Remote Camera App

[Armen]

Am I the only one who sees so many use cases for the remote camera app besides taking pictures?

Specifically for getting eyes in tight spots where only your phone would fit:

- In the engine compartment of a car
- Behind your TV
- Under the couch
- rain gutters
- the top shelf of the closet
- to peek around the corner Rainbow Six style
- to look at parts of your body you can't quite see in the mirror but need to look at for whatever reason (cut, scrape, bump, bruise etc).
- look over a fence

 

[twisted-pixel]

As an owner of a DLSR I can tell you there are times when you very much want a remote shutter release, and I wished I had one for my phone when I was trying to take a picture of a burst hose in someones engine bay in very cramped conditions...

would be nice to replicate the phone screen on the watch to see what you are taking a pic of, but this isn't always necessary if you line the pic up first and then leave the phone and retire to some distance away.

 

[rhyme]

would be nice to replicate the phone screen on the watch to see what you are taking a pic of, but this isn't always necessary if you line the pic up first and then leave the phone and retire to some distance away.

For those not getting a Watch, there are third party gadgets that provide this capacity. The $20 PebbleBee, for instance, will act as a remove shutter trigger as well as helping you keep track of your stuff.

 

[Tycho24]

Not to sound lame... but it's actually cool to think of a selfie with iPhone's REAL camera.
You won't be able to fit in as many people as with a selfie stick, but for all the instances you were going to use your front camera anyways...
Yup. I'll never take a still with my front camera again after I get Apple Watch. It's officially a FaceTime only camera! =)

 

[Armen]

Not to sound lame... but it's actually cool to think of a selfie with iPhone's REAL camera.
You won't be able to fit in as many people as with a selfie stick, but for all the instances you were going to use your front camera anyways...
Yup. I'll never take a still with my front camera again after I get Apple Watch. It's officially a FaceTime only camera! =)

not sure I follow what you're saying. The remote app IS taking pictures with your iPhone's camera except you are using the watch as the viewfinder.

 

[M-5]

I still don't quite understand this feature. Usually when I'd like to take group shots, there isn't somewhere that I can easily prop up my iPhone (at a high-enough height) to set a timer or use the remote shutter. Especially considering the iPhone 6 has rounded edges, which makes it much more difficult to prop up.

Also, I don't see how you could hold the phone with one hand for a selfie, and tap the remote shutter on your watch at the same time? I also don't see how that would be better than just clicking the volume button to activate the shutter.

 

[JoeFkling]

I use the remote shutter/video with shutter plus between my iPhone and iPad so I can certainly see a use for it on the watch.

 

[matrix07]

Can we use voice for command, like "Shoot", "Burst" or "Record", "Pause" and "Stop" for video?

 

[Armen]

I don't see how you could hold the phone with one hand for a selfie

The idea is to prop the phone up against something and remotely take the picture.

 

[Caliber26]

I still don't quite understand this feature. Usually when I'd like to take group shots, there isn't somewhere that I can easily prop up my iPhone (at a high-enough height) to set a timer or use the remote shutter. Especially considering the iPhone 6 has rounded edges, which makes it much more difficult to prop up.

Also, I don't see how you could hold the phone with one hand for a selfie, and tap the remote shutter on your watch at the same time? I also don't see how that would be better than just clicking the volume button to activate the shutter.

I agree with you. One doesn't usually carry a phone tripod or easily find places to prop your phone at an ideal angle or height to capture a family photo, like Apple advertises. What if I'm at a theme park or at the beach? What, exactly, am I supposed to put my phone on?! If I'm toting around a small tripod or Gorillapod, changes are I'lll be using a much better quality camera than that of an iPhone. Maybe we'll discover some really creative uses once this thing is in our hands but, for now, I'm not seeing much of a benefit as far as family/self portraits go.

 

[bransoj]

Technically a lot of this is already possible if you have some normal or bluetooth headphones connected to the phone and you use the volume up button on them to take the photo.

 

[jwball]

Technically a lot of this is already possible if you have some normal or bluetooth headphones connected to the phone and you use the volume up button on them to take the photo.

It's a little difficult to frame the image on a set of headphones.

 

[bransoj]

It's a little difficult to frame the image on a set of headphones.

Yes...why i said a lot of it is possible, in fact framing the photo is the only thing you cant do!

 

[Tycho24]

not sure I follow what you're saying. The remote app IS taking pictures with your iPhone's camera except you are using the watch as the viewfinder.

Yes!
I realize.
Previously, selfies were taken with the MUCH lower res front camera.
Now, for the 1st time, you can take an 8mp selfie & not just "hope" it comes out... not being able to see the screen.

 

[Armen]

Yes!
I realize.
Previously, selfies were taken with the MUCH lower res front camera.
Now, for the 1st time, you can take an 8mp selfie & not just "hope" it comes out... not being able to see the screen.

Gotcha. I always took selfies with the back camera. Just learned to frame it without looking.

 

[Armen]

I agree with you. One doesn't usually carry a phone tripod or easily find places to prop your phone at an ideal angle or height to capture a family photo, like Apple advertises. What if I'm at a theme park or at the beach? What, exactly, am I supposed to put my phone on?! If I'm toting around a small tripod or Gorillapod, changes are I'lll be using a much better quality camera than that of an iPhone. Maybe we'll discover some really creative uses once this thing is in our hands but, for now, I'm not seeing much of a benefit as far as family/self portraits go.

You're over complicating this. Looking around my office there are plenty of places I could prop up my phone for a shot or two. Not saying it would come in handy at the beach. You may need to ask a seagull to hold your phone.

 

[Tycho24]

Gotcha. I always took selfies with the back camera. Just learned to frame it without looking.

Haha....
You're awesome! I've had crap luck attempting that.

 

[Armen]

Haha....
You're awesome! I've had crap luck attempting that.

I assumed everyone did this so I wasn't able to follow what you were talking about lol.

 

[JohnApples]

I've actually never considered this before, but now I'm thinking of new ways to use it! I can prop my phone up in the living room and see what my dog does when I'm in the other room in real time! ...I need a hobby.

Really though, I've kinda had this idea for a "tour" mode in FaceTime. Basically just a one-way video call, the person with the Apple Watch would be able to connect to a friend's iPhone and see through their cameras (with that person's permission of course). Since there's no camera on the Watch, this could potentially be a cool compromise to still have some video call functionality on it.

Or you could just pull out your phone and have a regular FaceTime session LOL

 

[virginblue4]

I still don't quite understand this feature. Usually when I'd like to take group shots, there isn't somewhere that I can easily prop up my iPhone (at a high-enough height) to set a timer or use the remote shutter. Especially considering the iPhone 6 has rounded edges, which makes it much more difficult to prop up.



Also, I don't see how you could hold the phone with one hand for a selfie, and tap the remote shutter on your watch at the same time? I also don't see how that would be better than just clicking the volume button to activate the shutter.

The idea is to prop the phone up against something and remotely take the picture.

I agree with you. One doesn't usually carry a phone tripod or easily find places to prop your phone at an ideal angle or height to capture a family photo, like Apple advertises. What if I'm at a theme park or at the beach? What, exactly, am I supposed to put my phone on?! If I'm toting around a small tripod or Gorillapod, changes are I'lll be using a much better quality camera than that of an iPhone. Maybe we'll discover some really creative uses once this thing is in our hands but, for now, I'm not seeing much of a benefit as far as family/self portraits go.

I have to say, especially in family days / days out, pretty much everyone I know carries a tripod for their iPhone. The gorilla pods are the best, can wrap them around trees / fences etc. This will be perfect for the Apple Watch.

 

[Tycho24]

I assumed everyone did this so I wasn't able to follow what you were talking about lol.

Nope!
I assure you... most of us are used to using the subpar front camera for all selfies. This is a first chance to use the main camera for those types of shots; using Apple Watch for framing. *cool*

 

[co.ag.2005]

Gotcha. I always took selfies with the back camera. Just learned to frame it without looking.

yep, it was like that with the iPhone 3G, except the Apple logo served as the "selfie mirror"