Apple iPhone 6 Camera Ping!
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Posted on 01/13/2015 11:09:05 PM PST by Swordmaker
Speed kills, and the iPhone goes from 0 to a good picture faster than anything else
I was at Intel’s CES booth, composing a photo with my Android smartphone, when a pair of anonymous hands thrust a shining iPhone 6 Plus into my line of vision. A nonchalant tap of the camera shutter button later, the hands were pulling back, having captured a stupendously clear and sharp picture on the first attempt. By the time I’d completed my routine of setting proper focus and steadying myself, the dude who’d beaten me to a better shot with none of the effort was already walking away. It was enough to make anyone sink into a deep state of gadget envy.
For a show overrun with various visions of smart drones and smarter homes for the future, the present of CES was remarkably uniform. I saw more iPhones in the hands of CES attendees than I did Android phones across the countless exhibitor booths. From the biggest keynote event to the smallest stall on the show floor, everything was being documented with Apple’s latest smartphone, and it all looked so irritatingly easy. I don’t want an iPhone, but dammit, I want the effortlessness of the iPhone’s camera.
I DON’T WANT AN IPHONE, BUT DAMMIT, I WANT THE EFFORTLESSNESS OF THE IPHONE’S CAMERA
The iPhone’s lead as the smartphone to beat has rarely been defined by just one thing. At one point, the biggest advantage was the simplicity and speed of its interface; at another, it was down to the diversity and quality of available apps; and most recently, the iPhone has distinguished itself with the quality of its 8-megapixel camera. Today, the combination of all these things — simple and fast operation, strong optics and image processing, and a wide app ecosystem — is helping people create the best possible images with the least possible hassle.
The effortlessness of taking good pictures with the iPhone is probably that phone’s most underrated quality. And yet, its importance grows with every passing day. Consider how vital the camera in any modern smartphone is. Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter are the most popular communication platforms, and they’re all either image-centric or moving toward a greater reliance on visuals. To get the most out of Pinterest, Tumblr, Foursquare check-ins, or Yelp restaurant reviews, you’ll want to be able to take quick and easy mobile pictures. The standard that must be reached isn’t so much about image quality as it is about quickness, predictability, and reliability — and nobody does those things better than Apple.
SNAPCHAT, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK... THE APPS YOU USE MOST ALL NEED A GOOD CAMERA
In all the years of Android’s existence, in spite of huge investments of time and money, there’s never been a standout Android cameraphone. Some have cameras that are better in low light than the iPhone’s, many have higher resolution, and a number claim to be faster at focusing — but none pull it all together into the same comprehensive package that the iPhone can offer. Samsung and LG give you a pared-down "just shoot" experience, but they lack software polish and speed; Motorola’s camera launches and shoots quickly, but the quality is mediocre; and Sony manages to combine an excellent image sensor with terrible autofocus. Microsoft’s PureView cameras fare better, but the Windows Phone camera app is comparatively slow and unintuitive, and there’s a reason why former Lumia chief Ari Partinen is now tagging his photos with #iPhone6Plus instead of #Lumia1520.
As 2015 gets going in earnest and phone makers resume their annual quest to oust the iPhone from its dominant position, I offer this advice: don’t worry about the phone, focus on beating the camera. This is a familiar refrain, as true today as it was three years ago, and it’s frankly embarrassing for the mobile industry to lag so badly for so long on such a fundamental aspect of the modern user experience. The pursuit of gimmicks like UltraPixels and laser autofocus goes some way to explaining this conundrum, but I’d rather we just fix it.
The most critical component to Apple’s current mobile dominance lies behind that sapphire crystal lens. In today’s commoditized smartphone market, even great design and spectacular thinness are becoming commonplace. Powerful processors and large batteries are expected rather than exceptional. To win over new customers (and to keep existing ones), smartphone makers will have to act like what they are selling is actually a smart camera first and everything else second.
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Plus you need a good selfie stick. ;-)
didn’t I see a story about some really top-notch cameras for phones coming out soon?
I would immediately turn off the autofocus since I have yet to meet a camera that can read minds and focus on what I want.
Only if you consider the camera to be the primary function of the phone.
I don’t.
I rarely use a camera for facebook. I’m not so vain that I’m constantly clicking selfies, and if twitter is for idiots...instagram is for idiots who can’t read.
You tap on the screen on what you want the focus on. . . literally a split second and it focuses where you want it to. Otherwise it multi focuses on the faces.
Stories about top-notch cameras for phones coming out soon are always being published. The cameras and phones never amount to much.
This is not about taking "selfies," it's about taking photographs with phones. What you do with them is up to you?
Gotta say: most friends want me to shoot them, with my POS Android, over IPhone.
Don’t know what the diff is.
I don’t pay attention to the many variables I’ve seen pro’s ache ove but, my friends insist I POP’em and send the em the besteeez.
Am I lame?
Being used?
My udder friends weetawds?
?????
The best camera is always the one you have with you.
Which is what a LOT of professional photographers say the iPhone's camera is. . . some are using it for a lot of their professional work.
Pretty much...
No photographer considers any phone camera to be of high quality. They are all a joke. That said, I have a Droid Turbo, 20MP. Beats the iPhone’s camera hands down in quality.
“some are using it for a lot of their professional work. “
No, son, they don’t. I highly doubt a pro with his Nikon FX is going to ditch it for an Apple product. Don’t know any that have and your post has a few of them giggling. Actually, one is about to laugh herself into an asthma attack.
Coad Toad, I don’t post things I'm not prepared to back up with facts. I never do. Major magazines have used photos shot with iPhones on their covers. YOU may not use an iPhone for photography, but many pros DO. You may laugh all you like, but you are wrong.
You’ve always had your head up Apple’s butt so far you have to use their bellybutton as a porthole. If Apple came and took a honking crap on your floor you’d claim it was a better crap than Microsoft’s.
Their camera is no better than anyone else’s on a phone, but being their chump you can’t see that.
Before you take off for the emergency room, I think these might break up you friend's apoplectic fit of ignorance! .Here're just some examples, if you want more, I can keep posting links for your edification:
That Tree, iPhone photography by Mark Hirsch
26 Stunning iPhone Photos Taken by a Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photographer David Hume Kennerly
National Geographic photographer takes the iPhone 5S out shooting—and likes it
Pro Photographer uses iPhone 6 Plus to cover White House event
An iPhone in Congo, photos by Michael Christopher Brown — TIME Magazine
Time Magazine cover image shot with iPhone: interview with Ben Lowy
Ben Lowy is what photography professionals call a "conflict photographer." He goes where the dramatic stories are, and in recent years has been to Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and now to the US states knocked hard by Hurricane Sandy. His equipment of choice? Often it's an iPhone 4S, plus some iOS apps for image editing and getting photos to his editors.
I think that should be sufficient proof of my statement, and evidence that PROFESSIONAL Photographers are often using Apple iPhone cameras, and a complete refutation of your snickering denial. I told you I don't post things I'm not prepared to back up!
Your abject PUBLIC apology will be accepted.
By the way, unless you are in your late eighties or early nineties, YOU are not old enough to refer to me as "son," especially in an intentionally denigrating way.
Good article! Thanks for posting. I have an Android and have noticed the same thing. The Apple phone is vastly superior. I’ve seen some mediocre Android cameras but nothing like an iPhone.
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