Introduction to the iPhone 5 Camera
I doubt I need to introduce you to the iPhone 5, anyone who is tech-savvy enough to keep up with the news, could not have missed the reviews, and long awaited, specifications, praise and complaints of this hotly selling and eagerly awaited smartphone.
If you cant be bothered to read all the (over 500) words on this page, skip to the conclusion.
Build
The camera has been adapted, more physically than in software. The actual camera has been made smaller and thinner to fit the elongated body design of the iPhone 5.
In terms of megapixels, there has been no change (still 8!), but other improvements have been made that (on paper) should improve the image quality. Its time to find out if this really is the case…
Features
If you have read my iPhone 5 Specifications – New iPhone’s Specs and Features and details of Camera post, you will now that the new iPhone features this:
- 8MP (3264×2448) iSight camera
- Autofocus, LED flash, geo-tagging, face detection, touch focus, panorama, High Dynamic Range (HDR), simultaneous video and image recording.
- Naturally, there is also video, of course, 1920x1080p full HD, with geo-tagging, video stabilization and video light.
These are some of its noticeable features…
- 16 million colour 4.0 in 640 x 1136 pixels LED-backlit IPS TFTdisplay
- 16, 32 or 64 GB storage, with 1GB RAM
- iOS 6
- Significantly Improved battery life: Up to 40 hour music play, 225 hours on standby, 8 hours talk-time on 2G and 3G.
- High screen pixel density 326 ppi
- Lacks MicroSD slot
- Needs special cable: Does not fit standard MicroUSB cable
Handling
Being slim and light, the phone can easily be tucked into a pocket, and taken out when needed, but the phone can also be awkwardly long if you have small hands.
Performance
Apple maps, which provided patchy or non-existent information was the greatest general complaint in the iPhone 5, but the camera got a good few complaints too, including the iPurple effect, a purple flare that manifests itself in an image taken against the sun, or other such light source.
In general however, the camera has improved – colour looks much better, especially in sunlight, and HDR effect is also good, producing rich, but natural-looking results.
Macro photos are also very good, the camera has good focus, and the images are crisp and sharp.
Lowlight photos look good and are low noise, butr as soon as your subject moves, or if your hand shakes too much, the image will blur, as long shutterspeeds are used, rather than raises in the ISO. Thuis is another area where the camera lacks – not having a manual mode. This is fine for most shooters who just want to snap great nights out with their friends, but not if you plan to do anything with lowlight action, or serious iPhone photography.
In very dark conditions, ISO is raised, and noise is noticeable as grain, because no amount of shutter speed slowing will allow decent images to be taken.
Conclusion
Despite no increase in megapixels, colour and contrast has improved. Interesting features have been added and improved, such as HDR and panorama (both of which produce great results). Macro is crisp and nice, and photography lit by sunlight is well-coloured. Of course, shooting into light sources is not advised, due to the purple fringing, nicknamed iPurple effect, however, in general, the camera is an improvement.
Please comment below about your views on this phone, its camera and any other issues. Thank you for reading!
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