Cameras have become an integral part of smart phones. Few years ago the argument that cameras on phones are simply for taking shots on the move was a genuine one, but today the scenario is different. The phone manufacturers are actually paying more and more attention to improving the technologies and apps to make phone photography a genuinely pleasurable experience.
Apple recently sent out invites confirming the launch of new iPhone(s) as well as iOS 7 on September 10th. No doubt at least the iPhone 5S would have an enhanced camera on it. The camera on iPhone 5 is still one of the most competitive ones out there, yes it may not be a Mega Pixel beast like the Lumia 1020 or boast of some crazy ultra-pixels, but fact remains, when it comes to taking still shots from your mobile, iPhone 5 does a stellar job.
Part of the attraction has been the simplicity of taking pictures using iPhones, but with iOS 7 Apple has added some pretty cool features to the camera app which would give users a few new options when capturing that special moment with their iPhones. Though iOS 7 is still in Beta, but the buzz is that there wont really be any more features that would be added, so here are six features of iOS 7 that are really interesting.
1: Square Cam for Instagram
Instagram is one of the most popular applications out there on iOS. And the camera in iOS 7 now gives you a square frame to take pictures that would allow you to take pictures which are ready to be uploaded on instagram without having to crop out certain sections.
This is extremely useful as the camera interface in the native Instagram app is extremely basic. With the default camera app on iOS 7, you have all the features available such as HDR on/off, flash control, manual focus and effects.
2: Inbuilt Filters
The iOS 7 Camera app comes with built in filters which you can apply right at the time of shooting of the picture. You do not have to wait for the image to be shot kind of like instagram.
There are a total of nine filters such as Mono, Transfer, Fade, Chrome etc. Although these filters are not as comprehensive as the ones of Instagram or few other apps like Snapseed but it gets the job done.
3: 60 FPS Video Recording
Normally the videos are recorded in 30 FPS, but iOS 7 supports video recording upto 60 FPS, meaning you can have plenty of slo-mo shots with higher details. This feature although not built into the default camera app, but the app developers can use it in their apps, and fairly sure apps such as Camera+ will bring this feature as will other video recording apps.
4: Enhanced Panorama
The panorama on the iOS 7 has been greatly enhanced. Although it did work decently on iOS 6, we experienced much better shots as well as control on our panoramic images.
Even the noise levels in the image was substantially less and stitching was a lot more natural than what we had seen earlier. Definitely a big improvement by Apple there.
5: Faster Capturing
Image capturing on the iOS 7 is much faster or at least seems faster than iOS 6. There are no more those in the box type animations which delayed you taking your next shot for a split second.
Now, you can take the image and the shutter is ready to capture the next action almost instantaneously, no waiting around. This is particularly useful if you are looking to capture moving subjects.
6: Zoom in While Shooting Videos
Although this might not sound a huge deal for those who come from the Android world, but iOS 6 did not allow you to zoom while taking videos. So you were basically stuck unless you were willing to move towards the subject yourself. However, with iOS 7 you can now zoom in while taking videos.
A simple pinch to zoom in feature works perfectly well and although zooming does tend to distort the video a little because lets face it, digital zoom is simply a gimmick, but it does give you an option and that is what is important.
7: Direct Upload your Video to Youtube
With iOS 7 you can upload videos directly to Youtube right from the gallery.
No more do you have to go and open the Youtube app or even have to transfer the video to the desktop to upload it to Youtube. A very handy little feature indeed.
Wrapping up
All these features coupled with a brand new gallery application, iOS 7 is a massive improvement when it comes to both shooting and viewing photos and videos on your iPhone. One might argue that most of these features have been present on other platforms so Apple has not done anything special, but to break the shackles of simplicity and embrace a few new features is always welcomed. We are still hopeful that Apple might have a few surprises up its sleeve when iOS 7 does go public, but surely not holding our breaths for the same.
If you have any queries regarding iOS 7 camera apps or anything related to iOS 7, feel free to write in to us in the section below.
