Thursday, September 13, 2012

iPhone 5 as a camera

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It's finally here! The smartphone that iPhoneographers from all over the world have been waiting for: The iPhone 5. But is it a hit or a miss? Since you all probably already have seen the features of the new iPhone, i would like to talk more about the camera and if it is worth to upgrade from an iPhone 4/4S from an iPhoneographers point of view.












If you compare the features of the iPhone 5 camera to the iPhone 4S, you wont see many differences. In fact, if you just look at the spreadsheet, you wont see any changes at all. It is still the same 8 MP camera with a five-element lens, hybrid IR filter and a f/2.4 aperture.
But there are some minor improvements. With the new A6 chip, you will be able to shoot pictures up to 40% faster, which could come handy in certain situations. Another new feature is the new sapphire lens crystal cover, a material which is often used in watches to prevent scratches. Although this IS a very useful upgrade, considering that the plastic cover of my 4S already has a few scratches, this seems more of a marketing-clue from Apple, because you know, who else can say they got a freaking sapphire crystal in their smartphone?!


The camera also has a new Dynamic Low-Light mode. It evaluates nearby pixels to give up to 2 f-stops greater low-light performance. According to Apple’s Phil Schiller, the new iPhone 5 camera will deliver improved low-light photography, which will look "amazing" according to him. We will see how much of that is marketing-chatter or if it will actually improve the quality. It would be cool since the iPhone 4S struggles with low-light conditions.

Something we all have been missing is a built-in panorama mode for the iPhone. Now it is finally here, and even the iPhone 4S will get it (look at the comparison between the iPhone's on Apple's site and you will know)! With a simple sweep you will be able to get 28MP panorama pictures. It will also feature a proprietary stitching algorithm that will get you some smooth pictures even if you dont hold your camera that steady.


My thoughts on the iPhone 5:
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I like it! But do i like it that much that i will give up my iPhone 4S for it? No.
The only feature that could have changed my mind would have been a major camera upgrade, which actually didnt happen. Let me tell you that the quality of the pictures (except under low-light conditions maybe) wont change much. Even worse, since they placed the camera a bit different and also made it smaller, most accessories probably wont even work with it. Thats a shame since i really love to take pictures with my Olloclip, and an upgrade to the iPhone 5 would render it useless.

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