I’ll come right out and say it: iPhone’s Achilles heel is its camera functionality. For a device with such a big hi-res screen and fluid interface, its camera is plain disappointing: not to mention no video recording feature or the still-baffling lack of MMS to send (or receive, for that matter) picture messages. Leaving MMS out smacks of a US-centric approach to the iPhone’s design: us Europeans might not use MMS that much yet, but it’s growing.
But first things first: iPhone’s camera is at least idiot-proof to use. Jab the camera icon on the homescreen, point, and press the shutter button to shoot. And that’s it: no flash, no shooting modes, no zoom, and no video option. There’s not even a Camera section in the iPhone’s Settings menu. It’s certainly easy to use, but it’s basic compared to all of its mobile competitors.
How about the photo quality? It’s okay. The two-megapixel camera delivers fine portrait shots close-up, which look good when opened on a PC, and are fine for printing too (at smaller sizes, anyway). It’s not so good for landscapes, is passable in low lighting conditions as long as your subject is still, and does an okay job of capturing movement. It’s okay, in short.
A plus point is the very quick time between taking a shot, and being ready to take another: none of the lengthy pauses you’ll be used to with some Nokia Nseries handsets.
Once you’ve taken your shots, you can move to the Camera Roll to browse through them, offering another chance to ooh and aah over the iPhone’s tactile interface, as you flick between pictures and zoom in and out using your thumbs. Tapping the screen brings up a menu where you can use a photo as wallpaper, email it, or assign it to a contact. It’s stripped down, again, but at least simple to use, and it integrates very smoothly with the contacts and email applications on the iPhone.
As someone who’s used to some sophisticated cameras in Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones (not to mention the amazing one in LG’s new Viewty, which is a direct iPhone rival), the iPhone’s camera is disappointing. In fairness, a lot of users who wanted the iPhone more for its music and web browsing aspects will probably put up with this, taking the odd snapshot, but not missing the extra features.
However, it does qualify as a missed opportunity, not least because the iPhone’s touchscreen interface could have made a more complex camera simpler to use than on rivals, where you have to dig into sub-menus to change flash or mode settings. A shame then, but not something that will put people off buying Apple’s handset.
Previous parts
Part 1: First impressions
Part 2: Email and the virtual keyboard
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