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Cameras in mobile phones have come a mighty long way in the past few years, from the pixelated shit-vision of yore to the current breed that have replaced most of our compact digicams. But the sense of wonder is fading, and we need some new features. Who’s gonna step up??
No matter how serious a photographer, almost nobody considers themselves above taking camera-phone snapshots. But these five features would elevate the activity to whole other level. Let’s shoot for the quality of, say, the Galaxy Camera, in the chassis of an iPhone sized device. It will take time for engineers to figure out how to implement them all without compromising the size and shape of our beloved smartphones, but a day will come!
Pleeease let me adjust exposure. This really isn’t an innovation. It’s just a no-brainer. Some Android and Windows Phone cameras have some manual controls, and the ones that appeared on Nokia’s PureView 808 were pretty comprehensive (too bad the 808 was awful outside of the camera).
LED flashes suck so hard it’s remarkable people still use them. They always make your indoor pictures look like vomit-swirl, and your subjects look like laser-eyed robots. I’d rather attach flash-cubes to my phone.
No matter how much you explain to relatives why taking vertically oriented video with your phone is a no-no, it doesn’t seem to sink in. The solution? Don’t let them do it. Youtube has recently employed this tactic in their YouTube Capture app. Let’s see it spread.
I’m not talking about digital zoom—aka not-really-zoom-at-all. We need a lens that moves to extend the focal length. PureView 808 had this, but again, that device is barely viable as a phone. The ability to zoom is one of the primary reasons people still buy compact digicams.
Sensor size is—arguably—the single biggest determining factor in digital image quality. Smartphone cameras have little tiny ones. Obviously nobody is going to fit a full-frame or even a micro 4/3 sensor in a phone, but they should be able to pump at least a bit of air into those photo-sites. It will increase dynamic range and low-light sensitivity drastically.
Once you shoot a video clip, you should be able to simply select a segment and turn it into a GIF on command. Said GIFs should then be viewable in your photo library. I am sure apps do this, but it should be standard.
Shooting RAW files instead of JPG files will preserve more of an image’s original detail. It also makes it easier to alter exposure, color, and sharpness after the fact without degrading the image. Sure, it would use a lot of processing power, but, like, Moore’s law—or something.
Image: Shutterstock, Furtseff
Anyone got any recommendations for camera apps? My main gripe with the stock app is that it can take absolutely ages to take the photo. I’ve been using Camera360 which has helped a fair bit, but are there any better ones?
CameraXE is pretty cool and rapid!
I’ve never heard of CameraXE, nor can I find it on the play store
Oh wait it’s an iOS app, daaaaamn
Ah I didnt realise its iOS only
Currently using CameraZoom FX, and no gripes
Yeah I’ve heard that’s good, do you find any improvement on speeds over the stock app? Or do you have a phone that’s annoyingly snappy (like my mate’s SIII)? It’s annoying that Google Wallet doesn’t accept Maestro else I probably would be using that already
SGSIII here too
Though I’m not also not using the stock ROM, so not the stock camera either!
What OS?
My go to app for Android is: Vignette
for iOS: Camera! (camera awesome)
When will we be able to change the aperture? You know, like on a real camera.
Very difficult at that size, what with how much more the component would cost. A phone camera is essentially a chip soldered to the mainboard with a lens.
Just give me the Galaxy Camera but with full phone functionality and I’m there!
Sensor size would still not be big enough.
I want infra red!
can’t be that difficult.
You could retro-fit it, if you were so inclined, just take out the flash LED, and add an infra red LED. It wont be brilliant, but it would achieve the effect.
Well it was more for videos than anything else.
You know, Predator vision
This is about as small as you’re going to get for commercially available uncooled thermal imaging: http://goo.gl/KoBy7
And it’s only 320×240 pixels!
And costs about £1500.
Well, it was a thought
I disagree on two points, first the GIF thing, I got sick of those in the 90′s. They’re irritating at best. As for RAW format, for what most people want the camera for, there’s absolutely no point to it, it will just tie up storage space.
Agreed. And ‘Restrict Vertical Video Recording’ – why would you remove features just because some people don’t know how best to use their technology? There are some situations where vertical video is really useful, e.g. when recording pinball games, for instance
Also I’ve owned a phone with a non-LED flash, it sucked. Mobile phone flashes will never be any good, they just have to be too small and not use much power. The convenience of being able to use an LED as a flashlight far outweighs the tiny improvement brought by the xenon flash.
Or you could put both dual leads and a xenon flash on your phone and not have to pick. Thank you Nokia.
Agree totally. Plus the LED makes a handy flashlight.
So for some reason this article seems to be all about saying other phones need to get features the 808 has whilst calling the 808 bad at being a phone.
I find this quite odd since the 808 is actually rather good at being a phone though it is bad at being a pocket computer.
It is not a device for game playing, app using or even internet browsing. It is on the other hand great at calling, texting, emailing, what sapping etc. The music player is awesome and it has 4 of the actual things you said phones need to get as though there isn’t one that already has all of that.
Sadly you hate the 808 or you would have a phone that gave you pretty much all you need from a camera. Personally I love mine.
Note that the article says ‘smartphone’. It’s implied that the writer wants a phone with all the features you’d expect in, say an Android smartphone which are missing from the 808 too.
Really not sure why that is anymore with the advent of tablets. I find tablets a much better form factor for the app using game playing and web browsing side of things. I realised after I got my tablet that I stopped using my android phone’s apps. As such it seemed to be unnecessary to have two app based devices. Personally I find a good camera much more useful than cut the rope.
What exactly defines a smartphone, and do you mean features or sheer number of apps?
The 808 may lack some apps, but I am struggling to think of what meaningful features it is missing that all Android, WP or iPhone ‘smartphones’ have?
You’re an idiot if you think there’s no more to a phone than calling people.
Wow, thanks that clears up so much. I had always wondered why I was so different but you have hit the nail on the head. All of these years I have been wandering around trying to figure out what it was about me, but clear as day I must be an idiot. People are obviously not allowed to have differences in opinion and personal attacks definitely make you right. Thanks Mr Penguin.
Side note I am fairly certain I mentioned a couple other things I wanted from my phone, in my initial post, of course there is also maps which nokia happens to do quite well. You can of course tell me the vital ingredients of a smartphone that the 808 misses.
Any time.
iv had my 808pureview since it went on sale in the uk an i love it, to have the choice to zoom on a camera is just a joy. untill another phone comes out with proper zoom and a zenon flash i doubt i shall be changing. people moan about the lack of apps, but it doesnt bother me in the slightest, iv got angry birds and snake, what more does one need?
What a load of codswallop!
I think this quite a poor article, and the chosen features don’t quite make sense, therefore it reads like a brain-fart rather than a decent article. Here are my thoughts:
Some features are reliant in improved hardware, which you allude to, but some features can be implemented without hardware! Therefore these are way more likely to happen, and CAN happen if people talk about them enough.
The first idea is probably the best, and doesn’t require any hardware changes!! Full manual control over the existing camera is totally possible, but currently is out of our grasp. Changing exposure is possible in some apps, but could easily be expanded in the iPhone if Apple wished. A little button called “manual” could expand the basic interface into a much more pro environment. This would be great. It could give more control over HDR mode, ISO, multiple exposure, intervalometer, etc
BUT lots of the other ideas in the article are terrible! – Complaining about the flash is pretty much pointless. The built-in flash in even a flagship DSLR is equally awful. There is very little which can be done about this. The answer with a DSLR is to use a separate flash unit – I don’t think for a second that many people would consider using a separate flash with a mobile phone, do you?
Zoom is also a terrible idea. Not only is it hugely impractical from a hardware perspective, it’s also not needed IMO. Tons of pro photographers harp on about the benefits of shooting with a prime lens. It really is great if you want to master photography. There is an awesome minimalist, zen thing about it, yes you can’t zoom in on something miles away (use your legs!!!), but if you need to then use a proper camera! Otherwise, make the most of the near-35mm lens in your phone, which has been selected as the pro’s favourite single lens length. I’ll say it again – if you need to bring your subject nearer or further USE YOUR LEGS