Yes, so the iPhone 3GS is out now, and it is featuring a better camera, and video capability, as we all know. But here’s the question – are the capabilities in respect of those features enough? And by enough, I mean comparable to other devices, and satisfactory to people generally? Let’s check them out one by one:
Camera (stills)
The iP3GS is rocking a 3MP camera, which is probably the minimum I would want to see in a camera-phone. Interestingly, the Sony Ericsson K800i only had a 3.2MP camera, but it took some of the best pictures I’ve seen from a mobile device – easily trumping 5MP models (and some 8MP!) that were released later. So Apple’s 3MP could be enough, especially if the post-processing they talk about is as funky as it sounds.
Right now though, I carry around a slim Casio Exilim (one of my DIvergence devices), which totes a 7MP sensor – the reason being because under some conditions, my current iPhone (3G)’s camera just isn’t good enough. Apart from it’s low 2MP resolution, it copes very badly with artificial light, and any kind of focus!
So, does the Apple iPhone 3GS camera do enough to make it worth leaving my camera at home?
Now let’s consider the next part of the equation:
Video
If I read it right, the iPhone 3GS will capture video at VGA resolution, and I’d guess that will be 24 or 30 fps. However, we’ve seen VGA video capture from a LOT of devices now. One that stands out in my mind was the original Nokia N95, a class-leader in it’s time. Of course, the iPhone 3GS will allow on-board editing (apparently).
For me, I carry a Flip Mino HD for video-capture convenience, recording at 720p resolution, for up to an hour on it’s 4GB of memory.
So, does the Apple iPhone 3GS video recorder have enough to make it worth leaving the mini-camcorder at home?
It’s a tricky one, isn’t it – the iPhone doesn’t excel in it’s technical capabilities, at least as far as camera and video recorder go – but you can bet it will be easy to use, and provide decent, if not astounding, quality. Then again, it does have the benefit of being one device, as opposed to three, all of which need charging and managing!
What to do, what to do…..? 🙂