Other Is Apple going in the wrong direction with the camera improvements?

[1800AirTAG]

Am I the only one who thinks this? And not just apple, I could argue the same thing for Samsung and any other manufacture who are trying to build a “Hollywood shooting machine” that fits in a pocket.

After seeing all the camera improvements made year after year, I feel the back camera improvement, as extremely impressive as they are, are geared to an extreme niche market. And some users, such as myself, will never use them to their full capability, so it’s just a waste of a feature that the money and time put into it, could be better invested elsewhere.

In my mind you’d get more people interested in a phone where the back was not so “sticking out” due to the cameras, but then have a better FaceTime camera for FaceTime, Instagram, tik toks, snapchats and all the other things most people use to shoot videos and post them on these platforms.

Is it just me, or do others also feel this way?

 

[russell_314]

No I want the best camera possible. I don't mind the camera bump. I would not trade a worse camera for no bump. Maybe they should consider that for the non pro iPhones because maybe the average person isn't so interested in the camera.

 

[1800AirTAG]

No I want the best camera possible. I don't mind the camera bump. I would not trade a worse camera for no bump. Maybe they should consider that for the non pro iPhones because maybe the average person isn't so interested in the camera.

I honestly feel that would be a good compromise. Make pro the best it can be, and make the regular one for the “regular” person so to speak.

Based on the rumors the iPhone 14 may be getting closer to that, but, we shall see what happens.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

I would also want the best camera possible, and while I don't like the hump, I would not trade it for a markedly worse camera.

We have kids, so me and my wife wants a good camera at hand all the time, that can quickly be pulled out and used for taking a good photo without too much hassle. I also have somewhat bad memory in general, so photos are my way of documenting my life for the future. But other than that, I think I am a pretty average person when it comes to this.

 

[sjperformance]

I'm fine with the current state of the camera. I enjoy knowing I have one of the best cameras out there on my 13PM. I'm not a professional shooter nor do I care to be. My wife takes some awesome pics on her phone of the kids and dog. Many times I post pics I took or send it to my people. Many times I get "that's a dope pic." I look back and realize what a dope shot I took without much effort. Gotta love iOS.

 

[Nbd1790]

I don't think they're going the wrong way with the camera systems generally speaking. I love the camera improvements. Although, the weight and size is starting to get out of hand in my opinion. The pro models have just been getting heavier and heavier and the cameras are taking up more of the phone and protruding in an almost comical way.

If rumors are true, we'll see a 48MP camera this year. I think after that it's going to finally be about refinement. Making the lenses smaller, phone weighing less etc. Part of my attraction to iPhones (alongside A LOT of others) is the fact that they're sleek and have a great timeless design. The cameras (as far as appearance goes) are starting to ruin it for me personally. Looks a bit silly.

Went from a 12 pro to a 13 mini this year. If this had a telephoto lens on it, it would be perfect.

 

[eyoungren]

I honestly feel that would be a good compromise. Make pro the best it can be, and make the regular one for the “regular” person so to speak.

There is a reason that Apple uses 'Pro' in their products. Because very few people want to be a 'regular' or buy the base model. Apple sells a lot of 'Pro' products to people who aren't 'pros' or don't need what the 'Pro' range provides.

So, it's to Apple's advantage to focus on the 'Pro' models. While that sounds like it supports what you're suggesting, in the long run it means Apple discontinues models that aren't Pro because they don't sell well.

It's interesting because a lot of people who purport to only buy what they need go for the Pro models. As 'regular' users it's not anything they need. It's simply what they want instead, blowing their whole argument about need.

 

[eyoungren]

I would also want the best camera possible, and while I don't like the hump, I would not trade it for a markedly worse camera.

We have kids, so me and my wife wants a good camera at hand all the time, that can quickly be pulled out and used for taking a good photo without too much hassle. I also have somewhat bad memory in general, so photos are my way of documenting my life for the future. But other than that, I think I am a pretty average person when it comes to this.

It's always about the kids isn't it?

I don't say that mockingly, just ribbing you.

My own kids (18 and 14) are intensely camera shy. They got that from us (my wife and I), two introvert loners who for their own reasons do whatever it takes to avoid having our pictures taken. We have captured the major moments of our kids lives and they've had to suck it up and stand there each time - grudgingly, silently being belligerent throughout the whole ordeal.

Yeah, my family hates getting our pictures taken. I suppose that makes us not pretty average.

 

[eyoungren]

I'm fine with the current state of the camera. I enjoy knowing I have one of the best cameras out there on my 13PM. I'm not a professional shooter nor do I care to be. My wife takes some awesome pics on her phone of the kids and dog. Many times I post pics I took or send it to my people. Many times I get "that's a dope pic." I look back and realize what a dope shot I took without much effort. Gotta love iOS.

LOL. I've said it many times here, but again, most of my pictures are shots of stuff at restaurants and grocery stores so my wife can make her choice about what she wants me to bring home.

My last dope shot was a pic of a box of Death Wish Coffee Espresso K-cups in my Walmart shopping cart. That got an 'Oh yeah, baby!" from my wife.

 

[1800AirTAG]

LOL. I've said it many times here, but again, most of my pictures are shots of stuff at restaurants and grocery stores so my wife can make her choice about what she wants me to bring home.

My last dope shot was a pic of a box of Death Wish Coffee Espresso K-cups in my Walmart shopping cart. That got an 'Oh yeah, baby!" from my wife.

With very few exceptions this is my usage too 😂 which is why I was wondering.

I use the FaceTime camera to talk with family much more than I do the back ones.

 

[RRC]

Personally I want the best quality I can get from what I have with me at all times, and that’s my iPhone. A large percentage of people will upgrade their iPhones based upon the camera upgrades.

 

[1800AirTAG]

A large percentage of people will upgrade their iPhones based upon the camera upgrades.

Genuinely curious, is this a personal point of view based on your discussions with others or is there a place you got metrics with stats on this?

I only ask because almost everyone I know has an iPhone, I only know one person who truly cares about the camera and will upgrade for that - which is part of why I posted this to begin with, I’m wondering how much of the world actually cares for the best of the best vs nice to have.

 

[sjperformance]

Genuinely curious, is this a personal point of view based on your discussions with others or is there a place you got metrics with stats on this?

I only ask because almost everyone I know has an iPhone, I only know one person who truly cares about the camera and will upgrade for that - which is part of why I posted this to begin with, I’m wondering how much of the world actually cares for the best of the best vs nice to have.

I agree. That’s like not even on my top 5 top features I care or worry about LoL .

 

[TracerAnalog]

I’m the opposite: I don’t care too much about the front camera. Give me 10x optical zoom! More pixels and more light to feed those pixels! More AI photography!

 

[RRC]

Genuinely curious, is this a personal point of view based on your discussions with others or is there a place you got metrics with stats on this?

I only ask because almost everyone I know has an iPhone, I only know one person who truly cares about the camera and will upgrade for that - which is part of why I posted this to begin with, I’m wondering how much of the world actually cares for the best of the best vs nice to have.

I know of about 7/10 friends who value the camera on the iPhone as one of, if not the most important feature. There’s whole forums for iPhone Photography online as well as the longest and most popular threads in this very forum is regarding photography.

 

[Mr. Dee]

My feelings are a mixture of emotions about it. I remember a friend who just bought an iPhone 11 in 2019 and asked me to take some pictures of them around the neighborhood. I also used my iPhone X at the time to take some and thought I would airdrop when we got back to the house. When comparing my photos from my X with their's from the 11, I could clearly see which was obviously better, it was the 11. Even though I thought my X was the pinnacle of what Apple could do with the iPhone camera, it definitely proves it could be better.

Just the other day I was looking at some photos I took on an iPhone 4s and even though they are great, compared to my X its a downgrade. I was looking at a slow-mo video I captured on my 6s and the quality is so bad in comparison to my X. The camera on the iPhone 2G to the iPhone 4 seem to have been an afterthought. It really wasn't until the 4S they started taking it seriously.

So, what you think is good enough today might not be the case in 5 or 10 years. Its an essential part of innovation and progress. Imagine those early photographers and videographers in the 18th century how much they would give to have what we have today? It will be the same in 50 to 100 years from now. There are some aesthetic issues that will need to be resolved. The protrusion of the camera is definitely becoming an issue with each revision.

But I think the problem is the pace of revisions is not giving the makers of the components that make up the camera system enough to time to focus enough on miniaturization. Once the sensors become smaller, we likely will go back to something that is more aesthetically pleasing. Who knows, we might have a single camera lens or two that does everything in 10 years. But for now, its all we have.

A thread like this also shows how far we've come.

This was us 40 years ago:



To this 30 years ago:



To now this:



and this



A device that is basically a super computer: super fast SoC, 1 TB storage, captures 4K video, high resolution photos, make instant video calls from thousands of miles away using high speed 5G and wireless networks, access to information anytime, anywhere. And you can store it in your pocket and it can last on a charge for days. But your concerns are valid and part of what drives innovation.

Someone is gonna post the iPhone 14 in a thread as that 40 years from now and showing it as an example of how behind we were.

 

[trife]

I don't feel like "improvements" can ever be considered going in the wrong direction if you can acknowledge that they're indeed improvements. Whether or not you care about or need them is another conversation.

 

[ndouglas]

You’re far from alone in wanting the more basic camera. To me it’s kind of like people who prefer smaller phones though, the tendency among consumers to bite at the offer of “bigger, more, Pro, etc.” without limitation (evidently), seems to tip the scales heavily against people like me who just want a reasonable looking phone with a single (ok two if you must but no more) camera lens… I get why people want more screen size, but the triple camera setup does surprise me that they’ve run with it for so many years . And it boggles my mind to imagine how many more lenses are coming on the back side of these new “phones” every year. How many is enough?

 

[ndouglas]

My feelings are a mixture of emotions about it. I remember a friend who just bought an iPhone 11 in 2019 and asked me to take some pictures of them around the neighborhood. I also used my iPhone X at the time to take some and thought I would airdrop when we got back to the house. When comparing my photos from my X with their's from the 11, I could clearly see which was obviously better, it was the 11. Even though I thought my X was the pinnacle of what Apple could do with the iPhone camera, it definitely proves it could be better.

Just the other day I was looking at some photos I took on an iPhone 4s and even though they are great, compared to my X its a downgrade. I was looking at a slow-mo video I captured on my 6s and the quality is so bad in comparison to my X. The camera on the iPhone 2G to the iPhone 4 seem to have been an afterthought. It really wasn't until the 4S they started taking it seriously.

So, what you think is good enough today might not be the case in 5 or 10 years. Its an essential part of innovation and progress. Imagine those early photographers and videographers in the 18th century how much they would give to have what we have today? It will be the same in 50 to 100 years from now. There are some aesthetic issues that will need to be resolved. The protrusion of the camera is definitely becoming an issue with each revision.

But I think the problem is the pace of revisions is not giving the makers of the components that make up the camera system enough to time to focus enough on miniaturization. Once the sensors become smaller, we likely will go back to something that is more aesthetically pleasing. Who knows, we might have a single camera lens or two that does everything in 10 years. But for now, its all we have.

A thread like this also shows how far we've come.

This was us 40 years ago:

View attachment 2051482

To this 30 years ago:

View attachment 2051484

To now this:

View attachment 2051485

and this

View attachment 2051493

A device that is basically a super computer: super fast SoC, 1 TB storage, captures 4K video, high resolution photos, make instant video calls from thousands of miles away using high speed 5G and wireless networks, access to information anytime, anywhere. And you can store it in your pocket and it can last on a charge for days. But your concerns are valid and part of what drives innovation.

Someone is gonna post the iPhone 14 in a thread as that 40 years from now and showing it as an example of how behind we were.

Great post and images, really puts a lot into perspective. 🤯

 

[Fatus_Asticus]

Apple is still behind in the camera game. They need a telephoto lens, that will probably arrive with the 15PM.

 

[chkay]

Nope, fine with the hump if it means a decent camera. By the time you've got a case on it it's a total non issue.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

The camera is by far the most important feature ‘for me’. I really would like to see hardware focused improvements vs computational. I use a case so I don’t notice the camera bump. Now, if I didn’t use a case the bump would bug me and I’d enjoy seeing it flush with the phone.

In my opinion the camera square began looking silly on the back of the 13 Pro and if rumors are true will look even more disproportionate on the 14 Pro. The Pro Max balances it out a bit more.

Even with the camera being my number one feature, I still don’t mess with shooting RAW. I don’t have the time or patience to be post editing pics.

 

[chkay]

Genuinely curious, is this a personal point of view based on your discussions with others or is there a place you got metrics with stats on this?

I only ask because almost everyone I know has an iPhone, I only know one person who truly cares about the camera and will upgrade for that - which is part of why I posted this to begin with, I’m wondering how much of the world actually cares for the best of the best vs nice to have.

I'm not OP but the cameras one of the main reasons for my upgrade (11 Pro Max > 14 Pro Max).

My retired dad who does a bit of photography on the side (part hobby, part side income) shoots with a fancy Nikon most of the time, but in a lot of cases will pull out his 13 Pro Max for a few last minute shots for things like weddings. The quality difference for general photos is becoming extremely good (obviously never going to compete with high-end equipment) and good enough for many photos. Each iteration has been a vast improvement, so for people like him it's absolutely something he's looking for in an iPhone.

 

[russell_314]

I honestly feel that would be a good compromise. Make pro the best it can be, and make the regular one for the “regular” person so to speak.

Based on the rumors the iPhone 14 may be getting closer to that, but, we shall see what happens.

I think a lot of this get killed by marketing. They have to sell the phone so if the specs look bad on paper then it doesn't matter how good the product is because some people just look at the number. 20 is a higher number than 10 so they'll buy the one that says 20. Of course I'm mostly talking about camera megapixels where the iPhone beats many android phones with higher number megapixel counts but that doesn't show up in marketing so much. I remember when the XR where some where trying to turn it into 720P-gate but there was a video where they asked people to pick the better display with the phones disguised so they couldn't see brand and most picked the XR over a higher resolution android phone.

 

[mikext]

With very few exceptions this is my usage too 😂 which is why I was wondering.

I use the FaceTime camera to talk with family much more than I do the back ones.

Same here lol. My camera usage is mainly just taking pictures of silly, non-important stuff. I'm in the extreme minority, but I couldn't care less about the camera. Well, that's not entirely true. I hate how the lenses keep getting bigger and bigger each year lol.