iPhone's two megapixel camera: Reports of quality range from so-so to good

I don’t have an Apple iPhone so everything I know about the handset’s two megapixel camera comes from reports on the Web.  So far, the reports from bloggers and journalists say the quality ranges from good to mediocre.

PC Magazine’s comments

PC Magazine isn’t especially complementary about the options but does seem to like some aspects of the quality of the photos.  However, the article decries the lack of features that many camera phones have. 

The iPhone doesn’t offer any manual white balance adjustments or scene modes.  Neither does it have autofocus, zoom or video recording.

“It's like the Wal-Mart disposable camera of digicams,” PC Magazine says.

Mixed review on quality

From a quality standpoint, though, the article says “photos taken in our labs were very sharp, with a strong blue cast to the white balance.  Outdoor photos were also very sharp, though the iPhone has an exposure issue where it prefers bright areas to dark ones in the same shot.

“Low-light photos have the usual blur problems if you don't hold the camera very still, but that's true of all camera phones, and the iPhone wasn't worse than most there.”

Transferring to a computer

PC Magazine says that when the iPhone is connected to a computer, up pops an option to import photos via the Camera Wizard for Windows XP, Internet Explorer in Vista and iPhoto on the Mac.

If the iPhone is connected to a computer that doesn’t have the latest version of Apple iTunes — that’s required for activating the phone and synchronization of content — the computer will recognize it as an external device in “My Computer.”  As a result, it’s possible to transfer photos from the iPhone to the computer without the latest iTunes version.

A Macworld view

Jim Dalrymple, a reporter for Macworld, who isn’t a camera phone aficionado, leads with:  “Let’s face facts:  Your decision to buy any cell phone — let alone one that costs $499 to $599 — does not hinge on the question of how good the phone’s built-in camera is.

“And that’s a good thing since my experience with mobile phone cameras has been nothing to write home about.”

He hasn’t spoken to me!  Nor has he seen, apparently, photos taken with some of the better camera phones, such as some of the images in my Nokia N95 moblog (see below).

Why not take a few photos?

As he was reviewing the other features of the iPhone he decided that, what the hell, he should take a few photos (see below).  “Like I said, putting the camera through its paces wasn’t really on my agenda,” Dalrymple writes.

Dalrymple liked the simplicity of the camera.  He writes, “Accessing and using the camera couldn’t be any simpler — from the home screen just tap the camera icon.  When the camera opens there is one button to push to take a picture and one to see any pictures you’ve already taken.

“Tap the button and you'll see an animated shutter closing and opening.  Nice touch on Apple’s part.”

One note:  Because the touch screen is on aspect of the iPhone’s claim to fame, it doesn’t have any dedicated hardware button to start the camera function or a hardware button to click the shutter.  I certainly like both hardware buttons.

But more importantly, I wonder how easy it is to hold the iPhone rock steady when using a touch screen to trigger the shutter.  With other camera phones, you sometimes have two or three ways to click the shutter, such as a dedicated button as well as an “OK” key.

Scoble compares iPhone to N95

Robert Scoble, vice president of media development at PodTech.net and blogger extraordinaire, says in his weblog that “The iPhone is superior in almost every way to the Nokia N95 (see left).”  However, “The one HUGE thing that’s keeping me from getting rid of my Nokia is the camera.”

The N95 (that I also have, courtesy of Nokia’s blogger relations program) is probably the best camera phone you can get — short of going to South Korea for the ten megapixel Samsung.  The N95 is five megapixels with a load of imaging features and it shoots videos at 30 frames per second. 

No optical zoom, though, and I miss that.  The 3.2 megapixel Nokia N93, that I also have, has an optical zoom.

Robert & Son's photos

Robert posted two photos of the same scene, one with the N95 and one with the iPhone, from the Ritz at Half Moon Bay, Calif.  The N95 image looks better — what a surprise!

As I previously wrote, the camera functionality on the iPhone is somewhat of a stepchild.  It’s just not a primary aspect of the iPhone.

For more photos of from the N95 and iPhone, check out Robert’s N95 photos on Flickr (see below).

And check out his son Patrick’s iPhone photos on Flickr (see below).

Thomas Hawk weighs in

Thanks to a link from Robert, I see that Thomas Hawk, the CEO of photo sharing site Zoomr, not only loves the iPhone (although not without some concerns) but also likes the camera. 

He says in his weblog, “The photos from the camera a[re] very useable.  I'm not trading my Canon 5D in anytime soon, but for a camera in your pocket both the picture taking process and the results shine.”

Since Hawk is an excellent and prolific photographer (see below) and has gone on many “photowalks” with Robert, he certainly should know what he’s talking about.

I need to get my hands on an iPhone to test its photo quality before making my own judgments.