVituperative]

Looks one'derful!

 

[makingdots]

who gives a poo about SGS2 ?

WE
DONT
CARD

if it's superior or inferior to iPhone 4S.

 

[citysnaps]

As a street photographer (www.citysnaps.net) who pretty much has only been shooting with my iPhone lately, the increased resolution of the 4s is why I'm upgrading...

 

[devilstrider]

who gives a poo about SGS2 ?

WE
DONT
CARD

if it's superior or inferior to iPhone 4S.

No one said anything. We were comparing photo's.

----------

As a street photographer (www.citysnaps.net) who pretty much has only been shooting with my iPhone lately, the increased resolution of the 4s is why I'm upgrading...

Are you using a tripod or anything like that. I like your photos. I would not mind getting into this. Can you pass me some info on how to get started?

 

[doberman211]

I'm hearing a lot about how it costs a lot. here in canada i can get the 4s when it's out for 199$ on a 50$/month contract from any carrier (tellus, rogers, bell, virgin mobile, koodo, you get the idea) so wtf is it with the states only having 2 companies to choose from? i dont get it...

And I can't wait to get mine for the camera, because I DONT OWN A CAMERA and i dont own a phone either. i'm all Mac at home so i might as well get an iphone, and i might as well get one with a good camera. so stop complaining about it and try it yourself when it comes out. no use saying stuff like "not that great an upgrade" or "not very impressive" because you dont know that.

 

[paul800m]

The most amazing thing about this camera is the f/2.4 number.

This will have a much more shallow depth of field and will result in beautiful photos. Portraits will look fantastic and the quality in low light will be great.

Someone with a real eye for beautiful photos decided the specs on this one.

The example photos in iphoto on Jobs' demos were always with a really shallow depth of field.

Google image search 'depth of field' for more info.

 

[VitaminD]

Wow! I'm sold.

Would be lovely if this were to also be incorporated into the iPad3.

 

[Tsunami911]

How much...

HA, yeah, such a pathetic update to the 4 aswell.

Are Google RIMM and MS paying you to troll this website? Seriously...you are a broken record that keep playing the same boring music.

 

[Xenc]

So where is the logic in not being in a contract???

Here you go: Can someone please explain the benefits of buying a phone at full retail

For me it works out cheaper in the long run, plus I get awesome value on my unlimited data price plan.

 

[msalganik]

shallow depth of field... on a phone camera?

ummm... hold your horses... yea it's an F2.4 but its only got to illuminate a tiny image circle for that iPhone sensor so the focal length is still tiny. This is the same thing that people run into with P&S or even micro 4/3... they gets lenses with relatively fast apertures and think they're going to get amazing portraits and background/foreground separation like they see in pro shots... WRONG! The F number is photographic speed and by itself all it dictates is how much light you're gathering. This is why, while I do like shooting fast glass (35mm f1.4 and 100mm F2) I shoot it on a full 35mm chip. I'm excited about having a better phone camera with me when I go out and I like the idea of stabilized HD video since I'll be able to record lectures, meetings, etc but there isn't even a point of comparing to larger formats ... especially with lenses like this :

http://www.adorama.com/ZI3514ZE.html

just saying.... tone down the expectations. As for the test shot of the dollar, it looks like there is some blurring in the corners from the lens itself. Fairly sharp in the center for a phone though. It'll do

The most amazing thing about this camera is the f/2.4 number.

This will have a much more shallow depth of field and will result in beautiful photos. Portraits will look fantastic and the quality in low light will be great.

Someone with a real eye for beautiful photos decided the specs on this one.

The example photos in iphoto on Jobs' demos were always with a really shallow depth of field.

Google image search 'depth of field' for more info.

 

[Juan007]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A5313e Safari/7534.48.3)

The 4S photo is absolutely amazing. It is on par or better than what I have seen out of mid to low end point and shoots.

About the top of the bill being out of focus, this is due to f2.4 aperture and the photographer not really knowing what he was doing. Depth of field at f2.4 is small.

About the SGS2 photo, it's absolute garbage. Lost detail and color noise abound, just zoom close into the "1" and you will see it. Seriously, Samsung should be embarrassed for releasing such low quality garbage.

 

[lukewind]

Why are you comparing the iPhone to $200-$300 Andriod phones? The iPhone is worth more like $1000... I mean, the unlocked iPhone 4 is going for $900, so imagine what the 4S costs.

Actually the 4S goes for $900 without a contract. I know because I was ordering one and that is what my amount came to, luckily I was able to bring someone onto my contract that already had a phone and I then got the upgrade. So after selling my 4 I only paid 100 bucks to upgrade to the the 4S.

 

[zorinlynx]

does anyone know what ISO the iPhone can do?

This image was taken with

• ISO40 (!)
• 1/40th shutterspeed
• F2.4

For this particular image it would have been better to close the aperture and up the ISO for less shallow depth of field!

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.

 

[mikerudolph22]

Did you count all those pixels by hand?

 

[bacaramac]

Here you go: Can someone please explain the benefits of buying a phone at full retail

For me it works out cheaper in the long run, plus I get awesome value on my unlimited data price plan.

Point taken, but I think this applies to the following people:

- World Travelers
- People that live in an area that has many carriers that change plans enough to require a user to not be in a contract so they can change when they want. In the US that doesn't happen often.
- I would say in general people outside the US since US carriers require iPhone data/premium data plans. Plus half of the major carriers are CDMA and you can't get Unlocked CDMA iPhone. Only unlocked GSM iPhone.

 

[devilstrider]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A5313e Safari/7534.48.3)

The 4S photo is absolutely amazing. It is on par or better than what I have seen out of mid to low end point and shoots.

About the top of the bill being out of focus, this is due to f2.4 aperture and the photographer not really knowing what he was doing. Depth of field at f2.4 is small.

About the SGS2 photo, it's absolute garbage. Lost detail and color noise abound, just zoom close into the "1" and you will see it. Seriously, Samsung should be embarrassed for releasing such low quality garbage.

LOL Yeah right. The dollar is newer.