It's not that simple though as excellent camera phones already existed in 2007; the iPhone was just really lousy in comparison. Just look at the Nokia N95 for instance. This is the point I'm trying to find an explanation to. Was the lousy camera in the original iPhone simply accepted because America only had lousy camera phones (whereas the rest of the world had devices like the N95)? Or was it accepted simply as a way to minimise that it was a weakness?
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Future of the iPhones Camera
- Thread starter LouieSamman
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It's not that simple though as excellent camera phones already existed in 2007; the iPhone was just really lousy in comparison. Just look at the Nokia N95 for instance. This is the point I'm trying to find an explanation to. Was the lousy camera in the original iPhone simply accepted because America only had lousy camera phones (whereas the rest of the world had devices like the N95)? Or was it accepted simply as a way to minimise that it was a weakness?
That's perfectly easy to understand. However, people specifically stated that the camera didn't matter and that the 2mp fixed focus unit was adequate. It wasn't a case of saying the iPhone camera was rubbish, but that's OK because the device offers other things, it was specifically that the iPhone camera is rubbish, but that's OK because a decent camera in a phone is not needed or desired.
I'm wondering why people felt like that, as per the two scenarios I can think of for that to be the case.
The camera still doesn't really matter in that respect.
Not too many iPhone users would buy a symbian device because of a better camera.
Not in 2007.
Not in 2010.
The camera is just not the point.
Not too many iPhone users would buy a symbian device because of a better camera.
Not in 2007.
Not in 2010.
The camera is just not the point.
I guess I don't get why people can't say that a particular device is good, but has flaws. It's all too common to find people say that X device is the best, and in any area that it is weak, make out that these features or functions have absolutely zero use or desirability. I think I must simply be fascinated with the psychology of one-upmanship and why people feel the need to do it.
I think your right. The US market did not have a wide selection of quality camera phones in 2007. As a result it was little demand for them. There was no conspiracy to "minimize a weakness", most people in the US genuinely did not care about cameras in phones.
The camera only became important once it was almost good enough to leave a dedicated device behind; however, many people still find it lacking. Since it does not have zoom, some poeple are reluctant to use it a a primary camera, and this is why there is all of this talk. People realize how close camera phones are to meeting their needs, and just want a little more out of them.
The iPhone is first and foremost a multifunction device. Many people are still of the opinion that the camera is one of the lesser significant features on the iPhone. If I have to start pruning features off of my phone the first three to go would be Flash, Front Camera and Rear Camera.
A good camera is not critical for what I want out of my phone, but it sure is nice to have
The problem is that before 1997, people viewed smartphones as being either for geeks or for executives who have to have their Crackberry. I was in college before and after the original iPhone came out. Before it, people were happy with the latest Motorola RAZR or the Sidekick, and viewed any cellphone that did more than make/receive calls and send/receive texts was pointless. After the January 2007 announcement, especially by the time the fall semester of that year came around, most students were happily tapping away on their iPhone, and the US smartphone market went from a fringe item to mainstream.
Other markets have had smartphones for years and over time they have matured. However, the US has not really had a smartphone market until Apple stepped in and created it.
Same thing happened with the iPod. Before Apple, there were Sony's Network Walkmans which had heavy DRM, and hard disk based MP3 players made by Creative and Compaq which people viewed as pure geek toys. In two years, Apple turned that market around making the MP3 player a universal item.
I can't imagine what to expect when it comes to the camera in 10 years.
what type of improvement/ addons will we see to allow the camera to replace most of our stand alone cameras.
The iPhone 4 already replaces a point and shoot in my opinion because of the various editing apps and wireless uploading.
We just have to wait and see what apple will do.
what type of improvement/ addons will we see to allow the camera to replace most of our stand alone cameras.
The iPhone 4 already replaces a point and shoot in my opinion because of the various editing apps and wireless uploading.
We just have to wait and see what apple will do.
Exactly! Well said.
Especially the ability to check & delete my accidental shots and other obvious rubbish (feet chopped off,camera wobbled etc) immediately for the last photo, or perhaps last 5 photos, without pausing to switch to where you can manage hundreds of old photos.
btw I like very much the option to use "double-click Home button" to go straight to camera. Only discovered it accidentally yesterday. It's really helpful
That's true. And phones must have tiny sensors, no one wants a handset that is inches thick.
But what phones lack in optics, they make up for in computing power. The HDR feature on the iPhone illustrates this nicely. By taking multiple bracketed shots with the crummy sensor, you can combine the various exposures to create a richer image with less clipping which ends up looking more film-like and less electronic.
There are other ways to get more out of the senor.
There are some apps that capture a huge panorama - by simply sweeping the phone around, stitching together a huge image dynamically.
And I heard it might be possible to synthesise an image with shallow depth of field by using a large virtual sensor. Modestly waving the phone about during an exposure - will let the phone build up an image seemingly from a large sensor camera.
Course it wouldn't work for fast moving images. But it could be a very cool app.
C.
500 megapixies! That's what makes pictures look bettar rite????
But seriously: they'll probably keep the same 5mp CMOS sensor and add software features. 'Sweep Panorama' (as it's called on my NEX-5) would be nice (built into the camera app, I know that there are separate apps).
Maybe change the sensor to a CCD type? My 940SH has a CCD sensor and it takes far better low-light images than my iPhone4.
But seriously: they'll probably keep the same 5mp CMOS sensor and add software features. 'Sweep Panorama' (as it's called on my NEX-5) would be nice (built into the camera app, I know that there are separate apps).
Maybe change the sensor to a CCD type? My 940SH has a CCD sensor and it takes far better low-light images than my iPhone4.
I like your perspective. Since I travel quite a bit, it was puzzling to me that the rest of the world seemed to have been using some really nice smartphones (like N95, HTC Atom, etc.) whereas the US customers seemed to be satisfied with far less sophisticated devices. It is truly amazing how one company managed to flip this entire situation on its head in less than 3 years. Hat off to them.