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.
Also from earlier this month, super optics and sensor arriving on a Panasonic phone. I wish Apple would do this, too:
Panasonic’s incredible cameraphone is coming to America, Leica lens and all
The Verge
January 5, 2015
By David Pierce
Posted on January 5, 2015 at 5:32:09 PM MST by MeshugeMikey
In September, Panasonic made waves at Photokina by using a camera show to announce a smartphone. But the Lumix CM1 isn’t just any smartphone: it has a 1-inch sensor, the kind you’d find in high-end point-and-shoot cameras, plus an f/2.8 Leica lens that you’d be lucky to find on a high-end point-and-shoot. Along with a 20-megapixel sensor, this phone is designed to basically reinvent the wheel when it comes to smartphone cameras.
Hmmm. I’ll have to take a good look at that one.
Thanks!
Dude, you got owned.
Go crawl back in your hole and whisper, ‘Apple is Evil’ to your android until you find your happy place.
Nice pics!
“You just tap on it to focus where you want”
So what? You do that now with an android phone. The article implies something else that is not in evidence.
The “so what” ... ? Ummmm ... it’s in answer to your Post #5 ....
that is the one I was thinking of
The latest xxxxx have superior cameras to the Galaxy. If you don't like iPhones just don't buy them, problem solved. In the USA we still have the freedom to buy anything we can afford and if you have government assistance you can even buy things you can’t afford.
A talented photographer can take a better picture with marginal equipment than a talentless hack can take with the best equipment. Maybe you just don't have the talent?
No, because I still have no idea what the point of the article is if the latest and greatest iPhone camera has the very same technology as the android I’ve been using for years. The article implies you don’t ever have to focus, which is simply not true and misleads the reader. My beef is not with the iPhone, but the stupid author of this article.
#23 Here is my photo of a Labrador and a German Shepard this past Christmas time at a relative’s home.
http://tinyurl.com/o3r4wok
If you are wondering. The doorbell rang just as I took the photo....
Dream on....clown!
Thanks you.
I keep smugmug alive I guess from the days I used to get a few side photo and video jobs. There hasn’t been any in a couple of years and I toy with turning it off.
Then I look at the internal hit counters and see that people look a lot.
That resolution is all hype and causes laggy playback and stuttering in loading. There is NO REASON for a phone to had QUAD-HD resolution. . . except Hype. No one can see the differences unless you have a microscope. All you get is a battery and memory hogging waste of resources for little advantage.
And i told you, you do not have the right to refer to me as son. . . CUT IT OUT. Jackass.
LOL! Haters gonna hate!
i am still waiting for your apology for your FALSE and snarky assertions that professional photographers do not use iPhones for professional work. You said they did not and I have proved that they indeed DO. Please post your apology.
You don't like facts???? Retch away. FACTS are facts. It is absolutely amazing how you guys will put your fingers in your ears and cover your eyes and start screeching "YAH YAH YAH YAH, I can't hear you, and I can't see the FACTS right in front of my face!"
GAWD! You are and Code Toad as bad as LIBERALS! You live in denial because you cannot admit that Apple can have good products. You people are literally sick with it.
90210 iOS Munchausen's Apple-Plexy Syndrome (MAPS), The overwhelming compulsion to post negative, judgmental, aggressive, and false commentary on any website thread related to Apple products wherever found, including phobic reaction to projected Apple user euphoria. First and subsequent encounters.
I wonder how Ansel Adams would have done with an iPhone camera? He did okay with that massive box camera.
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2589/3991035676_fb2734f55f.jpg
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