iPhone 5s Camera Improvements: Slo-Mo Mode, 'True Tone' Flash and Better Low-Light Performance

ShiftClick said:
I realize the "whippersnappers" want to take a pic of every single stupid meal and every time they see their friends and post it to facebook, but a lot of us older folks have an idea when we want to take pictures, and when that happens we grab the DSLR. But sure, for the kids who have to catalog their ducklipped girlfriends twerking to justin beiber and put it up on instagram with cheesy filters to make it look like it was taken 30 years ago, congrats on this great new toy! I'll still gladly take my DSLR out when I know photo opportunities will occur, and if something is so amazing and I don't have my dslr I'll pull out my silly phone camera and snap the photo and wish I had a real camera.
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But you're in the minority. Most people don't take their DSLR with them everywhere they go. The cameras in smartphones need to be better.
 
MacSince1990 said:
Women aren't a commodity.
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7532.TheresTheDoorNowGTFO.jpg_2D00_550x0.jpg
 
Menneisyys2 said:
I'm pretty sure the S90 produces better images. After all, while it's a LOT older model, it still has a much-much larger sensor, RAW, manual modes etc. The latter two are completely missing from iOS and the sensor size is still around 1/3" (even after the 17% increase in size).
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I think the poster you were replying to was being a slight bit sarcastic.
 
The most interesting bit to me is that apple still calls it an "iSight camera."

I'm very happy to hear about the spec bumps. My iPhone is the camera I usually have with me, and the more they can improve an already-excellent photo snapper, the better.

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calaverasgrande said:
Exactly. If I want a decent pic in low light I reach for my Canon (which cost about as much as an iphone!)
I'd love to see some enhancements to the PHONE part of the iphone too. Maybe multi-select emails so I can move or delete multiple messages?
Or how about a frickin microSD slot?
And I still cannot believe that Aplpe still hasnt revisited the other buttons on its phones. I have had iphones for years and still fumble with the volume and vibrate switch. I simply cannot tell by touch which is which.
(and I have pretty nimble fingers)
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I can't tell which parts are sarcasm.
 
Menneisyys2 said:
Lolz... check out the noise and the oversharpening halos in Apple's official shots:

http://connect.dpreview.com/post/5225148710/sample-images-iphone-5s

Yes, significant noise in all color channels even at base ISO. Unlike with a DSLR, where you may only spot noise (on base ISO) in deep blue skies.

It's a far-far cry away from a DSLR, image quality-wise...
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It is. But it's a mobile phone camera!! What are people expecting? It shoots great shots for the majority of people. And it's SUPER handy. This is the big selling point. Phone and camera in one and it's good quality... good enough for the average user.

I'd say they've done a great job on improving the camera.

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thefourthpope said:
I'm very happy to hear about the spec bumps. My iPhone is the camera I usually have with me, and the more they can improve an already-excellent photo snapper, the better.
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Yes Yes Yes. This is exactly the point that so many seem to be missing. It's not supposed to replace your DSLR.
 
gadget123 said:
The camera looks impressive and nice to see they avoided the typical mega pixel bump and realised 8mp is satisfactory.
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8mp is still about 6 more mp than you need unless you are Ansel Adams. I wish they would have had the stones to do a high quality 4mp sensor and then you wouldn't even NEED the double flash or any flash at all.
 
Velin said:
Who cares about all of this? If I want to be shooting movies or putting together photo albums, I'll get a videocam or SLR.

This is a phone. It's a communication device. Where's HD voice? Improved speakers so I can hear speakers on the other end? What about improvements in antenna and reception? Speakerphone? WiFi hotspot ease of use?

How about wifi-calling across all wireless carriers? Where was additional presentation about ios7 improvements and how they work with the new iPhone. Any improvements in Mail, instant messaging, voicemail, anything at all that improves the iPhone as a communications device?

Presentation sucked, all I saw was junk about video games and dual flash for photos that no one cares about. Candy for people who like to waste time. This is a phone.
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Okay then please use the old Nokia phones, without camera. It's a phone, very good battery life, can SMS... wow.

Jokes aside, the best camera is the one you always carry around, and now it's my thin iPhone. I can capture pics anywhere. It's something I use almost daily. (The camera app that is)
 
Menneisyys2 said:
Look, I know quite a lot about shooting - actually, I've authored tons of photo / video-specific articles. So I know what I'm talking about.

1, I in no way stated I need DSLR quality because I too know it's impossible to have in such small a package.

2, however, OIS can work wonders in even smartphones, as was proved by the Nokia 920 / 925 / 928 / 1020 - and, hopefully, also the G2. This is why photo geeks are really disappointed by Apple's not including OIS in the 5S.

3, "Hell, even a so-so DSLR with plastic kit lens will outdo anything any smartphone can ever produce.", you state. DR- and noise-wise, sure. Resolution / video moire / aliasing-wise (which may be more important under certain circumstances), not necessarily.

Check out, for example, http://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=1&idPhone1=5543&idPhone2=5371&idCamera3=30005 - the Samsung Galaxy NX with kit lens vs. the GS4 and the LG G2. While the Samsung has a 20 Mpixel sensor, it delivers about the same effective resolution as the GS4 (and somewhat higher than the G2).
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You keep mentioning OIS....please enlighten me on the differences between what you are crying for and the image stabilization features announced in the 5S. What tech goes into each and what are the end results?

I'm not a photog....I just want my smartphone to take good pics. My iPhone 5 was plenty fine if that tells you anything.
 
zedzded said:
But you're in the minority. Most people don't take their DSLR with them everywhere they go. The cameras in smartphones need to be better.
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Just like a whippersnapper didn't even read what I wrote just responded. I never said I take my dslr with me everywhere, I take it when I know I want to take pictures, I'm not someone who wants to catalog every moment of life, like you must want to, I don't need a picture of every meal, I don't need to take my picture infront of every bar or post pictures of me and my friends at clubs, and actually youre in the minority as the population of club going individuals is actually quite small out of the whole populace, but like I said enjoy your toy and your friends twerking to justin beiber :)
 
weing said:
8mp is still about 6 more mp than you need unless you are Ansel Adams. I wish they would have had the stones to do a high quality 4mp sensor and then you wouldn't even NEED the double flash or any flash at all.
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HTC failing with their ultra pixel camera may have put the kibosh on that.....too many people would be way too skeptical.

I owned the thing, and while it was great in many respects, it had a pretty average camera. My iPhone 5 and now GS4 take better pics.

I'm optimistic about the 5S though. Seems they addressed a lot both with hardware and software.
 
ShiftClick said:
Just like a whippersnapper didn't even read what I wrote just responded.
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I skim read your post, could see it was a bit silly so didn't pay much attention to it, sorry. If you want to elicit a sensible reply and want me and others to read your posts, you should refrain from comments like " enjoy your toy and your friends twerking to justin beiber", it just means that your posts will be ignored, it's a waste of your time. Happy to chat, but the first sign of infantility then I stop reading and just move onto the next post :)

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jrswizzle said:
You keep mentioning OIS....please enlighten me on the differences between what you are crying for and the image stabilization features announced in the 5S. What tech goes into each and what are the end results?

I'm not a photog....I just want my smartphone to take good pics. My iPhone 5 was plenty fine if that tells you anything.
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The 5s does not have optical stabilization, only electronic stabilization, unlike the Nokia Lumia 92x. This, unfortunately, means part of the sensor is used for the stabilization itself, further narrowing the already limited fov. Also on Apple's Iphones image stabilization cannot be disabled using the standard camera app.
 
gadget123 said:
The camera looks impressive and nice to see they avoided the typical mega pixel bump and realised 8mp is satisfactory.
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I'd say it's more than satisfactory. I've been saying for years they don't need to go higher than this. I was so happy to see that the rumours of umpteen mega pixels were wrong, and that Apple took the far more sensible approach of increasing light sensitivity.

I'm a professional graphic designer (and somewhat less professional photographer), and I'm thrilled about what this means for the quality of photos you can get when you don't happen to have thousands of dollars worth of camera gear on you.
 
kalsta said:
I'm a professional graphic designer (and somewhat less professional photographer), and I'm thrilled about what this means for the quality of photos you can get when you don't happen to have thousands of dollars worth of camera gear on you.
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What are your thoughts of using LED over Xenon and of a lack of optical image stabilisation?
 
its funny how some people are saying Apple is only focusing on the camera when some people on this board said the Lumia offers better camera. Apple just cant make anyone satisfied. I think camera feature has become a main feature of a phone nowadays. Having a good camera does make a casual user enjoy using their phone more cause they can just snap good quality snapshots on the go without needing an actual camera. For me its good to know they upgraded the sensors and flash since i use instagram a lot.
 
zedzded said:
What are your thoughts of using LED over Xenon and of a lack of optical image stabilisation?
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Sorry, didn't mean to set myself up as an expert on camera technology! Trade-offs for flash brightness vs battery life—I'd chose battery life. Optical image stabilisation—I can honestly say I don't know. I'd have to compare different phones in practice.
 
kalsta said:
Sorry, didn't mean to set myself up as an expert on camera technology! Trade-offs for flash brightness vs battery life—I'd chose battery life. Optical image stabilisation—I can honestly say I don't know. I'd have to compare different phones in practice.
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It's OK neither am I :)
 
So no need to upgrade from 4s. Camera is still low quality. Maybe with 6 they start to copy camera from Nokia's. (Way, WAY better cameras!)
 
Velin said:
Who cares about all of this? If I want to be shooting movies or putting together photo albums, I'll get a videocam or SLR.

This is a phone. It's a communication device. Where's HD voice? Improved speakers so I can hear speakers on the other end? What about improvements in antenna and reception? Speakerphone? WiFi hotspot ease of use?

How about wifi-calling across all wireless carriers? Where was additional presentation about ios7 improvements and how they work with the new iPhone. Any improvements in Mail, instant messaging, voicemail, anything at all that improves the iPhone as a communications device?

Presentation sucked, all I saw was junk about video games and dual flash for photos that no one cares about. Candy for people who like to waste time. This is a phone.
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I no longer carry a camera with me. All my videos and photos are taken with my iPhone. So to me and million of people, a phone is just not a phone, but our usual camera. So yes, it matters a lot.

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Freeks said:
So no need to upgrade from 4s. Camera is still low quality. Maybe with 6 they start to copy camera from Nokia's. (Way, WAY better cameras!)
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"Camera is still low quality"?

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kalsta said:
I'd say it's more than satisfactory. I've been saying for years they don't need to go higher than this. I was so happy to see that the rumours of umpteen mega pixels were wrong, and that Apple took the far more sensible approach of increasing light sensitivity.

I'm a professional graphic designer (and somewhat less professional photographer), and I'm thrilled about what this means for the quality of photos you can get when you don't happen to have thousands of dollars worth of camera gear on you.
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The good think about the megapixel race is that it makes it very easy to spot an idiot. Whoever is unhappy because apple doesn't use a super megapixel sensor.
 
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