That’s a really long way to say, you don’t squeeze the iPhone when taking a photo.
Again, if you look at Apple’s photos of iPhone 16, they don’t put both thumbs on one side of the chassis. Most people don’t prefer to do that.
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Camera Control is the best evidence that Apple has finally lost its way
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That’s a really long way to say, you don’t squeeze the iPhone when taking a photo.
Again, if you look at Apple’s photos of iPhone 16, they don’t put both thumbs on one side of the chassis. Most people don’t prefer to do that.
If we're being honest Apple stopped telling the rest of the industry what to do a long time ago.
The iPhone X was a watershed moment but Samsung's S8 was an equally forward thinking design that came out the same year, developed in isolation. The iPhone 4 was the last real time it had any clout, not a coincidence the 2nd to last phone Jobs released.
Apple haven't made their trillions making innovative, mould breaking phones. They've done it making reliable ones. There's nothing wrong with this; Apple make great products! But there is no 'rot' at Apple, only a drive to build reliable everyday products people love.
Or to put it another way: when was the last time their laptop designs made you sit up and notice? The M1 was a way to make the stats better but they still look like a thinner, lighter PowerBook G4.
The real problem is us, enthusiasts who use the tech news cycle as a form of entertainment. Phones now sit alongside washing machines, vacuum cleaners and toasters as everyday products. But they are a long way from being anything innovative ever again. And I haven't spotted any threads on Dyson or Zanussi being in trouble!
The iPhone X was a watershed moment but Samsung's S8 was an equally forward thinking design that came out the same year, developed in isolation. The iPhone 4 was the last real time it had any clout, not a coincidence the 2nd to last phone Jobs released.
Apple haven't made their trillions making innovative, mould breaking phones. They've done it making reliable ones. There's nothing wrong with this; Apple make great products! But there is no 'rot' at Apple, only a drive to build reliable everyday products people love.
Or to put it another way: when was the last time their laptop designs made you sit up and notice? The M1 was a way to make the stats better but they still look like a thinner, lighter PowerBook G4.
The real problem is us, enthusiasts who use the tech news cycle as a form of entertainment. Phones now sit alongside washing machines, vacuum cleaners and toasters as everyday products. But they are a long way from being anything innovative ever again. And I haven't spotted any threads on Dyson or Zanussi being in trouble!
Your explanation was perfect. I couldn't agree more as a photographer I bought into the hype and was looking forward to the camera button as Apple refers to it. It sucks. Everything you described mirrors my experience. I switched back to the action button to launch the camera. This is a major miss-step.
The great thing about being able to take pictures with your phone, without having to unlock it first, is that it gives anyone with access to your phone the opportunity to put incriminating evidence on it and then turn you in for committing some crime. It's an AWESOME feature that all manufacturers should implement.
Actually it says you do squeeze the iPhone. You squeeze it between a thumb and a finger, for example, to actuate a volume button or the camera control. That's literally how it's done if you're using hardware and not the screen to take a picture. As I said, your comparison to how a DSLR is held just doesn't work.
Would love to learn how you know what "most people" prefer.
P
it works really bad as a shutter button.
It works bad as camera control.
It works really good as camera launch button.
I think this article has a really good point that this button wasn’t designed to be camera control button. It was designed as a button for Apple intelligence camera features. That’s why it is on both Pro and base iPhones. And as AI features were postponed, Apple rushed this button to make it work as camera control. And even this wasn’t completed in time, because continuous focus and exposition lock were also postponed.
I'm a Camera Nerd, but Something Is Strange About the iPhone 16's Camera Control Button
Commentary: Was it supposed to be the Visual Intelligence button instead? There's a lot of unrealized potential in Apple's new button that goes well beyond the camera.www.cnet.com
I would think the button was already in the works before the pivot to ai. And before the pivot obviously Apple was camera focused once again to sell this phone.
P
it works really bad as a shutter button.
It works bad as camera control.
It works really good as camera launch button.
I think this article has a really good point that this button wasn’t designed to be camera control button. It was designed as a button for Apple intelligence camera features. That’s why it is on both Pro and base iPhones. And as AI features were postponed, Apple rushed this button to make it work as camera control. And even this wasn’t completed in time, because continuous focus and exposition lock were also postponed.
I'm a Camera Nerd, but Something Is Strange About the iPhone 16's Camera Control Button
Commentary: Was it supposed to be the Visual Intelligence button instead? There's a lot of unrealized potential in Apple's new button that goes well beyond the camera.
Interesting. Obviously we'll never know if this is true, but it sounds likely to me. I think the Action Button, too, was added for AI. I couldn't see them adding buttons to the phone unless they thought it was to enhance the phone's AI capabilities. I think the button was intended to be camera-related (as the article suggests), but I think we're only seeing part of its intended function (and perhaps, as the article suggests, a part added later).
I like the button so I don't think it's a gimmick. Accessing additional camera control options was awkward at first but once I understood it's a light double press it's pretty easy to access now. I did find the zoom feature to be not all that useful and would rather pinch to zoom, but the other stuff are nice to have.
To me this entire thread (and some others on iPhone as a camera) boils down to the “jack of all trades, master of none” element in modern phones. The more we increase the number of roles we think a device “should” perform, the worse it will be at any one of those roles when compared to a purpose-built device.
A modern phone is not a camera, and a modern camera is not a phone. A modern phone can snap an image but the ergonomics of a camera are simply not there and we (including Apple, Samsung, etc.) should stop pretending that can ever be the case. It’s a phone (at least the modern definition of one) that happens to take pictures. When someone designs a camera that happens to perform phone functions (not that I think this should be done), then we can expect to approach camera ergonomics. But then you have something that probably won’t fit in your pocket, even though many would argue modern phones don’t fit either, but that’s another discussion.
Don’t get me wrong. I see value in the phone being able to take pictures. There are situations when I’m glad I have the option of taking a quick snapshot with my phone. I’m certainly not lugging my camera gear around all the time, and at those times, I’m willing to put up with the compromises and awkwardness inherent in using a phone to snap a quick picture. But since I’m already making compromises, I’m fine with the “old” screen-based controls. A whole new button with multiple context based functions and tactile modes adds absolutely nothing of value for me. And then the placement of it looks like it is prone to my hand partially covering the screen, so again, not compelling.
Yeah, I know. I’m “holding it wrong”. So not only do I need to learn all the nuances of the new button and the contexts, I need to learn how to hold my phone differently. No thanks. It’s just a casual, quick snapshot to me, not serious attempt at exercising or improving whatever photography skills I have.
A modern phone is not a camera, and a modern camera is not a phone. A modern phone can snap an image but the ergonomics of a camera are simply not there and we (including Apple, Samsung, etc.) should stop pretending that can ever be the case. It’s a phone (at least the modern definition of one) that happens to take pictures. When someone designs a camera that happens to perform phone functions (not that I think this should be done), then we can expect to approach camera ergonomics. But then you have something that probably won’t fit in your pocket, even though many would argue modern phones don’t fit either, but that’s another discussion.
Don’t get me wrong. I see value in the phone being able to take pictures. There are situations when I’m glad I have the option of taking a quick snapshot with my phone. I’m certainly not lugging my camera gear around all the time, and at those times, I’m willing to put up with the compromises and awkwardness inherent in using a phone to snap a quick picture. But since I’m already making compromises, I’m fine with the “old” screen-based controls. A whole new button with multiple context based functions and tactile modes adds absolutely nothing of value for me. And then the placement of it looks like it is prone to my hand partially covering the screen, so again, not compelling.
Yeah, I know. I’m “holding it wrong”. So not only do I need to learn all the nuances of the new button and the contexts, I need to learn how to hold my phone differently. No thanks. It’s just a casual, quick snapshot to me, not serious attempt at exercising or improving whatever photography skills I have.
The best analogy is the Mac touch bar.
Both are answers to questions no one asked.
There was no clamouring for the camera control button and the functionality it has, especially since you could use last year's action button as a hardware option to open the camera (and with a software tweak, also take a picture or video, if Apple wanted to make that tweak).
Both are answers to questions no one asked.
There was no clamouring for the camera control button and the functionality it has, especially since you could use last year's action button as a hardware option to open the camera (and with a software tweak, also take a picture or video, if Apple wanted to make that tweak).
Even most of the big name reviewers are echoing this sentiment. Now that they have had the phone for awhile, they are reporting the utility of the camera button to be pretty weak.
More importantly, they are also starting to express concern for the direction Apple is heading in general, which I think was the greater point of your post.
I agree with you.
People may not like him, but watch Jon Prosser’s take on the IPhone 16. He summed up what I think perfectly.
“Jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
Don’t get me wrong, I'm not a fan of the button - and actually I agree with your post - so it’s not necessarily directed at you. But people people should think about this rhyme in this full context, and remember how truly crazy the technology of this lump of glass in our pockets is, compared to technology say 20 years ago
I have completely disabled the button. Now I'm a big fan of it.
So I'll preface this by first stating two things:
1. I am a software nerd, there is a bunch of ticky tacky bugs in iOS that've been present for some years that drive me nuts.
2. I am physically disabled and largely only have full use of my left arm/hand. My right side is just there to support the things I do with my left hand.
In saying that though my experience is that yes, Camera Control software is finicky at best, especially with light presses and swipes etc. But my issues with it as a disabled person, are 95% hardware i.e. button placement, grip needed, etc.
When using CC, it is very cumbersome for me personally. I basically have to grasp the phone's frame in between the side and CC buttons while taking a picture, thus blocking the viewfinder. If I want to use it, a solution I've found for now is to invert the phone where the CC is on the bottom instead of the top. However, this causes more shakiness which no one wants in their pictures.
Overall, I like the premise and I do believe the software will get better, but for me the button placement and the amount of force needed to actually take a picture is it's biggest albatross right now.
1. I am a software nerd, there is a bunch of ticky tacky bugs in iOS that've been present for some years that drive me nuts.
2. I am physically disabled and largely only have full use of my left arm/hand. My right side is just there to support the things I do with my left hand.
In saying that though my experience is that yes, Camera Control software is finicky at best, especially with light presses and swipes etc. But my issues with it as a disabled person, are 95% hardware i.e. button placement, grip needed, etc.
When using CC, it is very cumbersome for me personally. I basically have to grasp the phone's frame in between the side and CC buttons while taking a picture, thus blocking the viewfinder. If I want to use it, a solution I've found for now is to invert the phone where the CC is on the bottom instead of the top. However, this causes more shakiness which no one wants in their pictures.
Overall, I like the premise and I do believe the software will get better, but for me the button placement and the amount of force needed to actually take a picture is it's biggest albatross right now.
Original discussion:
It was about camera shake. Squeeing top and bottom was offered as being the obvious solution to that shake problem.
You referenced squeezing the button on a DSLR, not me:
Nobody who knows what they’re doing is squeezing their camera. No need to say please. LOL.
You then suggested I tell Nikon they should update their manuals, and I showed you that Nikon already has this language in their manuals.
It's the way I've always done it when I want a decent shot. I hold the phone in landscape and hold all 4 corners of the phone, then either extend my index finger to the onscreen button or press the volume button. In the rare cases I take a portrait orientation shot, I cup the bottom half of the phone from behind and press the onscreen button.
It's absolutely natural for anyone who understands the importance of camera stability in image quality. Anything else, like a one handed shot or a selfie, is rolling the dice and hoping the image stabilizers mask the sloppy shot discipline.
This, on the other hand, is not natural. It's still an effort to hold all sides of the phone, but see how the meat of the hand is covering the display? Notice the lack of a persons face looking at the display? I suspect the product photographer's instructions to the model with well manicured hands was "hold it like a camera", not "let me capture you taking a really high quality photo":
It is not covering the display, even from this side angle and certainly not from the users perspective. Notice how you can see the full shutter button on screen-- the photo they are capturing is the part in the middle that isn't dimmed and fully visible.When people hold iPhone 16 using a pincer grip, it covers part of the display. But the iPhone 16's button requires a firm press, making it necessary to use a pincer grip to prevent camera shake.
This is exactly how I hold the phone when taking a picture with the previous phones-- ring finger and thumb hold the frame, index finger hits the onscreen button. I'm guessing the reason the camera control button is so stiff is they're expecting people to move to holding it with the index finger on the button and want to avoid accidental presses.
Pincer grip is the right approach for the camera control button. It doesn't matter that it isn't exactly how you've seen people hold what you call "real" cameras-- every camera is a different shape but the goal is the same: stabilize the platform, squeeze the button. The iPhone has no grips or bezels, so top and bottom is the only way to get your hands out of the way while doing that.
If you can't hold it that way, or if you're just taking a casual shot and don't care about how crisp it is, then the onscreen button remains an option.
Personally, I think they should mirror the camera control button with the wake button so it's the same for right and left handed shooters and that wake button could be a much more functional "action" button than they have on the other side. Or just extend that camera button the whole length of the phone like a ribbon controller so it can be reached with either hand.
Someone has pointed out that the pressure to take the picture is adjustable under the accessibility settings.
Not really though. The touch bar removed physical buttons that people used and replaced them with a touchscreen that clashed with how people use a keyboard. This adds a button where there wasn't one before, and people are completely free to ignore it and keep using their phone as though it never existed.
Not to mention that there are people who've been asking for a dedicated camera button on the iPhone for basically the whole time it's existed. The slidey-swipey stuff is definitely not something people have asked for, but it seems like you can just ignore it for the most part if you don't like it.
The touch bar comparison really doesn't hold up.
People: We miss headphone jack, small size, and simple camera.
Apple: No. You will get none of that back, but pay us $1200 for the new oversized iPhone 16.
People: Forget it. I'm saving my $1200 this year *pulls out old but gold iPhone 7 from the drawer*
Apple: HOW DARE YOU #$%&$%!!!!!!!! CAMERA CONTROL IS THE BEST FEATURE EVER YOU #$%$%&%!!!!!!!!
Apple stops giving customers what they want? Then customers stops giving Apple money.
I assume you've adjusted it to the lightest pressure setting?
But yeah, night mode can be hit or miss even using the on screen controls. For that it's really best to hold the phone up against something solid regardless of how you're triggering the shutter (or prop the phone up somewhere are trigger it remotely). That's just the nature of long-exposure photography. Even real cameras can struggle with this.
In my desk drawer are an iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, two iPhone Xr and an iPhone 14 Pro Max, as well as some Android thing.
I dunno when or if they will get used again, but I have a good supply of backup phones.
Good. That means you never have to buy an iPhone again, and Apple can't force you.
If enough people stops buying new iPhones every year, Apple might finally start to listen.
That's quite the conclusion.
I've NEVER had to buy an iPhone.
No one has ever forced me to buy ANY phone.
I also have no interest in whether Apple listens to anyone's complaints about iPhones. Buy, don't buy, whatever.
The only thing stopping me from buying a new iPhone is the fact that I will all but certainly be dead before I want a new one (unless this one breaks).
I finally got to try the camera button for a few mins this morning and I have to say, some of y'all are overreacting. It's fine. The sliding stuff takes a little getting used to, but the button itself is perfectly fine as a shutter control. I had no issues pressing it, so either I'm the strongest man who's ever lived or some of you are exaggerating.
I think in future i'd prefer if it protruded from the rail a little more, but I'd ultimately slap a case on it anyway so it's not really a big deal.
I think in future i'd prefer if it protruded from the rail a little more, but I'd ultimately slap a case on it anyway so it's not really a big deal.
I wonder if people are using the button with just one hand with in landscape mode. I picked up the demo iPhone 16 Pro, turned it to landscape mode and with two hands held it like a compact camera. That’s how I always use the cameras on the phones, in fact, whether in portrait or landscape mode.
Years ago when I just first started using a smartphone, I observed that MANY if not MOST people like to interact with their phones with just one hand. Their thumbs would wildly go all over the place as they go tap tap tap. I have never adopted that approach. I feel like my thumb would be over used and my fingers over extended. 99% of the time I’m using two hands: one hand holds the phone, the other is interacting with the screen. About the only time I use only one hand is doing selfie.
Maybe the Camera Control button is not for those who interact with their phones with primarily just one hand?