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Apple iPhone 5 Camera Improved…Slightly

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Apple’s iPhone 5 features a thinner camera and updated software for improved photo and video capture. The iPhone 5 will also be able to record audio better than its predecessors.

The iPhone 5’s 8MP rear-facing camera has similar specs to the camera found in the iPhone 4S. It has a five-element lens, hybrid IR filter and backside illumination. The aperture comes in at f/2.4.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about the new camera and updated software is that Apple’s updated its dynamic low-light mode. Apple didn’t detail this feature during its iPhone 5 presentation today, but we do expect to see sample shortly.

Another nice new feature is that the iPhone 5 can shoot still images while recording video. Until now, iPhone users had to choose between capturing video or stills. Many Android phones already have this feature.

iPhone5_sample

iPhone 5 Camera Sample

With the introduction of iOS 6, iPhone users will finally be able to use Facetime on mobile networks.  Previous iPhones had sub par front-facing cameras. The iPhone 5 comes with a 720p front-facing camera for a better Facetime experience. Of course this camera will also mean iPhone 5 users can take better self portraits and videos.

iPhone_5_panorama

The iPhone 5 Camera Can Shoot and Stitch Panoramas

The iPhone 5 will be the first iPhone with a baked-in Panorama feature. The camera app can stitch together a series of photos to capture landscapes and other wide scenes. The resulting images are up to 28 megapixel. The iPhone 4S will also get the Panorama feature once users upgrade it to iOS 6.

The iPhone 5 now has three separate microphones, including one on the back of the phone. This is a huge improvement over the iPhone 4S design, which captured audio using the microphone at the bottom of the camera.

iPhone_5_camera_specs

iPhone 5 Camera Specifications

The iPhone 5’s camera is an improvement over previous iPhones, but it is still far from being the best in class. Nokia’s 808 Pureview camera boasts a 41 megapixel sensor and is the best smartphone camera available. The Nokia 808 can zoom  The Nokia Lumia 920 has a toned-down Pureview camera that features optical image stabilization.

Smartphone camera quality is increasingly important as more and more people use their phones as their primary cameras. Unfortunately, smartphone cameras generally don’t perform as well as mediocre standalone point-and-shoot cameras. Of course, smartphones are much better for quickly sharing photos and videos on services such as Twitter and Facebook.

 

 

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Joseph Kurian

    09/12/2012 at 10:47 pm

    I seriously dun understand why people are so fantasized to higher Megapixels, on a phone camera. I mean, without proper focusing capabilities, shutter speeds and relative light ranges, even if one has a 1000 megapixel camera, the pics are still gonna look amateurish. Another funny point with this increased resolution is that it never be noticed, cause most of the projection mediums for these pix are in the range of 2 to 5 MP. Funnier still, Most photos taken by cellphones end up on Facebook which has horrific compression algorithms, capable of making even a Hasselblad look s**t.

    • sarah

      10/26/2012 at 8:48 pm

      Hmm, i agree. I’m guilty of liking higher mexapixels. I am a helluva picture taker and i just like for them to be clear. everything you said is true though, makes me rethink haha

  2. rasu

    09/17/2012 at 11:05 am

    Wat ever i phone5 also still remains small. Small display

    • MGTan

      09/18/2012 at 4:30 am

      Since when does innovation only cover larger screens only? I’m very happy Apple didn’t start thinking it had to keep up with the screen ravers just to claim innovation… that would only give trolls and rotten apples an excuse to say that they copied Android’s bland innovationless hardware department. Apple isn’t being innovative because they are out of ideas because they picked the right design and the right form factor and integrated everything for mass consumption that fit Apple’s standards of minimalistic, yet effective. I like how they enlarged the screen but didn’t give up the ease of using the product with one hand which is extremely important to MANY people. I dislike the larger phones meant for larger hands only and for smaller hands, it MUST be a two handed device… There’s seriously no innovation in something the PC world has been doing ever since the motherboard. But an awesome camera? Def… Better audio recording AND better low light photos (courtesy of Nokia), Without straying too far from the iOS roots, that’s something many iPhone upgraders are looking for because Windows is still windows no matter how much better it is than Mountain Lion. Just an opinion.

  3. MGTan

    09/18/2012 at 4:05 am

    @Kurian
    MP only matters if the sensor can accommodate the size of the pixel IMO. Perhaps Apple has devised a way to correct this issue in their iPhone as to keep up with Nokia. Nokia probably has the most “proper” focusing capabilities of any phone, let alone some mid-low end PS models. Nokia has devised an OTF pixel binning or Phase 1 Pureview directly into their 808 which is a re-innovation from that technology only existing in DSLRs. Just as Nokia’s 920 introduced Phase 2 Pureview integrating into their WINMO 8 phone a hardware OIS which only existed in DSLRs. Apple is surely going to find a way to keep Nokia grounded because Apple 1st and foremost is and will be the Creativity and Artistic based tech expert. The question remains for the mobile market is “who will copy Nokia? and try to get AWAY with it?”

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