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Can't see the improvement in 4S camera

zombierunner

zombierunner

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 18, 2011
1,856
2,769
UK
I've been taking some pictures on my 4S .. and to be honest I can't really see any major improvement in photo quality over the iPhone 4. Do you think they put a 5mpx camera in my 4S by mistake or something ?

Is there a way to check what camera you have or improve the quality of the camera .. because my photos don't look anything like the ones shown by apple.
 
Its likely all about lighting.

Obviously the photos taken by Apple are done by professionals who understand and can control lightning with other equipment if need be. If you are taking happy snaps in your living room and trying to compare then what you are doing is comparing best case vs worst case. It's not surprising the results are vastly different.
 
zombierunner said:
I've been taking some pictures on my 4S .. and to be honest I can't really see any major improvement in photo quality over the iPhone 4. Do you think they put a 5mpx camera in my 4S by mistake or something ?

Is there a way to check what camera you have or improve the quality of the camera .. because my photos don't look anything like the ones shown by apple.
Click to expand...

Copy a photo to your computer and check the resolution on it. Also, if you had a 4 to compare shots to, you'd probably notice the difference. Better color balancing and such.
 
The main improvements have nothing to do with the added Mpx

Its the improvements in low light situations and the added depth of field.

As for the photographs on Apples website.... they will have given the iPhone to professional photographers with a special set up.

Maybe tri-pods that the iphone could fit onto.

A professional photographer could take amazing photo's with a point and shoot that costs £50.

A better camera will not improve your photgraphy skills.
 
The areas of improvement are all somewhat subtle. I really haven't done much with the camera on my 4S, but from the items they listed, here's my take:

5MP to 8MP -- that's a 26% increase in resolution. Noticeable but not something that will make a giant difference.

Improved IR filter -- will only make a difference where infrared bleed was creating an issue, namely contrasty sunlit scenes (or sometimes night scenes with a fire)

Improved aperture and sensitivity -- I think it works out to around one f-stop improvement over the 4. Again, noticeable but not earth shatteringly different.
 
Captain America said:
Copy a photo to your computer and check the resolution on it. Also, if you had a 4 to compare shots to, you'd probably notice the difference. Better color balancing and such.
Click to expand...

Yes copy on a large piece of paper, it should be better than the iPhone 4 at the same size.
 
I hate the gold-tinted quality of the 4S photos. Forget the megapixels. I prefer the iPhone 4 camera without a doubt.
 
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