Apple's iOS 10.1 Beta Includes Promised Portrait Mode for iPhone 7 Plus Users

[mavtech]

No...no...no. That's not what f-stop means.

It's the ratio between the focal length of the lens and the cross-sectional area of the opening in the lens. For a given lens opening, if you double the focal length, you double the f-stop number. For a given focal length if you double the diameter of the opening, you quarter the f-stop number (because you quadruple the cross-sectional area).

So a very, very short f1.8 like the iPhone lets in much, much less light than a 50mm f1.8 prime lens would.

Then again, the light a 50mm f1.8 gathers focused down to the size of the iPhone sensor would burn the sensor like ants under a magnifying glass. And to gather the same amount of light would require the same diameter of the lens furthest from the sensor (basic physics). So what you said utterly fails the common sense test.

First I think you meant that the f-stop is the FOCAL LENGTH / APERTURE DIAMETER

2nd. I'm just responding to someone who was comparing the f1.8 iPhone sensor to a nifty fifty.
All I wanted to say was that the only thing in common was the light intensity hitting the sensor. The same number of photons per unit area. That's all I was saying. Just like a micro 4/3 f1.4 has the same light intensity hitting its sensor compared to a Full frame f1.4.

I'm not saying the TOTAL light gathered by a 50mm f1.8 is the same on the iphones f1.8. Yes, that amount of light would probably kill the sensor.

 

[Internet Enzyme]

This sounds kinda awful. Sounds like an eefect I could do in photoshop with a gaussian blur. Software bokeh is always horrendous

 

[GoldenJoe]

I do not understand this feature. Why would you want a blurry background, and how does it require two cameras?

 

[smacrumon]

We need a color flash. I want to take shots of a red flashed scenery. Truly interesting.
[doublepost=1474515407][/doublepost]I do wonder if it possible to save both the effect image and one without. It would truly be disappointing to realise that after taking the image something more interesting in the background was blurred.

 

[thettareddast]

Gaussian blur? What in the world apple use lens blur ffs. How else will they get the bokeh like effect. Maybe someone misreported? Lens blur makes bright objects in the background turn into those beautiful bokeh balls while gaussian is just a regular blur kind of like those used to censor on television. Maybe apple has their own in house filter that'll do something like lens blur? Because gaussian will not make it look "bokeh" at all …

bokeh describes the general aesthetic of the defocused area, including transition, edges, shapes of highlights, etc.

it does not equate only to 'bokeh balls".

the purpose of this mode is to blur the background to enhance subject isolation.

 

[ErikGrim]

This sounds kinda awful. Sounds like an eefect I could do in photoshop with a gaussian blur. Software bokeh is always horrendous

Incorrect:

1. No Bokeh
2. Synthetic bokeh using lens blur (what this function is doing)
3. Guassian blur, photoshop

 

[thettareddast]

I think blurred backgrounds for non-human subjects will come at a later time. Since the blurred background is simply done with software, it is easiest to start with human faces. The phone realizes "Okay, this is a face. On a human. Okay, now I know where the subject is and where the background is." The phone has a reference point.

With a flower, per se, the phone just sees a mess of colors. It doesn't distinguish the objects in the photo. That's my theory, anyway.

the differentiator (not innovator) in this scenario is having 2 lenses. (meaning other dual camera systems pre-dating apple used this principle).

its not just about shape detection - of a face, a flower, or etc. in that case, blurring is a simple binary subject vs background, and is less realistic.

its about depth detection. guessing at the relative distances of background objects to apply different strength of blur. this transition makes the effect appear more realistic.

where the 2 lenses come into play is because the lenses are offset, they create a parallax effect. if you compare 2 images side by side*, objects that are nearer to the camera will have a larger offset, and objects further will have a smaller offset. kinda like sticking a finger in front of your face and blinking left and right.... the closer your finger is, the more itll have shifted compared to some point in the background. by examining how much things have shifted within the frame across the 2 pictures, u can know which is further (=background), and which is closer (=presumably a flower or your girlfriend)....

*((nb: both lens have different field of view, so some normalization or cropping has to be applied))

 

[aquariun]

Oh Really.

Using that blur background effect since very long time in Nokia Lumia 930 with Manual Focus also have lots of other features.

Manual Focus is the right way to do it and also avoid over blurring.

Does not need a dual camera.

 

[thettareddast]

Oh Really.

Using that blur background effect since very long time in Nokia Lumia 930 with Manual Focus also have lots of other features.

Manual Focus is the right way to do it and also avoid over blurring.

Does not need a dual camera.

utterly missing the point.

manual focus allows control of the focus distance. it does not "strengthen" the defocusing... which is limited by aperture, , focal length, distance, sensor, etc. on a smartphone, these are very real limitations.

to help overcome these limitation, computer processing comes into play.

dual lens help the computer processing specifically in depth mapping.

 

[TheGenerous]

Software bokeh is always horrendous

The precise term was coined optical bullsheh

 

[aquariun]

utterly missing the point.

manual focus allows control of the focus distance. it does not "strengthen" the defocusing... which is limited by aperture, , focal length, distance, sensor, etc. on a smartphone, these are very real limitations.

to help overcome these limitation, computer processing comes into play.

dual lens help the computer processing specifically in depth mapping.

You are right. Although I am not photography expert but here are some pictures

http://www.windowsphonearea.com/tune-focus-using-nokia-camera/

 

[HelloMikee]

Why can't people just be chill. As a photographer, I think it's amazing these small sensor cameras on mobile phones are pushing the limits of what can be done by something that fits in a jean pocket.

Apple has done a great job in creating a really nice out of focus area, when done right. Obviously not every instance in which this "mode" will be used will work well, but in the hands of people who understand photography and depth of field and can appreciate bokeh, this is exciting AF.

I sure am gonna have loads of fun with this.

 

[FrancoisC]

We need a color flash. I want to take shots of a red flashed scenery. Truly interesting.
[doublepost=1474515407][/doublepost]I do wonder if it possible to save both the effect image and one without. It would truly be disappointing to realise that after taking the image something more interesting in the background was blurred.

It does save both version

 

[bbbbbbb]

Can't wait to see what the jailbreak/Cydia community does with this. Then...I also can't wait to see Apple steal these ideas and introduce them in the iPhone 10.

 

[Ries]

I must apologize to Samsung and other non-iPhone users that are reading this article and commenting:

- I'm so sorry that last years A9 processor was already faster than your devices.
- I'm so sorry that Apple had to slap you in the face by making the A10 even faster, while consuming less power and adding in a superb image processor to boot.
- I'm so sorry that this image processor coupled with two cameras is giving the iPhone capabilities that all the others can't achieve (even other dual camera phones). Like real-time previews of the portrait mode (while others assemble their shots on the phone and after a delay give you the actual "adjusted" picture).
- I'm so sorry that Apple added DCI-P3 ability to the iPhone and gave it the most accurate display in the world (something Android simply cannot do because they don't support color management) which allows you to see how good those pictures you just took actually look.
- I'm so sorry that in durability and water tests the iPhone 7 has come out on top over phones like the S7 or Note 7.
- I'm so sorry your platform is riddled with malware and you have to wait to get security updates (if you even get them).
- I'm so sorry that your 1 year old $800 phone has to wait months to get Nougat (if you get it at all).

So I can understand where you're coming from. This is just so much to take in and you're having trouble processing all of it, so you have to come and dump on any article about yet another feature the latest iPhone has.

I'm so sorry that specs like max performance suddenly matter, how much RAM does it have, what does storage cost?

I'm so sorry you're wrong, the HTC M9 already has bokeh (tried to) http://www.htc.com/mea-en/support/htc-one-m9/howto/601631.html

I'm so sorry you're wrong, all the photo stuff is not Apple's idea. http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/11/11406098/lg-g5-huawei-p9-two-camera-smartphone-trend-apple

I'm so sorry you're wrong, the most accurate ->LCD<- display. Android top phones left that behind long ago and have some have DCI-P3. http://www.zdnet.com/article/displa...ues-samsungs-dominance-in-display-technology/

I'm so sorry you're wrong, iOS has malware too if you stray from the main app store. Atleast on android you have the choice to stray from the main app store. https://9to5mac.com/2016/03/17/acedeceiver-iphone-malware/.

I have a iPhone7, but claiming it is the best thing outthere is just delusional.

 

[thekeyring]

It's still there...click the three dots next to the song you want to play next and then click on play next.

There arent three dots? I can force press a song and click "Play Next" but in the old Music app there was also an option to add more songs to play after the next song, and after that, and so on...

 

[1041958]

I'm so sorry that specs like max performance suddenly matter, how much RAM does it have, what does storage cost?

I'm so sorry you're wrong, the HTC M9 already has bokeh (tried to) http://www.htc.com/mea-en/support/htc-one-m9/howto/601631.html

I'm so sorry you're wrong, all the photo stuff is not Apple's idea. http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/11/11406098/lg-g5-huawei-p9-two-camera-smartphone-trend-apple

I'm so sorry you're wrong, the most accurate ->LCD<- display. Android top phones left that behind long ago and have some have DCI-P3. http://www.zdnet.com/article/displa...ues-samsungs-dominance-in-display-technology/

I'm so sorry you're wrong, iOS has malware too if you stray from there main app store. Atleast on android you have the choice to stray from the main app store. https://9to5mac.com/2016/03/17/acedeceiver-iphone-malware/.

I have a iPhone7, but claiming it is the best thing outthere is just delusional.

Aaaah, looks like someone is upset. All that typing to say nothing. I never claimed Apple was first with this camera feature. I said they were the best. Which is 100% true. Both the HTC and Huawei devices are inferior to the iPhone 7 (esp the HTC which has horrible processing - did you even see the sample posted above and how crappy it was?).

I never said phones like the S7 didn't have a display with a wide gamut that couldn't display DCI-P3. I said Android doesn't have color management. Having a wide color gamut display without color management is pointless. Try to stay on topic.

I see you avoided my other points. Good idea. You probably don't want to talk about the superior A10 processor or the fact a year old A9 outperforms Samsungs newest devices. By a mile. Which you should know if you have an iPhone 7.

 

[simonmet]

I wonder, can this effect work if you want a background object in focus and the foreground blurred? If so how well?

 

[thettareddast]

I wonder, can this effect work if you want a background object in focus and the foreground blurred? If so how well?

it could be easily programmed that way, but more than likely isnt.

however since DOF has a non-linear relationship to distance, get close enough to the foreground, focus on the background, and the foreground will be strongly blurred without any software whackery needed

 

[Ries]

Aaaah, looks like someone is upset. All that typing to say nothing. I never claimed Apple was first with this camera feature. I said they were the best. Which is 100% true. Both the HTC and Huawei devices are inferior to the iPhone 7 (esp the HTC which has horrible processing - did you even see the sample posted above and how crappy it was?).

I never said phones like the S7 didn't have a display with a wide gamut that couldn't display DCI-P3. I said Android doesn't have color management. Having a wide color gamut display without color management is pointless. Try to stay on topic.

I see you avoided my other points. Good idea. You probably don't want to talk about the superior A10 processor or the fact a year old A9 outperforms Samsungs newest devices. By a mile. Which you should know if you have an iPhone 7.

I typed less than you, half is copied from your post.

iPhone the best? You're so delusional that is almost cute. The Huwai P9 with leica lenses already does this. This is not an Apple Innovation in any way.

Color management is not possible? Everything you said except the A10 is the highest performing CPU has been ********, including color management. http://spyder.datacolor.com/blog/2013/07/26/datacolor-announces-spydergallery-for-android/

Error: Reading comprehension not found. I didn't address A10? I wonder what this line means:
"I'm so sorry that specs like max performance suddenly matter, how much RAM does it have, what does storage cost?"

What points did i avoid?

 

[D-Dave]

I don't like this at all. I want the opposite. I am a photographer, with 50+ years experience, and what I want is everything sharp in the image, full depth of field vs no depth of field. If they can do one they should be able to do the other...

If, in all those years as a photographer, you never learned to use bokeh to create the ffeling of deapth within a picture or to separate the main object from the background...you may have missed out the opportunity to take some amazing pictures...
Then again you may also just have taken pictures for 50+ years ... but that alone does not make you a photographer, does it?

 

[Apple4everr]

Safari seems snappier

It really is snappier for once lol

 

[pentrix2]

this looks like crap and a 20 buck camera can do the same thing. so magical and so much courage

 

[1041958]

I typed less than you, half is copied from your post.

iPhone the best? You're so delusional that is almost cute. The Huwai P9 with leica lenses already does this. This is not an Apple Innovation in any way.

Color management is not possible? Everything you said except the A10 is the highest performing CPU has been ********, including color management. http://spyder.datacolor.com/blog/2013/07/26/datacolor-announces-spydergallery-for-android/

Error: Reading comprehension not found. I didn't address A10? I wonder what this line means:
"I'm so sorry that specs like max performance suddenly matter, how much RAM does it have, what does storage cost?"

What points did i avoid?

Again with your lack of reading comprehension. I already stated several times Apple was not the first. So why do you keep mentioning Apple wasn't first? I said they are the best.

And why are you linking what is essentially a promotional video for the Huawei P9? This phone has been reviewed by many and the camera, while good, doesn't even take pictures as good as the iPhone 6S from last year. Or as good as the S7.

You're confusing color management with calibration. They are not the same thing. For an explanation this is a much better article. Make sure to read the comments as well as they go into much more detail.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10265/understanding-the-97-ipad-pros-true-tone-display

What points did you miss? How about quickly skipping by the A10 and its ISP. Or do you want to just concede that it's the most powerful mobile processor in the world and puts anything by Samsung and Qualcomm to shame? Or posting a link about an incident of malware on iOS instead of talking about the utter and complete failure of Android to provide security updates to users. Or the fact phones like Samsung flagships are no longer supported less than 2 years after you buy them.

I'm so delusional it's almost cute? A sure sign you have no argument and have to resort to insults.

Again, I'm so sorry the iPhone 7 is superior. And I'm so sorry it upsets several people here, including you.

 

[DevNull0]

I do not understand this feature. Why would you want a blurry background, and how does it require two cameras?

The look became a bit of a fad after some TV shows started recording using DSLRs and incorporating the effect. It takes big, expensive lenses to do well, so the public was convinced it was a "professional" look. I do agree with you for the most part, it's a look that has its place in a small percentage of of shots. But this cheap second-rate imitation is going to be abused to death and a flash-in-the-pan fad. When every trashy photo uses it, the "professional" reputation isn't going to last.

You need two cameras because there is parallax information between the two images that can be used to judge depth and isolate the foreground from the background.