One of the things that really spoils live concerts these days is that half the people there don’t seem to want to watch it live at all – they’d rather watch it through their phone screen, holding the device up and blocking the view of those behind them. This is a problem Apple is seeking to solve in a patent first applied for in 2011 and granted today …
Tim Cook’s embarrassment at the Super Bowl seems a timely opportunity to put together something that’s been on my to-do list for a while now: a quick guide to getting the best results from your iPhone’s camera.
As a keen photographer, I’ve been amazed just how far cameras have come in the past few years. Where I once used to carry a compact camera with me everywhere just in case, my iPhone has for several years now been my ‘always on me’ camera (currently the iPhone 6s). And where I used to carry a DSLR for travel photography, I now only carry my Sony a6000.
Since low-light was the problem Mr. Cook had, I’ll start with some tips specifically designed to help in low-light situations.
We asked you yesterday to tell us how exciting you found the possibilities opened up by Apple’s patent for twin rear-facing cameras, and the results were very clear: 70.4% of you selected either ‘very exciting’ or ‘take my money.’
In addition to the possible applications I outlined in the piece, some of you had additional ideas that might be made possible by the dual-camera tech which has been rumored for the iPhone 7 …
Apple has called the iPhone “the world’s most popular camera,” a title originally earned by aggregating all iPhones together for counting purposes. But while the exact sales numbers for each iPhone model are difficult to quantify, there’s no question that Apple has already sold over 750 million iPhones, and well over 100 million iPhone 6 devices. Those are huge numbers, and well beyond the typical sales of individual point-and-shoot cameras.
Few people appreciate that growing iPhone demand has created an unusual challenge for Apple: reliably sourcing the tens of millions of parts needed to meet first month demand for tens of millions of iPhones. To that end, Apple’s camera maker Sony had to upgrade its manufacturing plants twice this year to produce more of the CMOS image sensors needed for smartphones including the iPhone. Even with a partner as large as Sony, however, iPhone-specific engineering requirements and the risk inherent in brand new technologies have led Apple to hold off on using the latest and greatest camera innovations in its devices. Instead, iPhones go with thin, lower-resolution sensors that offer great overall image quality for their size, and never eclipse rivals on raw specs.
So what can we realistically expect from the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus cameras next month? Here are my educated guesses…
As Apple’s Shot on iPhone ad campaign illustrates, the iPhone is a capable camera in the right hands. Many people find that it’s the only camera they ever need.
But if you’ve ever wished it could do just a little more without carrying around too much extra bulk, the Manfrotto KLYP+ kit may be worth a look. It’s an iPhone case (available for a range of models) that comes with two screw-on lenses and a combination light and tripod mount. The whole kit comes in at $125 …
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[vimeo 106877886 w=800 h=450]
People these days have short attention-spans, so although time-lapse videos can be very appealing, most of us would probably prefer to watch one for 30 seconds rather than ten minutes. Thanks to a clever feature which Apple simply refers to as “dynamically selected intervals,” almost any time-lapse video you shoot in the default Camera app in iOS 8 will end up as 20-40 seconds, whether you shoot for 10 minutes or two hours …
There’s no shortage of camera accessories for the iPhone these days with interchangeable mount lenses and countless apps for mastering smartphone photography, and now you can buy Seek Thermal’s smartphone attachment to transform your iPhone into an actual thermographic camera. Seek Thermal is a thermal camera with a true thermal sensor that connects to your iPhone through the Lightning connection with a chalcogenide lens and vanadium oxide microbolometer. What does all of that mean? Your iPhone can detect heat and energy through darkness and physical surfaces, and not with fake filters or trickery.
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With the release of iOS 8 and the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, a ton of new video shooting features are now available to iPhonographers including Time-lapse mode, 240-fps Slow-mo mode, 60-fps HD capture, and Cinematic Video Stabilization. Apple demoed some of these video shooting features earlier this month at the September event, and the iPhone 6 camera microsite includes sample videos of each mode.
With Apple selling over 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets from pre-sales and launch weekend, we’re likely to see a more and more incredible videos shot on Apple’s new devices, and below we’ve put together a collection of some of the best videos shot in each mode from early iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus adopters.
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-GBfJ3Xork]
Getting smooth handheld video as you pan around isn’t easy, and professional Steadicam solutions run to four figures and up – perhaps just a little OTT for an iPhone (though Apple doubtless used them).
But the iPhone has a very capable camera, and the StayblCam is a $75 device designed to give you some of the benefits of a Steadicam at a rather more iPhone-friendly price. Available for pre-order now for delivery in September/October, I tried out a prototype to see how well it performs …
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Olloclip has updated its neat clip-on lens system we reviewed back in 2012, adding a second, more powerful macro lens and improving the optical quality of the others.
The olloclip 4-IN-1 is a quick-connect lens solution for the iPhone that includes Fisheye, Wide-Angle and 2 Macro lenses in one small, convenient package that easily fits in your pocket – and the palm of your hand. It connects to the iPhone within seconds so you’ll be sure to capture the image you want. If you don’t see the picture you’re looking for, just flip it over to switch lenses.
The original 10x macro lens has now been supplemented with a 15x lens. The lens is compatible with both iPhone 5 and 5s, and is available for pre-order at $69.99 with delivery expected early next month.