Thursday, May 19, 2011

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

iPhone And The Digital Photographer – PhotoRadar’s Feature Wish List For iPhone 5

Posted: 19 May 2011 03:14 AM PDT


Charles Moore of the iPhone 5 News Blog explores PhotoRadar’s Top 10 Photo Features Wish List for the iPhone 5. Take a look!

One of the more persistent, and in my estimation probably accurate rumors about the iPhone 5 has been that it will be getting a better camera than the 5 megapixel unit in the iPhone 4, the spec. number most commonly suggested being 8 MPs resolution.

Given the chorus of Bronx cheers that the otherwise mostly well-received iPad 2 has gotten over its mediocre-spec. cameras, Apple would be well-advised to address the mobile camera issue in iPhone 5.

The mobile photography site PhotoRadar has posted what would be a good guide for Apple in determining the iPhone 5‘s camera features in the form of a gallery entitled “iPhone 5 camera: a wishlist for photographers”

PhotoRadar’s Dave Stevenson notes that while the iPhone is a pretty effective jack-of-all-trades device, its camera has always been lacking, which has left pocket photography enthusiasts to either looking for a different phone or using third-party apps such as Camera+.

However, he observes that with each new iPhone release comes opportunity for improvement and the potential of Apple bringing the iPhone closer to perfection, or failing that lofty ideal, able at least to take decent pictures.

iphone 5 xenon flash

The xenon flash on a Nokia N8

Stephenson’s iPhone 5 photo feature wish list consists of:

1. Xenon flash. Currently, the iPhone 4′s single LED light serves as its ‘flash’, but Xenon flashes like the one on the Nokia N8 are brighter, whiter and better for photography, although they increase battery drain and can't be turned on continuously for lighting video

iPhone 5 News Blog comment: Not very likely this time.

2. Exposure compensation. Being able to boost or reduce exposure would improve results and bring the iPhone 5 camera in line with low-end compact cameras in terms of features.

iPhone 5 News Blog comment: We’ll see. Not probably high on Apple’s to-do list, but who knows?

3. Self-timer. The big problem is that a self-timer's not much use without a tripod, but third-party iPhone tripod mounts are available.

iPhone 5 News Blog comment: The functionality itself should be possible via software, so why not?

4. Optical zoom. PhotoRadar says that can't see Apple ruining the iPhone 4′s sleek lines for the sake of a bigger lens.

iPhone 5 News Blog comment: Neither can we.

5. Burst mode. A decent burst mode would make shooting sports a more realistic proposal, and is already a feature on some third-party photography apps.

iPhone 5 News Blog comment: Another software enhancement that should be doable, although those third-party app. developers might not be happy.

6. Proper image editing capabilities. Not Photoshop but some modest basic photo editing tools.

iPhone 5 News Blog comment: This would be something analogous to OS X Preview’s better than decent photo editing features, and would definitely be value added.

7. A bigger sensor. Unfortunately, space and cost are obstacles, and particularly since the iPhone 4′s sensor was already upgraded from the one in the 3Gs.

iPhone 5 News Blog comment: Maybe in iPhone 6?

iphone 5 manual shutter

Giving the iPhone 5 manual shutter control would indeed be a boutique feature for avid photographers.

8. Manual ISO. PhotoRadar concedes that this one is a flight-of-fancy at this point, but would be very cool for serious mobile photographers.

iPhone 5 News Blog comment: We agree with those assessments

9. Manual shutter / aperture. Being able to set the iPhone 5 camera's aperture and shutter would give photographers a way to ensure decent pics even when they don't have their main camera.

iPhone 5 News Blog comment: Being a fan of manual control, I’d love to see this one, but don’t hold your breath

10. More resolution. A bump to 8MP will bring the iPhone 5 camera in line with competitors like Sony’s Xperia X10, but more megapixels means either compromise on image quality or necessity for a larger sensor

iPhone 5 News Blog comment: Like we said above, more megapixels is probably a given. The image quality issue is more of an imponderable – see Number 7.

PhotoRadar’s original piece goes into even greater detail on all of thee photo-related features, so be sure to read their full article for more information.