The iPhone camera is lagging behind

[Technarchy]

Maybe. Let me ask you. Totally ignoring release dates do you think the iPhones camera is better or worse then the Nokias?

Does it matter? Nokia has been throwing big cameras into phones for awhile.

Does it matter and does anyone care is a better question. And I am willing to wager not many do.

Apple will probably move 1000 iPhones for every one Lumia 1020 sold.

 

[Shanghaichica]

It's not lagging behind. It was released in 2012 and it was on par, if not one of the better cameras in it's era.

 

[onthecouchagain]

All we have to go by in way of comparison is whatever is out now. When the iPhone 5S is compared to the S4 in October-ish, will the same people that point out iPhone 5's age point out the S4's age?

I think iPhones have great cameras. And much better than the Ultra-hype-pixel on the HTC One..

 

[Irishman]

Photography is part of our daily lives. Smartphone gave us that capability. The best camera is always the one that is with you.

And for record millions of users, that camera is the iPhone camera. Or the GS3/4. Pictures from these phones haven't suddenly gotten worse because the Lumia 1020 is out, you know. 🙄

The iPhone camera is not perfect. And it's not shockingly amazing or innovative either. Why can't Apple deliver similar - or even better cameras? It's clear that Apple's (And Samsung's, and almost every other smartphone out there) has poor image quality.

Neither is the Lumia's camera. I hope you don't think it is. POOR image quality? Are you high?

Apple needs to step up and beat the Nokia Lumia.

Why?

 

[jamojamo]

Photography is part of our daily lives. Smartphone gave us that capability. The best camera is always the one that is with you.

Nokia just announced the Nokia Lumia 1020 with 41 megapixels, Carl Zeiss technology with 6 physical lenses.

The iPhone camera is not perfect. And it's not shockingly amazing or innovative either. Why can't Apple deliver similar - or even better cameras? It's clear that Apple's (And Samsung's, and almost every other smartphone out there) has poor image quality.

It's no longer an opinion to say that Nokia Lumia's camera is superior - it is a fact. Apple needs to step up and beat the Nokia Lumia.

I will be sure to keep an eye out for pictures from the 8 or so people that buy this phone. Meanwhile the millions of Samsung/Apple/HTC customers will continue posting their selfies with the poor quality cameras.

 

[sectime]

You do understand what megapixels are dont you? The more you have then basically the bigger the image.

My super pro DSLR (yes, I am a photographer). shoots at 22mp. Are you telling me that the Lumia is better because it has more? No, the problem with the Lumia is that to fit that many MP onto a small sensor they have to be small pixels. Small is not very good, especially in low light.

If the technology was that good, why dont they include it on all the other Lumia phones in their lineup?

Heres a shocking bit of info that I know will cause many here to curse me as the devil.... Ready???? Your camera phone.... is never going to be as good as a pro DSLR... OMG I SAID IT!! Its good for taking on holiday and snapping pictures of your penis to send to your lady friend.

Boy are you off the deep end. The 1020 is the first WP phone with the big camera, 808 was the first. How would Nokia offer a retro fit kit for its older models? Stop thinking about our old man willy's, don't be that guy. If you really are a lens smith then check out Smugmug hosting site, so many crappy IPhone pictures. No old man willy though, don't be disappointed.😉

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

The camera on any mobile phone is going to be inferior to a dedicated camera, but they are what they are. You carry your phone with you everywhere and if the need to take a picture comes up, then its handy to have. They are for simply point and shoot means, not using to take serious pictures or pictures you wish to print at the highest quality. The camera on my iPhone is good enough for what I and I would imagine most people use it for. I don't doubt the camera's on Nokia's are better, but I don't buy a mobile phone for it camera. I wouldn't pull out my Canon 7D and suggest the screen is inferior to my iPhone 5!! lol.. Horses for courses... Others may have different expectations. 🙂

 

[MRU]

You do understand what megapixels are dont you? The more you have then basically the bigger the image.

My super pro DSLR (yes, I am a photographer). shoots at 22mp. Are you telling me that the Lumia is better because it has more? No, the problem with the Lumia is that to fit that many MP onto a small sensor they have to be small pixels. Small is not very good, especially in low light.

If the technology was that good, why dont they include it on all the other Lumia phones in their lineup?

Heres a shocking bit of info that I know will cause many here to curse me as the devil.... Ready???? Your camera phone.... is never going to be as good as a pro DSLR... OMG I SAID IT!! Its good for taking on holiday and snapping pictures of your penis to send to your lady friend.
Boy are you off the deep end. The 1020 is the first WP phone with the big camera, 808 was the first. How would Nokia offer a retro fit kit for its older models? Stop thinking about our penises, don't be that guy. If you really are a lens smith then check out Smugmug hosting site, so many crappy IPhone pictures. No penises though, don't be disappointed.😉

There was a lot of old man willy in your post. Are you sure your not trying to tell us something 😛

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The camera on any mobile phone is going to be inferior to a dedicated camera, but they are what they are.. 🙂

Not wholly true. There are many dedicated consumer cameras which shoot far less impressive shots than many a smartphone 😉

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Not wholly true. There are many dedicated consumer cameras which shoot far less impressive shots than many a smartphone 😉

That may well be true, but if I want a camera, I don't buy a crap one 😉

 

[Cod3rror]

That may well be true, but if I want a camera, I don't buy a crap one 😉

The best camera right now is Sony RX100 and Nokia 808 holds it's own against it fine.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41150345@N06/sets/72157632982310009/detail/

Lumia 1020 does not take better pictures than 808 but the next camera flagship, could very well beat RX100, if it has a 1" sensor.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

The best camera right now is Sony RX100 and Nokia 808 holds it's own against it fine.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41150345@N06/sets/72157632982310009/detail/

Lumia 1020 does not take better pictures than 808 but the next camera flagship, could very well beat RX100, if it has a 1" sensor.

I'm not going to go into the debate of which is the best camera on the market because that is an absolute minefield! There are so many good compact camera's out there right now, it would be near enough impossible to determine what is the outright best. I generally use Canon, be it my DSLR or the bridge camera for less demanding activities. I use my phone for candid, spontaneous snaps also. I certainly wouldn't compare different mobile phones camera's as a necessity for me to buy. Having a good camera on a mobile phone is always a bonus of course and the iPhone is plenty good enough for what its for IMHO. If the Nokia's are better and I don't doubt, then great. I don't own one and its really not something I would lose any sleep over 🙂

 

[Cod3rror]

I'm not going to go into the debate of which is the best camera on the market because that is an absolute minefield! There are so many good compact camera's out there right now, it would be near enough impossible to determine what is the outright best. I generally use Canon, be it my DSLR or the bridge camera for less demanding activities. I use my phone for candid, spontaneous snaps also. I certainly wouldn't compare different mobile phones camera's as a necessity for me to buy. Having a good camera on a mobile phone is always a bonus of course and the iPhone is plenty good enough for what its for IMHO. If the Nokia's are better and I don't doubt, then great. I don't own one and its really not something I would lose any sleep over 🙂

For me it's the other way around. A phone camera is very important. And when purchasing a phone, a camera is one of the biggest deciding factors. That's why I never considered HTC's phones, they have terrible cameras.

I like convergence devices and minimalism, but at the same time I like to take good quality pictures so having a great camera is important IMO. Plus the convenience of having a good camera always on you, always on, is great. The other day, I wound up in Wicklow mountains in Dublin, Ireland. I was not planning to go there, so even if I owned a DSLR, it would not be with me, so if I had a phone with a better camera, I'd have gotten much better pictures of the view.

If I was a pro, that did preparation or studio work, then I'd understand but spur of the moment, spontaneous pictures is all I take. And you're not going to take a DSLR or even a bridge to a bar or a party right? Or even to a concert or some event.

If Nokia released a phone with Android and 1" sensor, that really took better pictures than 808(1020 does not), I'd buy it.

As for the RX100, I'm not going to debate either, I just watched several reviews of it and many reviewers proclaimed it to be the best P&S on the market right now, so I'm just parroting their words.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

For me it's the other way around. A phone camera is very important. And when purchasing a phone, a camera is one of the biggest deciding factors. That's why I never considered HTC's phones, they have terrible cameras.

If that is one of your criteria when buying a phone then fair enough. My point was the iPhone 5 camera is far from sub standard and takes some very good photo's for what its designed for. For the situation you listed, yes a phone is handy to have. As I said for spontaneous shots they are great. I wouldn't go to somebodies wedding and expect to take all my shots on my iPhone with any intent that they will be any good or printable for instance.

And you're not going to take a DSLR or even a bridge to a bar or a party right? Or even to a concert or some event.

I'm an enthusiast photographer so I actually would take my camera to certain events. Perhaps not a bar on a night out, but to parties I tend to take it along. You can't match the type of low light quality of a DSLR with external flash gun. No compact or even the on-board flash on a DSLR would do the job you need for decent quality low light images. Of course if you are just taking quick crude snaps of your mates to stick on Facebook, most smartphones are fit for purpose. A lot of my photography is generally landscape stuff and long exposures are what I enjoy most. Early morning, tripod, remote and camera thrown in the car.

Don't get me wrong, if the camera's improve on smartphones I am not against that at all. I do find a lot of the demo images shown on the net from different models appear to be good quality until you look more closely. The Samsung's and HTC handle noise pretty badly from what I have seen. You wouldn't take a photo on a phone and expect to blow it up to A3 for instance, or at least I hope people wouldn't lol. 🙂

As for the RX100, I'm not going to debate either, I just watched several reviews of it and many reviewers proclaimed it to be the best P&S on the market right now, so I'm just parroting their words.

I am sure it is a very good camera. I'm about to buy a Canon EOS M. It is also a very good little camera system. 🙂

 

[sectime]

There was a lot of old man willy in your post. Are you sure your not trying to tell us something 😛

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Not wholly true. There are many dedicated consumer cameras which shoot far less impressive shots than many a smartphone 😉

Willy Wonka 😉
Lol

 

[Liquorpuki]

I'm an enthusiast photographer so I actually would take my camera to certain events. Perhaps not a bar on a night out, but to parties I tend to take it along. You can't match the type of low light quality of a DSLR with external flash gun. No compact or even the on-board flash on a DSLR would do the job you need for decent quality low light images. Of course if you are just taking quick crude snaps of your mates to stick on Facebook, most smartphones are fit for purpose. A lot of my photography is generally landscape stuff and long exposures are what I enjoy most. Early morning, tripod, remote and camera thrown in the car.

Personally all I'd like is for the iPhone to have a xenon flash, which would allow night time shots without motion blur. The 1020 and 928 have one. The Honami is gonna have one. The Note 3 is gonna have one. Instead, Apple is going with 2 LED flashes for the 5S, which just means your blurry picture is gonna be brighter.

Would've been nice if Apple stayed on the bleeding edge of camera tech like they do on displays and materials.

 

[cynics]

Personally all I'd like is for the iPhone to have a xenon flash, which would allow night time shots without motion blur. The 1020 and 928 have one. The Honami is gonna have one. The Note 3 is gonna have one. Instead, Apple is going with 2 LED flashes for the 5S, which just means your blurry picture is gonna be brighter.

Would've been nice if Apple stayed on the bleeding edge of camera tech like they do on displays and materials.

Not gonna happen. Xenon can't be powered continuously so no more flashlight apps (last I checked this may have changed). AND iOS 7 integrates a flashlight right into the control center.

 

[Liquorpuki]

Not gonna happen. Xenon can't be powered continuously so no more flashlight apps (last I checked this may have changed). AND iOS 7 integrates a flashlight right into the control center.

On Xenon smartphones there's usually an LED used for AF and video lighting. The 928 and 1020 have one. Flashlight apps can use that

 

[jrswizzle]

On Xenon smartphones there's usually an LED used for AF and video lighting. The 928 and 1020 have one. Flashlight apps can use that

Are we sure that both the flashes in the new 5S are LED? Perhaps a similar setup is being implemented in the 5S (one LED for the above mentioned purposes, the other Xenon for flash photos)?

 

[Liquorpuki]

Are we sure that both the flashes in the new 5S are LED? Perhaps a similar setup is being implemented in the 5S (one LED for the above mentioned purposes, the other Xenon for flash photos)?

I guess we'll find out when they announce it. The leaks so far have only mentioned dual LED's though

 

[Black Magic]

Photography is part of our daily lives. Smartphone gave us that capability. The best camera is always the one that is with you.

Nokia just announced the Nokia Lumia 1020 with 41 megapixels, Carl Zeiss technology with 6 physical lenses.

The iPhone camera is not perfect. And it's not shockingly amazing or innovative either. Why can't Apple deliver similar - or even better cameras? It's clear that Apple's (And Samsung's, and almost every other smartphone out there) has poor image quality.

It's no longer an opinion to say that Nokia Lumia's camera is superior - it is a fact. Apple needs to step up and beat the Nokia Lumia.

You are a new user and probably work for the marketing department for Nokia. My guess is you want to drum up a sale or two with this post. Problem here is that Nokia with it's phone and advertising are missing the point completely. The camera on the iPhone is awesome but people aren't buying phones just for the camera. The iPhone is awesome at many things which makes it a worthwhile purchase. The Nokia phones are awesome at one thing only. To put it in perspective, not many folks are walking into a carrier store picking up Nokia phones over Android and iOS devices. This will not change anytime soon either.

If Nokia had any sense they would have Android phones with the same specs and then maybe the Lumia phones would fly off the shelves. Another opportunity missed.

 

[Menneisyys2]

I don't know what you're talking about, the iPhone 5 has a great camera.

Not exactly. Even the GS4 has a far better-quality camera than the iPhone 5. And the two 41 Mp Nokias (808 / 1020) are even better, camera-wise.

And this isn't stated by me but DPReview.

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Not gonna happen. Xenon can't be powered continuously so no more flashlight apps (last I checked this may have changed). AND iOS 7 integrates a flashlight right into the control center.

1, they could do the same as Nokia - separate LED and Xenon flash to allow for both kinds of flashes.

2, surely they won't. Design over functionality, as always with Apple - and Xenon flashes require a capacitor, which can take a bit of space. They won't sacrifice their design "only" to give us a far better camera.

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POOR image quality? Are you high?

I'm sorry to inform you but the iPhone 5 has indeed pretty poor IQ compared to the Nokia 808. (No reliable comparisons / reviews exist of the 1020 yet so I can't comment on its IQ) Just check out DPReview's for example noise / resolution / color bleeding tests at base ISO. The 808's 5 Mpixel image is absolutely noise-free, while that of the iPhone 5 is both noisy and has considerably worse resolution:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33448355@N07/9318034591/in/set-72157634699663151

 

[Markyboy81]

I owned the 808 for a good few months and the pictures it produced were outstanding. However, despite having an interest in photography I sold it and got a gs4 instead, as for me the 808 was lacking in so many ways. Unfortunately WP (imo) is also lacking and I won't be getting the 1020 either.
The 13mp camera of the gs4 is perfectly adequate for day to day use, but I just wish manufacturers would stop competing in the megapixels race, and focus on image quality instead. There's no way that the gs4 can properly resolve all 13mp regardless of lighting (just look at images at 100%)so I would be in favour of limiting the resolution to no more than 5mp. To be honest, 2mp would suffice as currently it's the highest resolution screen most people have in their house anyway.

 

[Jessica Lares]

Poor image quality my ass.

The only problem here is that we have a generation of people using cameras, who have never touched one ever in their lives. Stop ********ting yourself into believing that it has anything to do with "crappy" sensors, and "crappy" megapixels.

Most of the people who review the cameras on these phones base it on default settings, and they aren't even trying to take good photography. And heck, even a 35mm took bad shots at times and produced grainy results. Been there, done that.

 

[Gav2k]

Photography is part of our daily lives. Smartphone gave us that capability. The best camera is always the one that is with you.

Nokia just announced the Nokia Lumia 1020 with 41 megapixels, Carl Zeiss technology with 6 physical lenses.

The iPhone camera is not perfect. And it's not shockingly amazing or innovative either. Why can't Apple deliver similar - or even better cameras? It's clear that Apple's (And Samsung's, and almost every other smartphone out there) has poor image quality.

It's no longer an opinion to say that Nokia Lumia's camera is superior - it is a fact. Apple needs to step up and beat the Nokia Lumia.

Might want to check your facts 😉

A sample....


http://www.flickr.com/cameras

 

[Menneisyys2]

Might want to check your facts 😉

A sample....


http://www.flickr.com/cameras

You too. For example, by checking out the DPReview review ( http://www.dpreview.com/articles/8083837371/review-nokia-808-pureview ) of the 808. Even people not knowing much about photography will realize the 808 is capable of much better image quality than even the iPhone 5.

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Poor image quality my ass.

Well, everything is relative. iPhones indeed have definitely worse IQ than the 808 (or even the 1020). This is a fact. It's always preferable to shoot with a camera with better IQ to achieve (technically) better quality. This is why pro photog's take mostly FF's to weddings and not P&S cameras.

If one doesn't know much about photography and/or how the quality of a camera could objectively be measured (other than just stating "most flicker photos are shot with the iPhone so it must be good"), the DPReview review and comparative shots are good starting points...

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There's no way that the gs4 can properly resolve all 13mp regardless of lighting (just look at images at 100%)so I would be in favour of limiting the resolution to no more than 5mp.

The camera of the GS4 is pretty good - it's somewhere between the 808 and the iPhone 5. While it's noisy at base ISO (after all, it's a small-sensor camera), it can resolve far more detail than, say, the iPhone 5.

What I myself am waiting for is the LG G2. The first test shots are VERY promising.