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Future of the iPhones Camera

LouieSamman

LouieSamman

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2008
909
9
Orlando, Florida
The iPhone 4 camera is a big upgrade from the 3GS but what will we see in upcoming generations of iPhones?

-Better and vivid colors
-Depth of Field
-Optical Zoom! at least 3x
-Closer Macro
-Physical shutter button
-Obviously better MP with every generation
-A photo editing app made by Apple
-a "Send to Flickr" option
-A timer
-Faster Shutter Speeds

Let me know which is your favorite with improving the camera "Photography only".

Mines is better depth of field because it would allow the photos to have the same representation as the DSLR that usually has lots of depth of field in there photos.

Better Colors is great and MP, along with a physical shutter button!

Let me know what you'll be excited about!
 
Software
Not sure that's possible with the thickness of the phone
Same as above
Maybe
Software
Almost a given
Software
Software
Software
CMOS tech, not much can do.

Software means that it can be added anytime.
 
Point and shoot cameras don't even have the shallow depth of field that DSLRs have because you need large optical elements to achieve this. You would need a lens that's much larger than the phone itself. And the megapixels is fine right now, but I suspect they will increase it because everyone still assumes that more megapixels is always better.

And for optical zoom, you would need moving lens elements, and that might not fit into the casing of the iPhone while still fitting everything else the phone needs. The Carl Zeis lenses in Sony's Ultra Compacts are really condensed, but still much larger than the one on the iPhone.
 
When I mean vivid colors, if you take a look a DSLRs and the colors it brings in the pictures and how it stands out.

The colors are great on the iPhone but I've seen some DSLRs that really brings out the colors of a photo without over saturation.

I believe apple will have optional lenses that can attach to the iPhone that apple would make and sell. Rather than have it built into the phone
 
LouieSamman said:
When I mean vivid colors, if you take a look a DSLRs and the colors it brings in the pictures and how it stands out.

The colors are great on the iPhone but I've seen some DSLRs that really brings out the colors of a photo without over saturation.
Click to expand...

This in done in software in conjunction with some hardware (DIGiC chips for example).

I believe apple will have optional lenses that can attach to the iPhone that apple would make and sell. Rather than have it built into the phone
Click to expand...

Hahaha! Thanks, I needed a laugh :)

Okay, seriously, Apple would never do that. Add an external lens to it's beautiful clean design, even if it's removable, not a chance. There are 3rd Party case makers that sold cases. The Griffith Clarify (?) was exactly that.
 
LouieSamman said:
I believe apple will have optional lenses that can attach to the iPhone that apple would make and sell. Rather than have it built into the phone
Click to expand...

God, I hope not! Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have optical zoom on my phone, but I'm not going to invest in better lenses for a camera sensor that was build for the limitations of a phone.
If I'm carrying extra gear it's going to be something with a bigger sensor.
 
sammich said:
This in done in software in conjunction with some hardware (DIGiC chips for example).
Click to expand...

Actually that's a combo of better clarity glass, higher resolution, better analog conversion, and better exposure.

out of all of those I would like to see the sensor in the iPhone get better resolution....add better noise filtering and the point and shoot could stay at home completely
 
LouieSamman said:
I believe apple will have optional lenses that can attach to the iPhone that apple would make and sell.
Click to expand...

this made me laugh! no, they won't ever do that, the demand for that in the demographic of the iPhone is minimal.... The only way it could come is if they figure a way to fit it inside somehow :)
 
Related to the camera, I *desperately* want to see some flexibility in how photos are managed on the phone. The ability to move photos around between folders, delete photos from folders other than Camera Roll, etc. would be a godsend. As it is now, any kind of post-processing workflow beyond a couple steps is mind numbingly complicated.
 
sdpics said:
Actually that's a combo of better clarity glass, higher resolution, better analog conversion, and better exposure.

out of all of those I would like to see the sensor in the iPhone get better resolution....add better noise filtering and the point and shoot could stay at home completely
Click to expand...

Why the fascination with MP? 5MP is actually well matched to the optics available in this form factor. The optics on a lens the size of you phones, would not be able to realize any more detail and could hurt the image by introducing more noise since each pixel is receiving less light. I would prefer to keep the same resolution and focus on increased sensitively to improve low light performance and color accuracy.
This would lead to a more meaningful increase in image quality, but the marketing team may not like it.:cool:
 
err404 said:
Why the fascination with MP? 5MP is actually well matched to the optics available in this form factor. The optics on a lens the size of you phones, would not be able to realize any more detail and could hurt the image by introducing more noise since each pixel is receiving less light. I would prefer to keep the same resolution and focus on increased sensitively to improve low light performance and color accuracy.
This would lead to a more meaningful increase in image quality, but the marketing team may not like it.:cool:
Click to expand...

I wasn't talking about MP resolution I was talking about image resolution....I should have been more clear. I honestly would rather see a crisp 3mp image than a slightly blurry 5mp image that lacks detail.
 
I am not impressed with the camera on my iP4 now, so I am not selling my Digital 8MP camera just yet, however I am sure over time it will only get better, however the flash works great as a flashlight in a power outage, but boy does it eat the battery up.
 
LouieSamman said:
The iPhone 4 camera is a big upgrade from the 3GS but what will we see in upcoming generations of iPhones?

-Better and vivid colors
-Depth of Field
-Optical Zoom! at least 3x
-Closer Macro
Click to expand...

Someone mentioned software will do this. Not so much. Nothing beats a good, big lens, and that's just not something you're going to find on an iPhone or any smartphone. This is one reason why people are still buying dSLRs. yeah, they're bigger and bulkier, but they can do more.


-Physical shutter button
Click to expand...

Up to Apple.

-Obviously better MP with every generation
Click to expand...

Don't be so sure. On extremely small sensors like the ones on iOS devices and smartphones, megapixels aren't everything. Packing more pixels into such a tiny space adds noise, and the noisier the image, the worse off you're going to be. It's no use having more pixels if those pixels are going to render a noisy, grainy image.

Again, this is another reason why dSLRs still sell. They have larger sensors, allowing for higher megapixel counts without introducing as much noise.

-A photo editing app made by Apple
Click to expand...

Possible, but I think app developers that make already provide photo editing apps might not be happy with this, so careful what you wish for there.

-a "Send to Flickr" option
Click to expand...

A flickr app already exists that does this.

-A timer
-Faster Shutter Speeds
Click to expand...

Both of these require the ability to let in lots of light without introducing noise. Again, bigger lenses and bigger sensors are helpful for this purpose, so it's going to be a challenge for this to work well in a smartphone camera.

Mines is better depth of field because it would allow the photos to have the same representation as the DSLR that usually has lots of depth of field in there photos.
Click to expand...

It's still going to be a loooong time before a smartphone camera replaces a dSLR. We can dream though. But the iPhone 4 camera is DEFINITELY at the stage where it does good work as a stand-in for a point and shoot camera.
 
scaredpoet said:
It's still going to be a loooong time before a smartphone camera replaces a dSLR. We can dream though. But the iPhone 4 camera is DEFINITELY at the stage where it does good work as a stand-in for a point and shoot camera.
Click to expand...

I vote never....heck I still know people who refuse to let film go.
 
scaredpoet said:
It's still going to be a loooong time before a smartphone camera replaces a dSLR. We can dream though. But the iPhone 4 camera is DEFINITELY at the stage where it does good work as a stand-in for a point and shoot camera.
Click to expand...

I'm impressed at how far cameras in phones have come, but when you get less then 1 cubic centimeter of space to work with for you sensor and lens, don't expect miracles. Unless Apple gives up on thin phones and dedicates a significant percentage of space, expect very slow incremental improvements.
You may have noticed that the iPod Touch has a worse camera then the iPhone; this was due to size constraints, not cost.
 
err404 said:
You may have noticed that the iPod Touch has a worse camera then the iPhone; this was due to size constraints, not cost.
Click to expand...

Actually both. Without the carrier subsidy, the Touch components had to be cheaper.

Someone else mentioned the Carl Zeis optical zoom lenses in the Sony Cybershot cameras. Those lenses have no external pieces on the zoom, perfect for a cell phone. My 4x zoom Cybershot is "only" about .1 or .2" wider than my iP4. If they can get that a little smaller, they'd be set. I would say the optical zoom is BY FAR the #1 thing missing from the phone camera. Everything else is a far second.
 
psac said:
Actually both. Without the carrier subsidy, the Touch components had to be cheaper.

Someone else mentioned the Carl Zeis optical zoom lenses in the Sony Cybershot cameras. Those lenses have no external pieces on the zoom, perfect for a cell phone. My 4x zoom Cybershot is "only" about .1 or .2" wider than my iP4. If they can get that a little smaller, they'd be set. I would say the optical zoom is BY FAR the #1 thing missing from the phone camera. Everything else is a far second.
Click to expand...

I owned one of those. It's a clever design that moves the barrel 90 degrees inside the body of the camera, but you need far more space inside the device compared to what is currently used by the phone. I also found that this design doesn't allow for much light to enter the lens. Zooming requires more light then wide angles.
I want a zoom lens for the iPhone, I just don't think that it will happen in the next 2 years.
 
I almost expect apple to put the same camera in the next iphone as the iphone 4, it's got such good reviews and has proven to many that megapixel count ≠ quality.
I think 5mp is fine for a what the iphone does. It's a good balance of quality vs file size, not just for space concerns but for photo editing apps as well, if they up it to 10mp+ photos and these apps are gonna slow down, eat battery, waste ram etc. 1-2mp increase might not be so bad though.
 
- Image Stabilization
- 3d photography (yeah right, but hey, there's a 3d craze going on right now)
 
Can I ask something serious? With the original iPhone, amongst a raft of devices with auto-focus 5mp cameras at the time, it was decreed around these parts that the camera in a phone was not important in the slightest, and that if anyone ever wanted to take a photo they should always use a proper camera.

Now, I'm intrigued to know why back then it wasn't important, and why now it seems to be? The only 2 viable scenarios I can come up with are:

1) Americans were so used to rubbish phone cameras that the iPhone was nothing different/worse, whereas the rest of the world had already experienced much better phone cameras, so the US were essentially unaware of what they were missing out on.

2) It was convenient to say that phone cameras were OK to be rubbish as a means to disguise or minimise this weakness.

What I want to understand is the apparent contradiction in attitude and opinion depending on how Apple spec a device. If phone cameras are so unimportant, as was made perfectly clear by the crowds in 2007, why is it now such a revered feature? Why was a rubbish camera accepted in 2007? How and why can people use the camera as a plus point for the iPhone 4 when it is a pointless feature?
 
I think it's because mobile phones evolved from phones into small computers able to perform a lot of different tasks.

Probably the reason why people who experience problems with making actual phone calls still keep the current iPhone.
 
It's really simple. Cameras in phones have gotten better to the point that the delta in quality compared to a point-and-shoot does not justify bringing a dedicated device. Image quality is roughly equal on my iPhone compared to my old point and shoot; the only thing it's lacking is optical zoom.

The old choice was between good(point-and-shoot) vs terrible (camera phone)
The new choice is good(point-and-shoot) vs almost as good(camera phone)
 
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