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iPhone 6 Rear Camera to Retain 8-Megapixel Sensor, Offer Improved Image Stabilization?

Reminds me of the processor wars a few years back. The GHZ race, Every magazine putting up when will be pass 3GHZ and 4GHZ on their front pages as you go through the book store. Come to find out chips like the Core 2 came out at lower speeds but with significantly better designs and though the number itself was lower, as it related to speed, everything in the design played nicer and it was either on par with or even better than the big GHZ number processors at the time.

Personally I'd rather have something with accurate color, good stabilization that doesn't kill the photo with all of the elements involved in this, and a nice quick "shutter" speed to be able to hop to the next photo if needed. Something that takes what is actually there without having to goto software to fix it. I found, personally, that the iP5 was the best at this, out of any phone I've ever owned or used. Was really, and pleasantly surprised, when taking photos with it for a long time. Just my unwanted .02. :)
 
The better upgrades in camera quality tend to come with the S models..
4S saw the 8MP sensor
5S saw the sensor made larger by 15%, and optics improved to f/2.2.

The next important upgrade will come with the 6S.

The 6 will be all about the cosmetic design, and screen size. The actual spec improvements, quality and new functions will come with the 6S. We know the pattern.
 
I don't mind 8 megapixels. A 40 megapixel image won't make better photos on Facebook. My first DSLR was 6, and my second was 12. The megapixel war is way over.

But I reaaaaaaaally would like to see the option for RAW capture. Even if not in the native app, if Apple would create an API to give developers access to that data, it would be wonderful. Apps do a decent job of adjusting white balance through color tinting, but it would be wonderful if we could shoot AWB and then dial it in specifically via a Kelvin scale.
 
I had the 3Gs and barely used that camera, it really wasnt good and I prefered my DSLR. Then I upgraded to the 4s - found it much better but still not good in low light and still with a bit of noise. Yet given the aging DSLR, i found myself using the 4s more. I did take the DSLR to Mexico on one trip, but not on the trip to Canada. Now I have the 5s and have no intention to buy a new DSLR. there are still issues with the iphone camera and has been stated these cannot be fixed by more megapixels. I would like a larger sensor to larger pixel size to eliminate noise, work better in low light and get better depth in the pictures. 8 mega pixels is really okay for me (i would actually be okay with 6 if they can address these concerns). In the end we have hit the wall where megapixel works as a good metric to what makes a camera better. Lets now focus on the other metrics -- depth, light, noise, etc.
 
One of the things that reminds me that Apple actually knows what they're doing is that they don't keep increasing the megapixel side for the sake of spec sheets. I'll take a larger sensor over more megapixels any day, and I don't know any serious or professional photographers who feel differently about the matter. These ridiculous megapixel specs other manufacturers are leaning on just crack me up. So I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the 6 retain a similar camera to the 5s. I imagine there will be slight improvements, but the s releases tend to feature the bigger camera upgrades anyways. If they were to bump up the megapixels slightly, it'd likely be on the 6s. I'm still hoping they keep skipping that idea until it makes all the sense in the world to, and I doubt it's that time yet.
 
People that bang on about having more MegaPixels generally don't know what they are talking about.

8mp 3264 x 2448 10.88" x 8.16" 27.64 x 20.73

It will print at 300Dpi on A4 or USA letter - who does that?

iPhone 5s - 8mpix - 2.3MB per image on average.

S4 - 12 mpix - 3.7MB per image on average.

lumia 1020 - 41mpix - 36-40MB an image!!!!!!!

and consistently the iPhone 5s has the better images on screen or normal print...

what actually matters is Sensor pixel size ( which got bigger in 5s ) speed and processing. And most importantly, the lens array.
 
pmz said:
I tend to feel that way too...

...Except the iPhone has no passable optical zoom, so when zooming and cropping an 8 MP photo after the fact....a lot of the quality is lost. This is where more megapixels really shines.
Click to expand...

Well since smartphones keep getting thinner we will probably never see optical zooms.

So now the question is do we want to sacrifice image quality for the times when we need a zoom? I'm not saying that I have the answer to this question but it something to think about.

Maybe two cameras would be sweet. An 8MP camera for close-up shots and a 20MP camera to use with digital zooming.
 
as apple has proven since the 4S, megapixels don't mean everything, if apple keeps making the iPhone camera...that much better with keeping the MP, the same, I'm perfectly content, i never blow my pictures up, id take amazing photos over the MP count any day
 
It's so refreshing to see a company doing something so right. As a professional photographer, I hate seeing manufacturers increasing the megapixel count before they fix things that really matter such as the light-gathering capabilities, etc.

Thank you Apple for sticking to what you believe in: designing products that enhance a user's experience and not doing something solely to increase marketability. This is the main reason I really like Apple products.

Bryan
 
after experiencing my horrible nexus 4 camera for 3 months studying abroad going back to my iPhone 5 camera felt like ive got new eyes
 
mainer4101 said:
Unless you're printing pictures, you don't need double digit MP.

99% of photos being taken with the iPhone just go up on FB, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

Things that actually affect the photo (light, color tones, depth, speed) are what make the photos great, not the size of the file.
Click to expand...

It's not uncommon that after taking a picture with someone or of something, that I'll zoom in or someone looking at the picture on my phone will zoom in. This is where more megapixels is definitely noticeable. On my Galaxy S4 (13MP camera), people frequently raved over the incredible detail that was in each picture even after zooming in close-up. The same could not be said for their iPhone 5's or even 5S's. It's not that the picture quality is bad, it's just that the quality degrades so quickly upon zooming.
 
you guys should go compare an entry level Canon DSLR with a top of the line Canon DSLR.
The jaw dropping expensive model doesn't have many (or any) more pixels than it's down market sibling.
It does have better image quality, noise performance and low light capability.
Also, the lense makes more of a difference than megapixels a lot of the time.

I'd rather see a lightfield type camera on the iphone. That is more "like Apple".
 
Apple's iPhone will immediately be panned by the entire smartphone industry for falling behind the curve in camera specs. Every Android smartphone will have at least a 12 MP camera and everyone will say that Apple is cheating consumers for charging more and using inferior technology. It's almost impossible to convince anyone that having an 8 MP camera is just as good as having a 12 MP camera because of the belief that more is always better. Apple is just asking for another Wall Street downgrade and will most certainly get it. An 8 MP camera is more than good enough for consumers and it's been proven by professionals who have used the iPhone to produce very decent photos and videos. Not that it's going to mean anything to tech pundits who can't tolerate weak specs.
 
I've been using an iPhone for years as my only camera, but recently decided to buy a Panasonic Lumix point and shoot camera. The camera has a very small footprint, and has a 20X optical zoom lens. I keep it in my backpack, so it's with me most of the time. The pictures are awesome and I also enjoy doing post shoot processing with Adobe Lightroom. Of course they say, the best camera you have is the one you have with you.

I am hoping for continued camera upgrades as new phones are released. I think the camera has become important to most iPhone users.
 
 
:(

I was hoping for at least 10 megapixels. I realize that more pixels do not equal a better picture and that the sensor is perhaps the most important component, but more megapixels help when you need to crop or zoom since they help create a larger image.
 
I have the 5s and my Bro-In law has one of Samsung Tab's and he said, hey, it's got 12MP take a family photo with that. I did, and it looks like (in the words of TMo's CEO) horses***. I took a pic as the family was getting out of photo position with my 5s and man, it's amazing. No joke, night and day. Sad that most people buy into the bull crap.
 
macduke said:
What's the deal with imaging sensors?
Click to expand...

There are only so many photons that can go through a pinhole-sized lens. Since, according to the laws of physics, you can't divide up photons, trying to make the pixels so small that only a few photons hits one just increases noise (the statistical grain caused by the huge difference between N photons and N+1 photons when N is small). Or use a longer exposure, which causes blur on a handheld. Or use a bigger lens which makes your iPhone thicker and chunkier. Choose.

A small lens also has diffraction limits. More pixels smaller than the diffraction Airy spot are just wasted.

With better image stabilization, a camera might get away with a slightly longer exposure for some types of still subjects.

Same applies to Moore's law. Once transistors get down to one atom or so, it's hard to make them slightly smaller next year.
 
Constable Odo said:
Apple's iPhone will immediately be panned by the entire smartphone industry for falling behind the curve in camera specs. Every Android smartphone will have at least a 12 MP camera and everyone will say that Apple is cheating consumers for charging more and using inferior technology. It's almost impossible to convince anyone that having an 8 MP camera is just as good as having a 12 MP camera because of the belief that more is always better. Apple is just asking for another Wall Street downgrade and will most certainly get it. An 8 MP camera is more than good enough for consumers and it's been proven by professionals who have used the iPhone to produce very decent photos and videos. Not that it's going to mean anything to tech pundits who can't tolerate weak specs.
Click to expand...

You're late! You didn't get here with your usual bullcrap until Post #63
 
As a photographer, I'm more concerned with photo-receptor pitch and size. Give me larger, more sensitive photo receptors on the sensor with better dynamic range and less noise.

Then improve the optics - better, sharper lenses with improved contrast and focus on the device to take advantage of those bigger receptors.

And if you do those things WELL, then let's go for more pixels, if possible. 10MP-12MP would be ideal for me - assuming those other wishes come true first...
 
Jsameds said:
As has been mentioned, megapixels aren't a measure of a camera's quality at all.

Take a look at these comparson shots between the 4S (first image) and 5S (2nd image) - bear in mind both have an 8mp camera. They are worlds apart.

Well lit:
http://d1ax9dx3gero0.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/4Slight.jpg
http://d1ax9dx3gero0.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/5Slight.jpg

Dark no flash:
http://d1ax9dx3gero0.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/4Sdark.jpg
http://d1ax9dx3gero0.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/5Sdark.jpg

Dark with flash:
http://d1ax9dx3gero0.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/4Sflash.jpg
http://d1ax9dx3gero0.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/5Sflash.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow! Thanks for sharing.

I forgot to do some photo tests with my old 4S before I traded up to the 5S

You nailed it! :)
 
Traverse said:
...but more megapixels help when you need to crop or zoom since they help create a larger image.
Click to expand...

Myth.

More megapixels don't help with "zoom" if the lens is too small, or the exposure is too long (which more pixels may require). You just end up with millions of pixels containing mostly the same blurry stuff as their neighboring pixels.
 
MacRazySwe said:
8MP or not, the fact remains that the Galaxy S4 I had took way better pictures than the 5S does (my girlfriend has one, which I've used extensively). I don't know if that's due to a greater amount of megapixels (13 vs 8), or a larger sensor (I'm not sure this is even the case though? Probably not, if I remember correctly the 5S has a bigger sensor, come to think of it...) or something else. Some of you may disagree, but this is how I experienced it. I wouldn't want to go back to the laggy TouchWiz experience of the S4, as I prefer the iPhone iOS any day of the week - but the S4 did have an amazing camera and a beautiful screen, I have to give it that.

No matter what happens, I hope Apple will provide a truly remarkable camera in the iPhone 6.
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better myself. The camera (and display) was friggin amazing on that thing. I've never taken better pictures with any other phone. It's actually the only reason I'm looking forward to the S5 (and that rumored redesign of Touchwiz). And here I am going off-topic. I really hope that the iPhone 6 will be the iPhone that can take pictures better than the S4 (or S5).
 
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