How does the iPhone 6s camera compare to other smartphones?
The iPhone is the most popular camera in the world. He was even
used to shoot an entire feature film
,
Tangerine
, which premiered earlier this year at Sundance.< /p>
On Wednesday, Apple unveiled the
new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus
touting improved camera specs: a 12-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front. facing camera, 4K recording capabilities and a native Live Photos feature. So if there is a sequel
Tangerine
, you can bet it will be even better. But just because you can make a cool indie film doesn't mean it's the best camera phone around.
Part of a panoramic shot with an iPhone6s. (Click to enlarge.)
Our colleagues at Greenbot sang the praises of “killer cameras” in the
Samsung Galaxy S6 and the LG G4
, precisely. So how does the new iPhone 6s' improved camera compare to these other camera phones?
Rear camera
The iPhone 6s now has a 12-megapixel iSight camera, a big jump from the iPhone 6's 8-megapixel camera. The iPhone 6s now takes 63-megapixel panoramas, compared to the iPhone's 43-megapixel 6.
But as any photo enthusiast will tell you, it's not just about the number of pixels. Apple has also improved the 6s camera's local tone mapping, noise reduction, and optical image stabilization (only available on the 6s Plus model). And Focus Pixels is now also integrated in “tap to focus”. First introduced in the iPhone 6, Focus Pixels is the image sensor technology used for phase detection autofocus which is better and faster than contrast detection autofocus.
When it comes to megapixels, Samsung and LG camera phones
beat the iphone
. The Galaxy S6 and LG G4 both come with a 16-megapixel rear camera. And several other Android devices also use something similar to the iPhone's Focus Pixels sensor technology - they just call it something else.
Front camera
Apple may have banned selfie sticks from WWDC, but it seems the company isn't put off by selfies after all. iPhone 6s features a new 5-megapixel FaceTime HD camera. drastically higher than the 1.2 megapixel front camera of the iPhone 6. And Apple has also integrated a new Retina Flash function into the 6s, which makes the entire display screen 3 times brighter to add a soft glow to your selfies. Retina Flash uses pre-flash to detect the lighting around you so its True Tone flash can give you a glow that closely resembles natural light.
Celebrity Selena Gomez shows how to take a selfie with the new iPhone 6s
Smartphone makers like Samsung, HTC, Motorola, LG and Sony have all released phones specifically designed for selfies, so it makes sense that Apple has made such drastic improvements to the FaceTime camera. The Galaxy S6, LG G4, Sony Xperia Z5, and Moto X all have a 5-megapixel (or better!) front-facing camera. The LG G4, currently considered the
ultimate selfie phone
, has an 8-megapixel front camera.
Similar to the new Retina Flash features on the iPhone 6s, the third-generation Moto G also uses a flash display. However, my Greenbot colleague, Florence Ion,
admits
, "It doesn't work very well, but it's there." Meanwhile, the Moto X Pure Edition has a real front flash, but sometimes a real flash can be too harsh and could wash your face. If Retina Flash ends up being smart enough to match natural lighting, as Apple claims, then the iPhone 6s could win the selfie shootout.
Video recording
iPhone 6s now records video in 4K, four times the resolution of 1080p HD video. What does it look like exactly? Apple presents
multiple stunning 4K videos
on its website, to get a better idea of what 8 million pixels looks like in video. As with the current generation, the iPhone 6s can also record time-lapses and slow-motion videos.
But the iPhone 6s isn't the first smartphone to have this 4K video recording capability - the Galaxy S6 and LG G4 can too. The G4 also films in slow motion, while the Galaxy S6 films in both slow motion and fast motion. But accessing the idle options on the G4 proved a bit confusing. The settings for slow motion can be found in the aspect ratio menu of its camera. As my colleague wrote
Jon Phillips
: "This is an unusual place to store video settings, but they do exist."
Unique Features
A feature unique to the iPhone 6s is
Live Pics
, a native trick that turns every photo into a moving image. When you take a photo, the 6s camera automatically captures the 1.5 seconds before and after you press the shutter button. It's kind of like a GIF but smoother, almost like a short video. However, the file format remains a JPEG. Anyone using iOS 9 and El Capitan can view Live Photos. Everyone only gets the fixed JPEG.
No other smartphone maker has harnessed this Harry Potter photo magic yet, but Samsung, LG, and Sony camera phones have a few tricks up their sleeves. The LG G4, for example, lets you take a selfie with a wave of your hand or a voice command. Say "cheese! With its wide-angle front camera, the Galaxy S6 lets you take a panorama so none of your friends are left out of the group selfie. Plus, the S6 has a
pro mode
to allow you to manually adjust all settings, just like you would with a DSLR camera.
The Galaxy Note 5
goes even further with these manual controls
and even lets you shoot live streams and create video collages. And if you want to take pictures underwater with your iPhone, not even AppleCare can come to your rescue. For this, you will still need a waterproof smartphone, such as the Sony Xperia or the Samsung Galaxy Active.