Why all the camera rants?

[kameko]

For my two pence worth, I too came from the N95 to the iPhone, and have to say that the camera is the biggest dissapointment to me.

I've had plenty of two megapixel cameras over the years, several windows mobiles, the SE K750, K800, P990i, etc. I have to say that the iPhone is the worst I've had.

My main issues with it are regarding the poor refresh rate of the screen/lens. I find that unless I hold it completely still or if anyone is moving in the shot then it comes out very blurry.

I agree with the comment above about the SE's (except the P990i) being marketted as camera specific phones, however the N95 was marketed as a Multimedia Computer, which I think is the iPhones marketing strategy also.

It's a real shame to me because I thought at the time that I could live with the 2MP camera, but it turned out to be worse than I thought it would be. I used to take lots and lots of photos on days/nights out and used to post a lot to facebook, etc. I find myself now not even bothering to reach into my pocket for my phone because I know how disappointed I'd be with the results. I haven't posted a photo to facebook since June! What does that say?

I totally agree with the notion that the camera was an afterthought. It wouldn't have killed them to put in some scene options, etc. Even a day/night mode. I can't think of another mobile with such limited options in the camera app.

this is exactly how i feel about the iphone cam. it is so completely useless unless its bright daylight out. if not, you end up with some blurry piece of crap picture, ESPECIALLY when you're trying to take pictures of friends having a fun night out or anything remotely like that. mobile cameras are SUPPOSED to be for on-the-go in-the-moment shots.

i also thought i'd end up using the iphone for facebook/friends/fun night out pictures but nope. COMPLETELY useless garbage camera. pretty sure everyone already understands its not supposed to replace an actual digital camera, but this thing is just SO far below the quality of what a supposed top-of-the-line best-selling smart phone is supposed to have.

if all i wanted to do was take a picture of a car sitting in a parking lot in broad daylight then i suppose the camera is alright.

 

[PowerFullMac]

this is exactly how i feel about the iphone cam. it is so completely useless unless its bright daylight out. if not, you end up with some blurry piece of crap picture, ESPECIALLY when you're trying to take pictures of friends having a fun night out or anything remotely like that. mobile cameras are SUPPOSED to be for on-the-go in-the-moment shots.

i also thought i'd end up using the iphone for facebook/friends/fun night out pictures but nope. COMPLETELY useless garbage camera. pretty sure everyone already understands its not supposed to replace an actual digital camera, but this thing is just SO far below the quality of what a supposed top-of-the-line best-selling smart phone is supposed to have.

if all i wanted to do was take a picture of a car sitting in a parking lot in broad daylight then i suppose the camera is alright.

Why not do one of the following:
1) Bring a proper digital camera to take pictures of fast moving things in the dark eg. nights out
2) Sleep at night time and don't worry about any cameras at all

 

[kameko]

Why not do one of the following:
1) Bring a proper digital camera to take pictures of fast moving things in the dark eg. nights out
2) Sleep at night time and don't worry about any cameras at all

or instead of that, apple should wake up and make their product be at least comparable to other smartphones!

the iphone does do a lot of great things but its just nonsensical to make certain standard functionalities of a smartphone to be SO bad. just adding flash would have been enough.

and yes, before anyone jumps down my throat about it, i DID know the camera didn't have a flash before i bought it. i just didn't realize it would be THIS bad without one.

picture from halloween party in a room i thought was at least decently lit. and this was considered the best pic i took all night!

 

[JoshHawn]

agreed so you know what buy another phone like i did i basically gave up on the iphone because by the time they will give us something that we want the g5 powerbook will come im not against you its just im tired of people complaining really i was there too just buy another phone and use both or make the iphone a ipod touch

LOL G5 powerbook lol

 

[9822679]

or instead of that, apple should wake up and make their product be at least comparable to other smartphones!

the iphone does do a lot of great things but its just nonsensical to make certain standard functionalities of a smartphone to be SO bad. just adding flash would have been enough.

and yes, before anyone jumps down my throat about it, i DID know the camera didn't have a flash. i just didn't realize it would be THIS bad without one.

picture from halloween party in a room i thought was at least decenty lit. and this was considered the best pic i took all night!

EXACTLY !!!!

that Halloween picture could not prove my point any better, compare that to the halloween picture I took last year with my sony k800i

I understand that the Iphone can take pictures of objects that do not move in well lit areas.... big deal


As xUKHCx stated, I agree that the camera on the iPhone was a "last minute, hey lets throw that in". I also agree with him however, that we don't need the best or latest camera technology out there.

Hell I would pay $50 more for the iPhone if it came with the same 2005 technology that my old k750i had ( autofocus and LED flash)

The iPhone is a great piece of technology, but fanboys, please stop trying to defend its camera

 

[Habakuk]

A little hint for all of those who are not satisfied with the iPhone's camera output: Clean the tiny lens before each shooting using a moistened (water) Q-tip very softly! Dry with the other end of Q-tip (or soft fuzz-free cloth).

The lens is exposed to get dirty very much and this is almost impossible to avoid.

 

[kameko]

EXACTLY !!!!

that Halloween picture could not prove my point any better, compare that to the halloween picture I took last year with my sony k800i

I understand that the Iphone can take pictures of objects that do not move in well lit areas.... big deal


As xUKHCx stated, I agree that the camera on the iPhone was a "last minute, hey lets throw that in". I also agree with him however, that we don't need the best or latest camera technology out there.

Hell I would pay $50 more for the iPhone if it came with the same 2005 technology that my old k750i had ( autofocus and LED flash)

The iPhone is a great piece of technology, but fanboys, please stop trying to defend its camera

well to be fair...your picture does have illuminating horns right in the middle to serve as a light source

 

[Xander787]

or instead of that, apple should wake up and make their product be at least comparable to other smartphones!

the iphone does do a lot of great things but its just nonsensical to make certain standard functionalities of a smartphone to be SO bad. just adding flash would have been enough.

and yes, before anyone jumps down my throat about it, i DID know the camera didn't have a flash before i bought it. i just didn't realize it would be THIS bad without one.

picture from halloween party in a room i thought was at least decently lit. and this was considered the best pic i took all night!

Well define decently lit. Your eyes adjust much better than any camera so decently lit to you is crappy as hell lighting to a camera.

 

[kameko]

Well define decently lit. Your eyes adjust much better than any camera so decently lit to you is crappy as hell lighting to a camera.

the bottom line is the iphone has a crappy as hell setup for a camera.

 

[puercaeli]

Let's face it.
Whilst iPhone has good camera(probably good enough to be used as webcam.)

But its lack of auto-focus makes it severely limited. I don't expect iPhone to be DSLR or as good as high quality compact camera but I want it to be as usable as my N73 at least....

And with all the job listings and all, I am pretty sure Apple is doing sth about this and hopefully we will see some improvements in next revision.

 

[n8236]

The issue really is that the camera on the iPhone is worse than cameras of very old phones. It is a cheap add on, almost an after thought and done only to say look look we have a camera too.

The camera in my old phone which I got in 2006 was much better in terms of quality of image and the ability to take closeups and in dark conditions.

Seeing as the camera is always around it would be nice if it could take some pictures. I often find myself in a position where I need to take a picture of something and only have my phone so I am stuck with using the rubbish camera.

They could've easily updated the camera to slightly newer old technology and made a big improvement however it was just a cost cutting exercise.

Yes people will always complain but considering the very basic nature of the camera in the phone and lack of updates it really is very dated tachnology and is worthy of a complaint. It almost feels like a deliberate way to cripple the phone however there is no iPhone Pro for them to try and upsell to.

I have to agree with this completely. For the love of God, they could have easily placed a higher megapixel on the 3G and a majority of people would have ****. But they had to keep the crap o camera on the 3G.

It's not like we're asking the camera on the 3G to be professional, but just to be able to take "decent" pictures as opposed to other competitors in its price range. My 3 year old SLVR takes better pix than my 3G, it's sad.

As for carrying around a point-n-shoot, most of us don't do that and there are many occasions where we just want to go hang out w/ friends at a bar or whatever and take silly pix w/o having to carry one. And that's were a 2nd best substitute comes in, camera on a phone. Unfortunately, the 3G epic fails in this area.

To defend the 3G's camera a little, it does take decent pix during the day. But during night or dark areas, it's utterly useless. And don't even get me started with the GPS.

 

[kas23]

This camera is taking away from the full iPhone is experience. Let me give you an example. On the G1, the #1 application is ShopSavvy. This application allows you take a picture of a UPC. It will then show you on Google Maps all the other stores around you that are selling the same product and it's price. You pick the lowest priced store, and then it will give you directions to the store. Again, this is not some obscure app for Android, it's their most popular. So, there is a huge demand for it.

So, why hasn't this app been ported to the iPhone if it is so popular? The iPhone camera can't handle it - it can't take good enough photos of UPCs. I know there are work-arounds - using a magnify glass or using the Griffin Clarifi case - but why not have this work out of the box?

http://phandroid.com/2008/09/24/shop-savvy-for-android-defining-the-vision/

 

[jarofclay73]

Check out the iPhone pictures in my signature. While they are not all perfect, especially the ones at night, I think I have learned how to maximize the iPhone's camera.

 

[PowerFullMac]

This camera is taking away from the full iPhone is experience. Let me give you an example. On the G1, the #1 application is ShopSavvy. This application allows you take a picture of a UPC. It will then show you on Google Maps all the other stores around you that are selling the same product and it's price. You pick the lowest priced store, and then it will give you directions to the store. Again, this is not some obscure app for Android, it's their most popular. So, there is a huge demand for it.

So, why hasn't this app been ported to the iPhone if it is so popular? The iPhone camera can't handle it - it can't take good enough photos of UPCs. I know there are work-arounds - using a magnify glass or using the Griffin Clarifi case - but why not have this work out of the box?

http://phandroid.com/2008/09/24/shop-savvy-for-android-defining-the-vision/

I have a app on my iPhone where I take a photo of a book, DVD, CD or game case and it gives me links to buy it off Amazon, read info on Wikipedia etc.

 

[jarofclay73]

I have a app on my iPhone where I take a photo of a book, DVD, CD or game case and it gives me links to buy it off Amazon, read info on Wikipedia etc.

Yup it's called SnapTell Explorer. And while that is an amazing app in its own right, the previous poster is correct. The iPhone in its stock form CANNOT scan UPC barcodes.

ShopSavvy is also developed exclusively for the Android platform.

However, if you REALLY want your iPhone to scan barcodes you still CAN!

1) Buy the Griffin Clarifi case. According to the website, it retails for $34.99. With this case, you will be able to take better close-up shots. I do not have this so I do not vouch for the quality of this product.

2) Download Snappr.net [iTunes link] from the App Store for free.

Now, looking at the review on the Snappr.net page on iTunes it seems like not all of the Clarifi owners have had luck with this. It seems you need really steady hands. Perhaps Snappr.net could benefit from the accelerometer like with Night Camera. Night Camera automatically takes a picture when your iPhone is steady, so blurs are eliminated.

 

[omegaphil6]

I have never seen a better camera on a phone. The iPhone camera is FAR superior to even those 8mp camphones. Trust me i have tried them. pure rubbish. Does it compare to standalone digital camera? NO! It isnt supposed to. I would never rely on a phone to replace my Kodak 12mp. If you have that mindset then you will NEVER be satisfied. PERIOD.

 

[kas23]

Yup it's called ShopSavvy is also developed exclusively for the Android platform.

It's only exclusive for the Android platform because Apple hasn't accepted their app yet, but its developer, Big in Japan, is dying to get it on the iPhone. Another "Thanks Apple!"

http://www.biggu.com/2008/11/13/why-no-shopsavvy-on-iphone/

As for SnapTell, I have this app, but its really pointless. It only works for videos, books, and music. You take a picture of the cover, which blatantly depicts its title, and Snaptell will tell you what the title is! It also tells you where you can buy it, but anyone with knowledge of the Google can do the same by typing in a search of the title. In fact, I know Grandmas that know how to search for a product on amazon.com.

 

[kameko]

I have never seen a better camera on a phone. The iPhone camera is FAR superior to even those 8mp camphones. Trust me i have tried them. pure rubbish. Does it compare to standalone digital camera? NO! It isnt supposed to. I would never rely on a phone to replace my Kodak 12mp. If you have that mindset then you will NEVER be satisfied. PERIOD.

yawn. stop using the same arguments. no one expects a camera phone to replace a REAL digital camera. we're comparing it to other camera phones that can at least be used after 6pm. or at least a cheap 5$ disposable camera that at least has a flash.

 

[calculus]

In fact, I know Grandmas that know how to search for a product on amazon.com.

Well imagine that...

 

[firewood]

...they could have easily placed a higher megapixel on the 3G

If you read camera technical info, you would find that higher megapixel camera sensors of the same chip size have worse low light sensitivity plus higher noise. So, since the current iPhone camera has severe problems in low light, simply dropping a higher megapixel chip into the same space would only make the camera even worse.

There are bigger sensor chips (all the way up to ones that cost thousands of dollars). But making good use of a bigger and higher megapixel sensor chip requires a larger and longer lens (so the camera doesn't end up diffraction limited) which could potentially make the phone even thicker. And a bigger lens would also require an auto-focus mechanism which would make the camera have more shutter lag, and the phone more expensive.

That's why the bigger pocket digicams, which extend the lens out, take better picture than the thin ones of the same vintage, and why professional SLRs are much longer, front of lens to back of camera, than any pocket digicam.

There are always trade-offs.


.

 

[1984]

If you read camera technical info, you would find that higher megapixel camera sensors of the same chip size have worse low light sensitivity plus higher noise. So, since the current iPhone camera has severe problems in low light, simply dropping a higher megapixel chip into the same space would only make the camera even worse.

There are bigger sensor chips (all the way up to ones that cost thousands of dollars). But making good use of a bigger and higher megapixel sensor chip requires a larger and longer lens (so the camera doesn't end up diffraction limited) which could potentially make the phone even thicker. And a bigger lens would also require an auto-focus mechanism which would make the camera have more shutter lag, and the phone more expensive.

The marketing people really do have people fooled when it comes to megapixels.

Unless you are increasing the physical size of the sensor along with the increase of pixels you are making matters worse. The more pixels you cram into the same tiny sensor the less light each pixel can absorb and the more amplification each pixel will require in order to overcome this loss in sensitivity. Whenever a new camera comes out with more megapixels there are always complaints about increased noise (blockiness, pixelazation) and poorer low light capabilities. The phones that actually take good pictures have larger sensors, larger optics or both. Of course they are also thicker than the iPhone to compensate for this. I wouldn't want that.

That said there is probably a sweet spot between the increased resolution -vs- increased noise that more megapixels bring. It could very well be the 2 megapixel limit we have on the iPhone now or maybe they could increase it to 3 megapixels but I doubt anything higher than that would be beneficial without a different sensor and lens.

I'd like to see 3 megapixels and electronic image stabilization if the iPhone's processor could handle it. That would not only reduce blur from shaky hands but also boost its low light capabilities.

 

[9822679]

I have never seen a better camera on a phone. Trust me i have tried them. pure rubbish. If you have that mindset then you will NEVER be satisfied. PERIOD.

(Wow i don't care if I get banned for this)

You sir are an idiot

did you even look at the previous pictures posted on this thread