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IPhone 4S against all other iPhone models (low light shooting)

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Re: IPhone 4S against all other iPhone models (low light shooting)

#11

Post by sehugg »

bprater wrote: post #4

I think we've finally came to the place where consumer-grade digital cameras will quickly begin to fade out. The images and video coming from the 4S are mind-blowing -- I'm still dumbfounded such a small lens array can produce such clear photos. (Check Vimeo's iPhone video channel.) The only thing my 4S lacks that my point-and-shoot has is an optical zoom. Beyond that, the phone's ecosystem of photo apps plus the abi…

One thing smartphone cameras still don't do for me is minimize the time between wanting to take a shot and taking a shot. This is one area I think consumer cameras could also be improved. Ideally I'd like one button for pictures, one for video -- mash it down, the camera powers on and figures out what to do as fast as possible.

Re: IPhone 4S against all other iPhone models (low light shooting)

#12

Post by artursapek »

mixmastamyk wrote: post #8

I wish they had used a mini tripod to minimize blurriness. It also doesn't sound like they were able to use Camera+ on the earlier models, therefore the shots had different settings. The photos for the models pre-iphone 4 aren't really comparable then, though I appreciate the effort.

Using a tripod would have made this article irrelevant, nobody ever actually uses a mini-tripod when shooting with their phone.

Re: IPhone 4S against all other iPhone models (low light shooting)

#14

Post by beej71 »

bprater wrote: post #4

I think we've finally came to the place where consumer-grade digital cameras will quickly begin to fade out. The images and video coming from the 4S are mind-blowing -- I'm still dumbfounded such a small lens array can produce such clear photos. (Check Vimeo's iPhone video channel.) The only thing my 4S lacks that my point-and-shoot has is an optical zoom. Beyond that, the phone's ecosystem of photo apps plus the abi…

Agreed. A place standard PnS cameras might still be desirable is in conditions where you don't want to risk destroying your phone, e.g. in water, caving, etc. But that's gotta be something like 5% of the size of the original market.

Re: IPhone 4S against all other iPhone models (low light shooting)

#15

Post by alastairpat »

sehugg wrote: post #11
bprater wrote: post #4

I think we've finally came to the place where consumer-grade digital cameras will quickly begin to fade out. The images and video coming from the 4S are mind-blowing -- I'm still dumbfounded such a small lens array can produce such clear photos. (Check Vimeo's iPhone video channel.) The only thing my 4S lacks that my point-and-shoot has is an optical zoom. Beyond that, the phone's ecosystem of photo apps plus the abi…

One thing smartphone cameras still don't do for me is minimize the time between wanting to take a shot and taking a shot. This is one area I think consumer cameras could also be improved. Ideally I'd like one button for pictures, one for video -- mash it down, the camera powers on and figures out what to do as fast as possible.

Compact cameras are still terrible in that regard; you can only get that 'off to photo taken in 0.3 seconds' with SLRs today. It's thus not really a valid argument for compact digital cameras still having relevance.

Re: IPhone 4S against all other iPhone models (low light shooting)

#16

Post by newhouseb »

artursapek wrote: post #12
mixmastamyk wrote: post #8

I wish they had used a mini tripod to minimize blurriness. It also doesn't sound like they were able to use Camera+ on the earlier models, therefore the shots had different settings. The photos for the models pre-iphone 4 aren't really comparable then, though I appreciate the effort.

Using a tripod would have made this article irrelevant, nobody ever actually uses a mini-tripod when shooting with their phone.

Not true, as per the scientific method you only want to test typically along one dimension (in this case sensor quality).

If the cameras are subject a random motion which causes blur greater than the blur caused by low-light conditions then the results are meaningless as the random motion is independent of the variable being tested.

Re: IPhone 4S against all other iPhone models (low light shooting)

#17

Post by jim_h »

artursapek wrote: post #12
mixmastamyk wrote: post #8

I wish they had used a mini tripod to minimize blurriness. It also doesn't sound like they were able to use Camera+ on the earlier models, therefore the shots had different settings. The photos for the models pre-iphone 4 aren't really comparable then, though I appreciate the effort.

Using a tripod would have made this article irrelevant, nobody ever actually uses a mini-tripod when shooting with their phone.

It is relevant since movement from their hands/body can change the outcome.

With a tripod there would be no blur, but the picture quality would still shine through. The amount of noise difference in each phone's photos is very noticeable.

In an experiment all the conditions should be the same except for the variable, which in this case is the phone.

Re: IPhone 4S against all other iPhone models (low light shooting)

#18

Post by artursapek »

jim_h wrote: post #17
artursapek wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using a tripod would have made this article irrelevant, nobody ever actually uses a mini-tripod when shooting with their phone.

It is relevant since movement from their hands/body can change the outcome. With a tripod there would be no blur, but the picture quality would still shine through. The amount of noise difference in each phone's photos is very noticeable. In an experiment all the conditions should be the same except for the variable, which in this case is the phone.

Sure this would have made for a more scientific experiment, but I still argue that such a controlled experiment is less relevant to a user's real experience with the phone because the photos wouldn't look anything like the photos one would actually take. I assume the shooter tried to maintain a consistently steady hand throughout.

The motion blur is significant because it speaks to the increased aperture/ decreased exposure time in the 4S, which are both part of the phone wouldn't you agree? On a tripod these aren't crippling to the quality of the photo like they actually are.

Re: IPhone 4S against all other iPhone models (low light shooting)

#19

Post by suivix »

newhouseb wrote: post #16
artursapek wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using a tripod would have made this article irrelevant, nobody ever actually uses a mini-tripod when shooting with their phone.

Not true, as per the scientific method you only want to test typically along one dimension (in this case sensor quality). If the cameras are subject a random motion which causes blur greater than the blur caused by low-light conditions then the results are meaningless as the random motion is independent of the variable being tested.

I disagree because you want to test photographs from a human holding it, not a tripod holding it. Perhaps you could take dozens of shots with each phone and compare.

Re: IPhone 4S against all other iPhone models (low light shooting)

#20

Post by ericb »

roc wrote: post #5
bprater wrote: post #4

I think we've finally came to the place where consumer-grade digital cameras will quickly begin to fade out. The images and video coming from the 4S are mind-blowing -- I'm still dumbfounded such a small lens array can produce such clear photos. (Check Vimeo's iPhone video channel.) The only thing my 4S lacks that my point-and-shoot has is an optical zoom. Beyond that, the phone's ecosystem of photo apps plus the abi…

As for still shooting, you may want to take an inventory of the places that people use their point-and-shoots. In my surveying, they're almost only used in places where macro, low-light, flash, speed (image stabilization) and zoom performance are very important: birthdays, landmarks, weddings, kids events, zoos. And those are features where the known solutions just do not fit into the physical constraints of smartpho…

You're right on the high end.

On the low end, I went into a store 8 months ago and compared time to photo-snap from finger-press as well as blur on non-steady targets and none of the sub 500 dollar digitals stood up well. My iPhone 3g consistently captures better images than our 2 year old Cannon Powershot.

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