iPhone X selfie camera makes it all about you

Selfies aren't my thing. I'd rather shoot interesting places and people — and they're usually not me. But the lowly selfie might soon enjoy a renaissance thanks to the iPhone X.

When I found out I'd have a chance to test the camera tech in Apple's iPhone X, which will be released on Friday, Nov. 3, I knew I wanted to see what the new selfie camera could do. It's a 7-megapixel front-facing camera that supports Portrait mode, where the subject in the foreground is in focus and the background is blurred.  Add the various Portrait Lighting effects and the front facing camera is reborn.

Apple says its goal with the TrueDepth camera system is to "bring dramatic studio lighting effects to iPhone and allow customers to capture stunning portraits with a shallow depth-of-field effect in five different lighting styles." But like I said, I'm not big on selfies — so I decided to see what the iPhone X could do by flipping the phone around and taking portraits of people I came across on Monday with that front-facing camera. I tested the various lighting effects — Natural Light, Stage Light, Stage Light Mono, Studio Light and Contour Light.

After 10 hours on the streets of San Francisco, mostly in and around Fisherman's Wharf, I was impressed by how Portrait Mode transformed the everyday selfie into a respectable and elegant photo. I also realize that might not be as easy as it sounds. CNET senior editor Scott Stein, who notes that the lighting effects are still in beta on the iPhone X's front-facing and rear-facing cameras, had trouble taking selfies. "My face ended up looking oddly cut-out and poorly lit," he says in his hands-on review of the $1,000 iPhone X.

Here's what I was able to capture using all five effects of the iPhone X's front-facing camera. 

Studio Light effect James Martin/CNET

Along the docks at Fisherman's Wharf, the front-facing camera with the Studio Light effect elevates the common selfie. Warm enveloping highlights make the subject's face pop against the background, giving the photo the crispness of a travel magazine portrait. A little more punch and contrast gives her a brighter and cheerier look. 

James Martin/CNET

With blown out highlights and a blurred background, this Studio Light effect makes the subject stand out against the blurred foreground of the crab he's holding. The Studio Light effect gives a nice golden glow to the subject — it's a subtle but effective lighting technique that makes for a compelling portrait.

Natural Light effect James Martin/CNET

This Natural Light selfie, taken at the marina at Fisherman's Wharf, has the dramatic blurred background bokeh effect that looks straight out of an adventure travel ad. This is a great example of taking a very busy background, with the cluttered masts and lines from the boats, and simplifying it while highlighting the subject — me. Were it not for my hand and camera in the reflection of my sunglasses, you might think this was a portrait shot with a DSLR camera.

The biggest problem I had while shooting was that outdoors, in direct sunlight, the front-facing camera was unable to operate in Portrait Mode. A warning popped up, telling me the subject was too bright. By adjusting the angle of the camera or the angle of my head, I was often able to get the photo I wanted — but not always.

Stage Light effect

Stage Light has been used to full effect in the image below. Taken at dusk at a neighborhood puppet show in Oakland, thi s costumed usher has been separated from the original busy background of the attending crowd. That allows us to focus on the bright red suit and the subject's face. By separating him from a cluttered background, and offsetting the color against the black, this photo goes far beyond a standard selfie.

James Martin/CNET James Martin/CNET Natural Light effect

It was late Monday night when I ordered this Honey Graham ice cream from Humphry Slocombe in Oakland. But even with the poor fluorescent light in the creamery kitchen, I was able to capture this beautiful Natural Light portrait. The image is bright and focused on the smiling subject, allowing the background to drop away.

James Martin/CNET Contour Light effect James Martin/CNET

At Madame Tussauds wax museum in San Francisco, I used the Contour Light effect to take this photo of the model of comedian Robin Williams. The selfie camera adds a slight drama to the wax model. When coupled with the blurred background, I think it gives a dreamy texture to the photo. 

Natural Light effect James Martin/CNET

There's a bit more noise in the dark parts of the image here, but any color noise is notably absent, which is unusual for a front-facing camera. Even though the subject is standing in poor indoor fluorescent lighting and he's backlit with sunlight, when Portrait Mode blurs out the background, you get a portrait worth keeping.

James Martin/CNET

Put two people in a frame and the front-facing camera recognizes both subjects and separates them from the background — as long as they're the same distance from the camera. Good contrast, with bright blacks and even highlights, make this image pop.

Stage Light Mono effect James Martin/CNET

The Stage Light Mono effect takes the busy background of a candy store and drops it away, leaving us with a portrait against a black backdrop. This photo looks like it was taken in a studio. It's hard to imagine just how distracting and cluttered the background was, which is why I'm sure the Stage Light filter will be popular with those who want simple and dramatic images.

Source: iPhone X selfie camera makes it all about you

iPhone apps with access to your camera can secretly spy on you

In this day and age, it's nearly impossible to keep track of all the ways that our devices keep track of us. Many of us have simply come to terms with this new reality, but thankfully, there are others out there who are staying vigilant and doing their part to ensure that our collective privacy isn't violated any more than it needs to be.

Such is the case with Google developer Felix Krause, who identified on his blog this week an alarming truth about iOS apps that have access to our phone cameras. According to Krause, apps with the necessary permissions are technically capable of recording the user at any time, regardless of whether or not they have manually pressed a button or issued a command to capture a photo or a video within the app.

But that's not all they can do. Along with snapping a photo or recording a video, Krause claims that apps can access both front and back cameras, upload pictures and videos right after taking them and even run facial recognition to detect the user's facial features and expressions using Apple's Vision framework.

You are probably now wondering what you can do to prevent all those apps you absentmindedly granted permission to from recording you when you least expect it. Unfortunately, short of revoking access from every app on your phone, the only real option is to buy a camera case and uncover the camera when you actually want to take a picture or a video. Otherwise, Apple will need to change how the permissions work to make this impossible.

The good news is that Krause has reported the issue to Apple, so we'll have to wait and see if anything changes in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, think before you allow camera permissions to any app.

Source: iPhone apps with access to your camera can secretly spy on you

Neural network gives your phone 'DSLR-quality' photos

You can buy a Pixel phone if you want AI to enhance your photos every time you press the shutter button, and services like Google Photos use AI for minor fixes and clever effects. But what if you wish your photos looked like they were taken with a much better camera? Scientists might have an answer. They've developed a neural network system that's focused solely on giving your photos a "DSLR-quality" look. It's not flawless, but its novel approach points to a future where your phone knows what photos should look like and tweaks shots to match.

The researchers started out by training a deep learning system using photos taken of the same scene using a phone and a DSLR. It's effective, but it can only improve the quality for the smartphone in question. That led to a more sophistic ated system, however: the new network only needs to see two sets of images from different cameras to understand how to apply the image quality from one to the other. In other words, you can feed it any photo and expect results that are more comparable to a target camera. You can try it yourself.

The results aren't always ideal, as you can see in the sample above. While the colors and exposure in the "after" shot (left) are noticeably better than the dull reference image, there's also a greenish tint. Other samples will occasionally lose a bit of detail, even if they're overall more vibrant. The tool nonetheless appears to achieve its overall goal, especially when it's used with older or low-end phones that tend to take lifeless shots as a matter of course. About the only thing it can't do is add details that weren't already there. If your phone is terrible at low-light shots, you're not going to recover the missing info.

And importantly, this isn't the end. The scientists hope to put the neural network to work 'correcting' the shooting conditions themselves. If it's rainy day, for example, the AI could make it seem bright and sunny. That's perilously close to creating non-existent shots, but it could be helpful if your vacation was spoiled by lousy weather and you'd like something nice to show friends back home. As it is, the current technology could improve the baseline image quality for phone cameras if it's incorporated into future devices and software. You're still going to get better shots with higher-end sensors and lenses, but the gap between the best and worst phone cams might not be quite so pronounced.

ETH Zurich (1), (2), CVF

Source: Neural network gives your phone 'DSLR-quality' photos

Garcia out of focus on camera phones

THE use of cellphones in schools has returned to the front burner following yet another controversial videotaped incident at a secondary school.

The incident, which was dismissed by the principal of Fatima College as boys at his school "playing the fool", has led Education Minister Anthony Garcia to call on officials to enforce the ban on camera phones in schools.

While the ban is likely to be enforced for a few days, it is even more likely to collapse for the very same reason that rendered it ineffective in the first place. Keeping camera phones out of schools requires a mechanism within the school system for ongoing monitoring and policing along with pupil and parental awareness and co-operation.

If most of our schools don't even have guidance counsellors to help children with emotional and psychological issues, they could hardly be expected to provide the monitoring and policing needed for keeping video cameras off their compounds. Camera phones are a fact of modern life, not only for pupils but for parents, teachers, other staff and principals alike. They open up users to the world of internet connectivity, providing access to a bounty of information, good, bad and indifferent.

It would be surprising if the vast majority of pupils use their devices for anything dangerous or criminal, although it is the sensational that invariably grab our attention through social media. More often, people, including teenagers, use their camera phones for information, communication and entertainment. They surf the net, keep in touch, connect with their various networks, conduct research, copy files and check information on almost everything.

The camera phone is a real asset in everyday life. It is the distortion of its uses that is the problem that modern society needs to confront. In doing so, the most potent, sustainable and enlightened response could only come from education. After all these years, one would have thought that internet providers and educators would have developed a collaboration aimed at instilling safe and healthy values in our children regarding the use of internet-based technology, including camera phones.

Judging from the public behaviour and comment in response to sensational video posts, it is clear that many people, including adults, have an unhealthy relationship with video posts and social media. While it may already be too late for most adults, it is not too late to shape the relationship between children and internet technology to ensure they are aware of its strengths and dangers and know how to protect themselves.

The education system cannot be interested only in how children use camera phones in school but how they use them generally, whether in school or out. While banning might protect schools and their administrations from public embarrassment, it does nothing to teach children about one of the most powerful learning tools now available to them.

By emphasising the ban on camera phones in schools, Education Minister Garcia is focusing on the wrong problem.

The issue is not the mere publicising of problems in our schools but the problems themselves.

Source: Garcia out of focus on camera phones

Here’s what your phone’s front-facing ‘selfie camera’ is REALLY for

IF YOU were asked to list the uses of a mobile phone's front-facing camera, taking selfies is probably pretty high up on the list.

No one can deny that using a phone's front camera to snap a few pics is far easier than having to turn the phone around, make sure you have your finger on the right button and hope you are in the frame.

Getty - Contributor

The world has gone mad for selfies in recent years

And with the quality of smartphone cameras getting better all the time we are able to take clearer, more profile picture-worthy photos with ease.

But it turns out, and this may come as a shock, that the front camera was not created so we could take selfies.

The first phone with a front facing camera was introduced to the world by Sony in 2003 in the form of the Ericsson Z1010, news.com.au reports.

According to Quartz, the chunky flip phone and it's 0.3 pixel camera that could be turned towards the user, was originally intended to be used in business calls.

AP:Associated Press

The first front-facing camera appeared on the Sony Ericsson Z1010 Paris Hilton predicts selfies will become the 21st century autograph on the OC

"I grew up here in the US with The Jetsons and Star Trek and communicators, and just dreaming about this—dreaming about video calling—and it's real now," he said at the time.

Little did Sony and Apple know that little camera would spark what can only be described as a selfie epidemic.

People loved the idea of being able to see what they look like while taking a photo of themselves so much that platforms were created to easily allow them to share their selfies with the world.

Social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat encourage people to share their selfies to their heart's content and even give them options to add filters and edits if they want to spice up their picture.

SELFIE OBSESSION EXPOSED

Rawhide, a non-profit organisation helping at-risk youth, conducted research to give insight into our selfie habits. Its findings included:

There are 93 million selfies taken each day

74 per cent of images shared on Snapchat are selfies

There are 1000 selfies posted to Instagram every 10 seconds

In 2015 more people died from taking selfies than from shark attacks

Every year teens spend almost seven full work days taking selfies

The designers at Sony that were responsible for creating the front-facing camera could never have predicted the effect their innovation would have on how we use our phones.

No doubt there are people out there that do use the camera for its original purpose of video conference meetings but, for now, it looks like taking selfies will continue to come out on top.

Boffins unveil tool that uses artificial intelligence to ensure you always look beautiful in selfies

This story originally appeared on news.com.au.

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Source: Here's what your phone's front-facing 'selfie camera' is REALLY for

Is your iPhone spying on you? iOS apps can secretly turn on your camera and take video

It is the typical Orwellian nightmare that new technology has foisted on humans, your smartphone recording your every move. When you download an iOS application, especially those in the social media category, one of the most common permissions you will grant it is access to the iPhone's camera.

It is easy to hit the 'Allow' button and forget about it, but Google researcher Felix Krause has warned that doing so can let iOS applications run wild – and may jeopardise your privacy.

In his analysis, published this week (25 October), Krause said that giving apps access to the camera will let them take images without your consent, secretly record you and even run cutting edge face tracking features.

He teased the following scenario: "Have you ever used a social media app while using the bathroom?"

Of course, this is not a bug, security vulnerability or flaw. Instead, it is simply a reminder to watch what you are clicking – and not to get complacent with permissions.

Krause called it a "privacy loophole that can be abused".

He wrote: "Once you take and post one picture or video via a social network app, you grant full access to the camera, and any time the app is running, the app can use the camera.

"[Apple] iOS users often grant camera access to an app soon after they download it. These apps, like a messaging app or any newsfeed-based app, can easily track the user's face, take pictures, or live stream the front and back camera, without the user's consent."

That is not all they can do, he warned. Krause, who recently discovered a convincing phishing scam targeting Apple devices, said that some iOS apps can "live stream their camera onto the internet" and use the front and back camera to judge the user's location.

Additionally, granting camera access to some modern apps can – thanks to new Apple's Vision technology in the most recent software – now be used to gauge the "emotions" of users and "detect if the user is on their phone alone or watching together with a second person".

In a video uploaded to YouTube, Krause demonstrated just how easy it would be to snoop on users via the camera by creating a fake social media-style iOS application.

"After a bit of scrolling, you'll suddenly see pictures of yourself, taken a few seconds ago while you scrolled through the feed," he explained. "You realise you've been recorded the whole time."

The researcher said that users can remain protected by using camera covers, but advised that Apple should design a method of granting apps only temporary access to the camera. Like laptops, he said the iPhone should come with an LED indicator to show when the camera is on.

To check what apps have been granted access to your camera you can go to Settings > Privacy.

Source: Is your iPhone spying on you? iOS apps can secretly turn on your camera and take video

PSA: With Camera Permission, iPhone Apps Can Take Pictures And Videos Without You Noticing

Image: Shutterstock. Composite: Jason Koebler/Motherboard

Whenever you give iPhone apps permission to access your camera, the app can surreptitiously take pictures and videos of you as long as the app is in the foreground, a security researcher warned on Wednesday.

Felix Krause, who recently warned of the danger of malicious iPhone password popups, wrote a blog post as a sort of PSA for iPhone users. To be clear, this is not a bug, but likely intended behavior.

What this means is that even if you don't see the camera "open" in the form of an on-screen viewfinder, an app can still take photos and videos. It is unknown how many apps currently do this, but Krause created a test app as a proof-of-concept.

This behavior is what enables certain "spy" apps like Stealth Cam and Easy Calc - Camera Eye to exist. But even if this behavior is well-known among iOS developers and hardcore users, it's worth remembering that all apps that have camera permission can technically take photos in this way.

"It's something most people have no idea about, as they think the camera is only being used if they see the camera content or a LED is blinking," Krause told Motherboard in a chat over Twitter direct message. Krause currently works at Google, but performed and published this research independently of his work there.

Read more: Turning Off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in iOS 11's Control Center Doesn't Actually Turn Off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth

What's worse is that, unlike on Mac computers—which show a solid green light when the camera is active—the iPhone has no mechanism to indicate to a user that the camera is on.

"You can get full access to both cameras without indicating that to the user," Krause told me.

To test this functionality, Krause created a custom app called "watch.user" and shared it with me. I installed it on my iPhone and verified that, indeed, the app took pictures of me while I was simply scrolling through it, and it was even running a hidden facial recognition engine.

Krause's app does not upload photos anywhere, nor it stores them in your Photos app, but there's nothing stopping an app from taking pictures and uploading them somewhere without you noticing.

Again, this is not a bug or something you should be too worried about. But it's good to be aware of how much power you're giving apps when you grant them access to your iPhone's cameras.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Got a tip? You can contact this reporter securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, OTR chat at lorenzo@jabber.ccc.de, or email lorenzo@motherboard.tv

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Source: PSA: With Camera Permission, iPhone Apps Can Take Pictures And Videos Without You Noticing

Take Your Smartphone Videos to the Next Level with This New Motorized Camera Slider for iPhone

One way to stand out on social media? Awesome production quality.

One way to get those amazing shots, wild and crazy angles, or an epic time lapse? Get creative with your shooting!

Now, that's not always easy, but this little piece of gear is specifically designed to help photographers take full advantage of the powerful features locked within their smartphone.

ROV via Rhino Camera Gear Kickstarter.

As smartphones become more powerful so too increases their ability to capture truly dynamic, cinematic photos and videos. Companies specializing in equipment for this purpose have met a healthy, almost insatiable, market.

It's under this premise that Rhino Camera Gear has introduced its new camera slider developed specifically for the Apple iPhone – meet the ROV, built to "capture beautiful cinematic video and time-lapse with your iPhone, Android, GoPro, DSLR or Mirrorless camera."

As FStoppers points out, there are currently "200 times" more smartphone cameras on the market than there are SLR cameras, making the market for gadgets geared towards smartphone photographers and videographers a natural expansion of Rhino Camera Gear's existing line of peripherals designed for more traditional camera equipment.

ROV is a motorized slider that works with both iPhones and DSLR cameras. While Rhino has sold accessories for traditional camera products for quite some time, the ROV is their first iPhone product. The ROV works with all iPhones but works particularly well with the iPhone 6 model.

There are two different variants of the accessory – the ROV and ROV Pro, designed for smaller DSLR and mirrorless cameras, along with two options for length, an eight inch or 16 inch model. Rhino Camera expects to begin delivering the product starting in April 2018. The Kickstarter campaign to build the device has raised almost twice its goal of $50,000, showing healthy interest in the peripheral.

Rhino Camera Gear says that an Android version of the motorized slider is on the way.

Control over the device is through a mobile app called the ROV Motion App for mirrorless cameras and DSLR cameras. The Rhino Storytelling App, available on the Apple App Store, gives the user the same functionality on the iPhone smartphone device. The Rhino Storytelling App also gives users video editing functionality that does not require a Rhino device to use, an added bonus for videographers that want to upload their work on location to websites like YouTube or Facebook. The Rhino Storytelling App allows users to "add clips to your story and start editing. Rearrange clips in the vertical editor or trim them to your liking. Open the advanced controls to change speed and exposure. Add your favorite music track and save to your camera roll when you're ready to share with your friends."

ROV via Rhino Camera Gear Kickstarter.

ROV via Rhino Camera Gear Kickstarter.

ROV via Rhino Camera Gear Kickstarter.

ROV via Rhino Camera Gear Kickstarter.

Source: Take Your Smartphone Videos to the Next Level with This New Motorized Camera Slider for iPhone

Best phone camera of 2017 : Seek out PDAF

Today we're going to take a look at what it means to buy a smartphone with a camera "that just takes good pictures." You know, the sort of phone that just lets you snap a picture and it won't be blurry. I'm here to tell you that this phone does exist, but that actually snapping a reasonably sharp photo is not quite as simple as just pointing and shooting.

Which phone camera is best?

Over the past several years, cameras on smartphones have gotten quite good at the tasks for which they're meant. This is largely due to the advances made in mobile image sensors, mainly thanks to Sony. The Sony IMX line of image sensors and Sony's Exmor RS technology are responsible for the vast majority of top-notch smartphone-captured photos in the past several years.

ABOVE: Photo taken with Google's Pixel XL, 2016 BELOW: Photo taken with Samsung Galaxy S8, 2017

Have a peek at an article I wrote back in 2016 about the Samsung Galaxy S6 to see the point at which I believe the tide turned. Instead of a mixed bag of smartphone cameras all across the board, it seemed at that point that pretty much every smartphone, mid-tier and above, had a camera worth its salt. From there on out, things got GOOD.

PDAF is the boss

PDAF stands for Phase Detection Autofocus. It's an image processing technology which takes account of two different images whenever you're about to snap a photo. The image processor adjusts your cameras lenses, phasing the images until they synchronize with one another, creating the best possible image between the two.

Using a more traditional Contrast Detection Autofocus (CDAF) system, the camera needs to over-shoot its peak focus then move back. That can, and usually does, take more time to get to the right focus point than the average user has to snap a photo. A PDAF system captures two images within a range, and does so super quickly – then the image sensor does the rest.

• PDAF: Faster to focus, end result generally ends up being a sharper photo (based on two).

• CDAF: Slower to focus, snaps a single photo that might be good, if all other variables outside the camera went well.

The average smartphone user takes photos in the moment, without much thought on finding a tripod or bringing spot-lights for a good photo environment. As such, lighting conditions are rarely great, and often times the subject is moving quick. For these situations, PDAF is the best piece of technology to come to photography in years.

Behold, PDAF

Thanks to Sony image sensors, the Samsung Galaxy S6 (and the Galaxy S5, mind you), both had Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF). Having PDAF in a smartphone's image sensor is not the ONLY reason a device would take good photos. But it's a good place to start looking when seeking a good phone-based camera.

Some of the earliest phones to have PDAF include iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, back in 2014. In 2015 a whole load of smartphones started popping up with PDAF: Sony Xperia M5, XA Ultra, HTC One M9+ Supreme camera Edition, Huawei Honor 7, Meitu M6, V4s, Meizu Pro 5, 6, Moto Maxx, Moto X Force, Style, Play, and the Moto Z Force.

Most of these smartphones were released internationally, while the Moto X series was released in the USA as Verizon-aimed DROIDs. They all had highly decent cameras, as the DROID Turbo 2 could attest. Basically every Samsung Galaxy device had PDAF from that point on – Galaxy Note 4, Note Edge, S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, S6 Active, Note 5, S7, S7 Edge, S7 Active, Note 7, etcetera.

The Galaxy S7 family had dual-pixel PDAF – the first time this technology popped up on a smartphone. Below is an infographic released with the Galaxy S7 from Samsung.

Also on the PDAF-in-tow list are the Sony Xperia XA, Meizu M3E, Xiaomi Mi 4c, Redmi Note 4X, Redmi Pro, Xiaomi Mi 5s Pro, Lenovo K6 power, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, Lenovo P2, Nokia 8, ZTE Nubia z17, LG G6, LG V20, Huawei Mate 8, OnePlus 3, 3T. This list is mostly China-based, once again. It's almost as if Samsung, Sony, Apple, and the entirety of China got smart first.

Pretty much every Sony smartphone starting with the Sony Xperia Z5 had PDAF – which would make sense, since they made the sensors which use PDAF in the first place. That's Sony Xperia Z5, Z5 Premium, Z5 Compact, X, X Performance, X Compact, XZ, XA1, XA1 Ultra.

Released in 2015, the iPhone 6S, iPhone SE, and iPad Pro (9.7-inch) had the same Sony image sensor, all with PDAF. ASUS' Zenfone 3 Deluxe, Ultra, and AR as well as the ZTE Nubia Z11 mini S and Xiaomi Mi Note 2 also had the same sensor amongst them.

My recommendations pre-2017

Released in years before 2017, I recommend the following smartphones-with-cameras that also have PDAF. My top choice is the Google Pixel and/or Google Pixel XL. The Google Pixel XL is currently the smartphone I've used for the longest consecutive number of days in the past half-decade – it's good stuff.

I also recommend the iPhone SE or iPhone 6s/Plus as the devices with the simplest camera phone interface. The Samsung Galaxy S7 is also a mighty excellent device as far as camera power goes. If you JUST want a relatively inexpensive device for its camera ONLY, I recommend the Galaxy S6.

Buying smartphones several years old isn't a recommendation I'd normally make, but in this unique case I do. Not if you'll be using the Galaxy S6 with phone service – I do not recommend that. I only suggest the Galaxy S6 as a relatively nice, sleek camera if one can be had cheaply.

2017's top phone cameras use PDAF

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus both have dual pixel PDAF, once again. Dual-pixel PDAF is also included with the ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom, Vivo Xplay 6, Moto G5 Plus, Meizu M6 Note, HTC U11, Asus Zenfone 4, Asus Zenfone 4 Pro, Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro.

The Sony Xperia XZs, XZ Premium, XZ1, XZ1 Compact, Meizu M3X, MX6, PRO 6S, and PRO 6 Plus all have PDAF. These and the Huawei Honor 6X, Mi 6, Mi Max 2, Mi Mix 2, and Motorola Moto Z2 Force all have the same PDAF sensor. The OnePlus 5, OPPO F3Plus, and OPPO R9S all have a PDAF sensor as well.

The Google Pixel 2 and Google Pixel 2 XL have the same dual-pixel sensor as the Moto G5 Plus and the HTC U11. Because of this, I can't help but to recommend the Moto G5 Plus as the best camera for the least amount of cash right this minute. The Moto G5 Plus costs around $220 USD while the next least expensive phone with this sensor costs $650. That's just crazy if you're going for a nice camera as your number one concern.

At the same time, it would seem that the Google Pixel 2 might be the current boss-of-bosses, as far as SlashGear's reviews go. The HTC U11 has another one of the best-rated smartphone cameras of the year thus far – and it has several shiny colors to choose from for casing.

Meanwhile basically every other smartphone camera on this list gives the user the potential to take amazing photos right out the gate. Not every person can take a great photo – everyone has the potential to snap a photo that's a disaster – but with PDAF, there's a FAR better chance that most shots will turn out at least mostly decent.

UPDATE: The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus and iPhone X have Sony image sensors, but they've not yet been entirely clear about PDAF, as such. Take a peek at our iPhone 8/8 Plus Review to see more about these devices, and stay tuned for X, coming up soon!

Source: Best phone camera of 2017 : Seek out PDAF

Save Space on Your iPhone By Changing this iOS 11 Camera Setting

With iOS 11, Apple introduced the HEIF format for photos. HEIF stands for "High Efficiency Image Format," and allows the photos you take on your phone to be squished down to the smallest possible size without losing quality. That smaller size means you can take a whole lot more pictures before you run out of space on your iPhone (or the fact that you're a shutterbug isn't going to prevent you from downloading an app).

There's just one problem with HEIF, most of the computer programs and hardware you're using are set up to deal with JPEGs, not HEIF.The good news is you can set your phone up to save pictures in the HEIF format when they're on your phone, but export in JPEG when you're ready to share them with the world.

Here's how to do it:

Set Up HEIF

Go to the Settings menu of your phone followed by Camer then Formats, and select "High Efficiency" as your format.

Set Up JPEG Export

Go to Settings and then Photos just like you did before and then select Transfer to Mac or PC followed by Automatic. That will make it so your pictures always export in a compatible format, most likely a JPEG, rather than HEIF which may or may not be compatible with your device.

Source: Save Space on Your iPhone By Changing this iOS 11 Camera Setting

An obsessive photographer's guide to the iPhone 8 Plus camera

We have an abusive relationship with our smartphone cameras. We take them into dark bars, shoot them into blinding backlight at the beach, and refuse to wipe the pocket goo off their lenses. Then we blame the phone when our pictures don't look great. It's the equivalent of holding the phone upside-down, screaming into its earpiece, and then getting upset about sub-par sound quality.

As a photographer, I know how to find good light, but I can also hunt down truly dismal illumination. It's in those dark places where I put the new iPhone 8 Plus camera to the test. The 8 Plus hardware isn't much different from its predecessor (it still thrives when capturing brilliant sunsets and lively street scenes), but Apple has clearly done a lot of work on the backend to raise the floor on our worst photos and spit out a higher percentage of good-looking images.

The flash

It may seem crazy to start a review talking about a flash, but this, to me, is one of the single biggest improvements Apple has made. The flash hardware itself is still terrible; it's not really a "flash" as much as it's an LED flashlight that throws light at your subject. However, the iPhone 8 Plus now does a much better job balancing illumination from the flash with the ambient light in your environment.

Instead of a blown-out foreground with a mostly-black background, you now get a surprisingly balanced photo all the way across. Photographers call this slow-sync, because it involves using a longer shutter speed to let the ambient light make its way onto the sensor and match the artificial light from the flash. The technique makes a huge difference and upgrades the flash from something I would literally never use to something I might actually bust out from time to time in a dark place like a bar, a wedding, or even a school. Progress!

The specs

Apple has claimed that the imaging sensor in the main iPhone 8 camera is bigger (typically a larger sensor leads to better photos in low-light), but the company hasn't shared the specific measurements. There is, however, a method of determining the relative sensor size by comparing the focal length of the lens (which we can see in the metadata attached to a photo) and the camera's field of view. Doing so, in this case, suggests a very incremental change in sensor real estate.

The rest of the camera module specs are pretty much the same, too. Both rear cameras on the iPhone 8 Plus stick with the 12-megapixel resolution. The main camera has a wide-angle lens (roughly 28mm equivalent) with an f/1.8 aperture, while the portrait camera has a telephoto lens (roughly 56mm equivalent) with an f/2.8 aperture. The phone's main A11 Bionic processor, however, is the most-important factor when it comes to the iPhone 8 Plus's overall imaging performance.

As a result of the extra processing power, the 8 Plus can now capture 4K video at 60 frames per second, and 1080p video at 240 fps. The extra speed boost is also a key to a new AI-powered portrait mode that's meant to emulate professional photo lighting, which hasn't made its way down to the less-powerful iPhone 7 Plus, despite its similar camera setup.

Image Performance

There's a company called DXO that assigns numerical grades to cameras of all varieties in order to convey their overall image quality. It tests using careful, consistent methods and wonderfully nerdy resolution charts and scenes that evaluate what a camera sensor is truly capable of under controlled conditions. Camera nerds, brand acolytes, and marketing departments love it, but these overall scores paint an incomplete picture when it comes to how humans actually use a camera. I took a more practical approach, bringing the camera into tough photographic situations, and found some noticeable improvements over the iPhone 7 Plus.

A big functional shift is how HDR works in the standard camera app. The High-Dynamic Range mode is now the default; the feature combines image data from more than one capture to prevent highlights from blowing out and shadows from losing too much detail to darkness. This is really noticeable in high-contrast situations like shooting in the noon sun, which is typically a nightmare for maintaining detail in both shadows and highlights. Personally, i find the effect too pronounced at times, making things look reminiscent of a high-end video game, but it produces a very consistent look that's typically a closer match to what we see with our eyeballs.

Image quality in low-light has always been a challenge for smartphone cameras because of their small sensors, but the iPhone 8 Plus has made some minor gains in this arena over the 7 Plus. It's most notable when you zoom in to 100% and analyze the images on a pixel-by-pixel basis. You'll notice the improvement if you're making big prints or inspecting your files closely in editing software. Images that are exported and shared on Facebook or Instagram, however, won't demonstrate a remarkable difference.

When it comes to color accuracy, things get kind of complicated. The iPhone 8 Plus uses the True Tone display, which has been ported over from the iPad Pro and changes the color balance of the screen according to the ambient light in your environment. So, when you're shooting, the color of a red apple might look different under the shade of a barn than it does out in the sunshine.

True Tone clashes with advanced photo apps that allow for manual control over a photo's color balance. Using your eyes to calibrate a photo for correct color is tricky when the screen changes color. For the average shooter, this is an enhancement, but if you want control over your images, it's something to navigate around.

One thing I have always hated about the iPhone camera is the way it handles lens flare. When a strong light hits the lens—especially near the edges—it can bounce around the glass elements and create interesting picture effects like colorful artifacts or a dreamy haze. Some photographers try to avoid it, while other—hipsters, J.J. Abrams, me, etc.—utilize it as a creative tool. The iPhone 8 Plus makes a clear improvement here. It's easier to get true, semi-attractive flare without streaks of light shooting across the frame and ruining the image, like the iPhone 7 Plus. The 8 Plus also lacks the ugly purple haze that sometimes happened in earlier models.

Portrait Lighting Mode

The iPhone 7 Plus introduced portrait mode, which made pictures of people more appealing on a smartphone camera. It leveraged a telephoto lens to cut down on the unflattering wide-angle distortion of the main camera, and it added a fake blur effect that, for better or worse, could sometimes trick viewers into thinking a portrait was shot on a fancier camera. The iPhone 8 Plus still does all of this.

For the most part, Portrait Mode worked. The fake blur was passable if you didn't look too closely at often-jagged edges of your subject, and the longer lens didn't require you to get uncomfortably close for a headshot. But it had serious usability drawbacks and the iPhone 8 Plus doesn't really fix most of the annoying things about Portrait mode, but instead, added a new AI-driven lighting mode.

The iPhone 8 Plus's telephoto "portrait" camera still doesn't have optical image stabilization. Combined with a lens that still maxes out at an f/2.8 aperture, it's easy to shoot a blurry picture in Portrait Mode unless you're shooting in bright, even light. The image quality also gets extremely noisy (ugly speckles that muddy up your image), when light gets low. You can sometimes convert to black-and-white and call it "grain," but that's only going to fool so many folks.

I find the actual Portrait Lighting effects cheesy. Using most of the modes involves moving overly harsh highlights around the face to try and give an image shape where it didn't otherwise exist. I don't even think the examples Apple uses in its own commercial look particularly appealing. All the Lighting modes are a gimmicks right now, especially the Theater Lighting mode, which blacks out the background surrounding the subject and punches up the contrast. It's also worth noting that processing a Portrait Lighting shot takes roughly two seconds, which is much longer than the nearly instantaneous nature of a normal shot. Presumably it takes a lot of processing power, which is why it didn't make its way to the iPhone 7 Plus—so don't expect too many tries at a single portrait.

The Portrait Lighting effect exists in part thanks to the switch over to the HEIF photo format, which replaces JPEG with a format that can include multiple images in a single file. Because Apple can now easily attach metadata, such as its editing history or applied effects, to each image, it can save the original file and enable things like Portrait Lighting Mode, or even the fake blur of the regular Portrait Mode later. It's nice to have the option if you don't want to be locked into one look with a photo forever. This is something photographers who shoot in raw have been doing for a long time, but now the advantages are extended to snap shooters.

Video

More resolution and more frames per second aren't always improvements when it comes to video capture, but 4K video at 60 fps does look rather impressive, and shooting full HD at 8x slow-motion is undeniably fun, especially with amusing subjects like the tongue of a goat. Again, the new high-efficiency file format for video should make that footage take up less space in your device.

Conclusion

Right now, the iPhone 8 Plus is the best all-around smartphone camera, but it likely won't be that way for long. The looming iPhone X promises some enhancements, like an optically stabilized portrait lens and horizontally oriented cameras that are optimized for augmented reality, from which the iPhone 8 Plus could have benefitted.

The Google Pixel 2 is also right around the corner, and the original had an extremely impressive wide-angle camera built-in. But, even if those cameras do edge out the iPhone 8 Plus in overall performance, I don't expect the gap to be a wide one—certainly not wide enough to base an entire buying decision on it. Even if you're a bad photographer, the iPhone 8 Plus will help make your Instagram feed nicer to scroll through.

Source: An obsessive photographer's guide to the iPhone 8 Plus camera

Why the iPhone 8 Plus is a better camera than a real camera

I never thought that it would happen. And then it did.

On a recent two-week vacation to Japan (my first time, and, yes, it was amazing if you must know), I finally ditched my "real" camera, a Sony A6300 interchangeable lens camera I bought about two years ago, and replaced it with the iPhone 8 Plus.

And my trip was infinitely better because I left the Sony in my suitcase.

Since the launch of the iPhone, smartphones have slowly murdered cameras. The point-and-shoot has all but died at the hands of the glass slabs we now hold so near and dear.

Mirrorless cameras and professional DSLRs have survived only because they still provide features that phones don't, but their days are extremely numbered for non-professional use.

Smartphone cameras are just so excellent now and some of the accessories, like Moment's screw-on lenses are so versatile, that they're actually better shooting gear than dedicated cameras in many ways.

Love my Sony A6300, but damn it if it isn't heavy and slow to shoot with when you have to swap out lenses.

Image: raymond wong/mashable

It seemed like a no-brainer to bring my Sony camera and extra-wide angle lens. I wanted high-resolution pictures to remember my travels. Of course, I'd take it with me. So into my suitcase the Sony went along with three spare batteries.

And that's where it stayed for just about the entire trip. I took it out exactly once in Kyoto and regretted it after a full day.

The iPhone 8 Plus is now my favorite camera to shoot with.

Don't get me wrong. My Sony camera is like my baby. I love it to death. It takes incredible photos and shoots excellent 4K videos. I use it for both work and personal shooting and nothing beats a robust interchangeable lens camera. I'm a camera nerd now and forever. (Fun fact: I started at Mashable reviewing cameras just because I wanted to test the latest ones.)

But it turns out the iPhone — more specifically, the iPhone 8 Plus — is more than just a "good enough" camera. 

Apple's team of a 1,000+ working on the iPhone's cameras have finally made a photo and video powerhouse that convinced me to leave my real camera and its superior image quality in my luggage.

By the end of the trip, I had taken about 700 distinct photos and videos with my iPhone 8 Plus over 11 days compared to the 30-or-so I did with my Sony. One thing became very clear as I soaked in Japan: The iPhone 8 Plus is now my favorite camera to shoot with.

It's so much smaller and lighter. When you're walking 10+ miles a day like I did because you want to see as much as you can, the last thing you want is extra weight in your backpack. The iPhone 8 Plus weighs 5.22 ounces and the Sony A6300's body without a lens is 18.3 ounces. Needless to say, the 8 Plus was just easier to carry around. My back thanks me every day for not killing it.

Image quality finally looks great in nearly all conditions. The iPhone 8 Plus comes with a 12-megapixel sensor (the same as on the iPhone 7), but don't be fooled. Image quality is tops. By default, the camera now shoots in HDR (High Dynamic Range) when it detects certain scenes need it (like backlit shots) and I was continuously impressed by what I ended up with.

It also really helps that the 8 Plus' A11 Bionic chip is so fast that it can process HDR photos instantly, shoot hundreds of photos in burst mode, and reduce image noise thanks to some intelligent AI.

However, it's the camera's low-light capabilities that really sealed the deal. I've been able to make do with previous iPhone cameras just fine, but low-light photography has always left something to be desired.

Bustling wards like Tokyo's Shinjuku and Shibuya or Osaka's Denden Town are alive in the day as they are at night and it was important that for me to experience and capture both. On so many occasions, the iPhone 8 Plus simply took such great night shots that I couldn't believe they were shot with a phone.

It's so much better for shooting video. Lately, I've been a little obsessed with shooting video. In addition to 30 frames per second, iPhone 8 Plus can capture tack-sharp 4K resolution video at 24 and 60 fps, which puts it on par with my Sony.

But more important to me was shooting slow-motion and timelapses, and doing so quickly before the moment was gone. 

It's a simple swipe to change modes on the iPhone and a complete mess of convoluted settings and on real cameras. On one particular bridge with a view of the Tokyo Skytree, I watched as several tourists fumbled around with their tripods and waited to shoot a timelapse. With the iPhone 8 Plus, I shot several timelapses and shared them to Instagram before they were even close to finishing.

Attachable lenses take your photos and videos to the next level. The 8 Plus's second 2x telephoto lens is great and I loved toying around with Portrait mode (Portrait lighting is still in beta and the results were pretty rough so I didn't use it very often), but I loved the ease of clipping on lenses to get even wider angles.

Moment's Photo Battery Case with attachable lens (sold separately).

Image: raymond wong/mashable

I brought Moment's Battery Photo Case and a wide-angle (18mm) and fisheye (170-degree) with me and they proved to be so useful for pulling into frame Japan's beautiful neon signage and the throngs of people the flood the streets. These tiny lenses aren't the cheapest ones you can buy, but damn it if the image quality isn't the best for the iPhone (Moment also makes them for Google's Pixels). 

Wide-angle and fisheye lenses for my Sony would've killed my back and taken forever to swap on. But that's not the case with the iPhone 8 Plus. I frequently clipped on the fisheye as needed and my photos and videos are better because I did.

Google Photos makes backups stupid easy. It's easy to shoot a ridiculous amount of photos and videos, but backing them up and sorting through them all is a pain in the ass.

Thanks to the magic of Google Photos, this once-annoying task happened in the background. As soon as I got back to my Airbnb at the of the day, I'd connect to Wi-Fi and then let Google Photos back everything up overnight. It was all so effortless and the very thought of going back to downloading photos from an SD card to a computer and then uploading them into the cloud seemed downright stupid.

All my Japan photos, backed up to Google Photos, and easily shareable.

Image: screenshot: raymond wong/mashable

Google Photos also made sharing all my footage with friends and family easier at the end of trip. All I had to do was select the pics and videos and then toss them into an album and invite them to access the high-res files.

And a bunch of other reasons. I could go on and on in detail about all the small ways the iPhone 8 Plus is a more convenient camera — like how it fits in places regular cameras can't, or how much better battery life is, or how great it is to be able to edit photos on the go — but I'll spare you. I think you get the point.

Getting the shot. I would've needed a tripod for my real camera for this timelapse. But with iPhone 8 Plus, I just propped it up against the glass.

Image: raymond wong/mashable

Being the camera nerd that I am, I always thought that my trusty camera would be by my side wherever I traveled. I convinced myself that I could get the best photos shooting with my Sony.

But after two weeks of shooting exclusively on an iPhone 8 Plus (anyone who followed my Instagram Stories will know I was literally sharing non-stop all day long), I can tell you it's such an incredible camera... if you know how to make it work for you.

Not only is it more convenient because it's connected to the internet, but its size and limitations also pushed me to think outside the box more than ever before. I spared no expense to get the shot.

Another place where my Sony camera wouldn't have fit. But my iPhone 8 Plus did... with some help.

Image: raymond wong/mashable

I found better angles. I didn't just lazily shoot from the waist up. I literally got in a deer's face at Nara Park and the result were photos and videos that are more raw and genuinely memorable to look at now that the vacation's over.

But maybe you're not convinced. Perhaps, these photos and videos (all unedited) I shot might change your mind. And it gives me an excuse to post photos from my Japan trip.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Kyoto's famous Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine with over 10,000 torii gates. (Shot with Moment fisheye lens).

Image: raymond wong/mashable

The trains in Japan are always on time (Shot with regular iPhone 8 Plus camera).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Akihabara sells tons of electronic parts. (Shot with regular 8 Plus lens).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (Shot with 8 Plus' 2x telephoto lens).

Image: raymond wong/mashable

Special Japanese Pepsi (Shot with Portrait mode).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Japan's arcade scene is still alive and well. (Shot with Moment fisheye lens).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Osaka Castle (Shot with regular iPhone 8 Plus camera lens).

Image: raymond wong/mashable

These colors looked so cartoonish, but there was no editing done on this photo. (Shot with regular 8 Plus lens).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

The famous Akihabara aka otaku paradise. (Shot with Moment fisheye lens).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Osaka's Denden "electric" town is like Times Square. (Shot with Moment fisheye lens).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Salary man eating ramen at a stand-up shop in Osaka. (Shot with regular iPhone 8 lens).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Some kind of sesame cracker snack from Nara. (Shot with Portrait mode).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

A classic Japanese izakaya in Shibuya. (Shot with regular 8 Plus lens).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

This guy needed a nap badly. (Shot with Portrait mode).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Look at how in-focus this cute deer in Nara Park is. (Shot with Portrait mode).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

I ate so much ice cream in Japan. (Shot with Portrait mode).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Tsukiji Market is the world's largest fish market. Swing by to get the freshest sashimi you'll ever eat. (Shot with 8 Plus's built-in 2x telephoto lens).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Shot at the mid-level of Fushimi Inari in Kyoto.

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Japan's signage is beautiful in such a chaotic way. (Shot with Moment 18mm wide-angle lens).

Image: raymond wong/mashable

Fine, you get one pic of me. (Shot with Portrait mode).

Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Source: Why the iPhone 8 Plus is a better camera than a real camera

The budget dual camera smartphone battle

Dual camera phones - not only are they becoming more common but they're also becoming a lot more affordable. Price revisions and new contenders under the Rs 15,000 mark mean that everyone can enjoy the shallow focus and bokeh effects that dual cameras are known for

Lenovo K8 Note (Rs 12,999 onwards)

The K8 Note is the first device from Lenovo to come with a dual camera system and that too on a budget. The phone has a 13MP + 5MP dual camera setup which enables a user to go as low as f1.2 aperture via the camera interface for bokeh effect.

On the front is a 13MP selfie camera with a soft LED flash for low light. For the price, you get a 5.5-inch full HD display, deca-core processor, 34GB RAM, 3264GB storage, a 4,000mAh battery and it runs stock Android 7.1.

Lenovo K8 plus (Rs 10,999)

The device is powered by a 2.6Ghz Helio P25 Octa-core processor paired with 3GB RAM. K8 Plus has 32GB internal storage that can be expande d up to 128GB. The 5.2-inch full HD display comes with Gorilla glass and Oleophobic coating. There is a dedicated music key that can be customised by the user according to needs. A 4,000mAh battery powers K8 Plus that the company claims would last two days.Lenovo K8 Plus is a compact version of the Lenovo K8 Note. It comes with a similar dual camera setup - 13MP + 5MP and has a dual-tone LED flash. Like the K8 Note, the K8 Plus has the same camera interface with real-time bokeh effect with f1.2 aperture via software.

However, the front has an 8MP camera with a LED flash for selfies. It has a 5.2inch full HD display, octa-core Helio P25 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 4,000mAh battery and stock Android 7.1.

Coolpad Cool 1 (Rs 8,999 onwards)

Cool 1 Dual is a budget smartphone with a dual-camera setup. It sports two 13MP cameras with f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, and dual-tone LED flash. The implementation is similar to the one found on phones like Huawei P9, Honor 8, Mi5S, etc. However, you get this tech just for Rs. 12,999, credit to Coolpad.While Coolpad has recently launched the Cool Play 6 with a dual camera, the Cool 1 launched earlier this year also has a great dual camera setup. It has a dual 13MP setup - a primary color lens and a secondary monochrome lens which enables the phone to capture images with excellent details.

The interface also offers the option to change the aperture value after capture as per preference. There is a 5.5-inch f ull HD display, Snapdragon 652 processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB storage (non-expandable) and a 4,060mAh battery.

Xiaomi Mi A1 (Rs 14,999)

The smartphone offers a rear dual-camera system that runs Android Nougat 7.1.2 OS at only Rs 14,999.This one was quite a departure for Xiaomi: a phone with stock Android instead of the heavily customised MiUI. This special version of the Mi 5x was launched in some markets due to customer demand. But it also has one of the best dual camera setups on this bench. The dual 12MP cameras enable 2x optical zoom and portrait mode.

One is a wide angle (26mm) with f2.2 aperture while the other is a telephoto (50mm) with f2.6 aperture. Other spe cs include a 1080p 5.5-inch screen, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 3,080mAh battery and a weight of 165 grams.

Honor 6x (Rs 9,999 onwards)

Honor 6x was amongst the first budget phones to come with a dual camera setup earlier this year. It has a 12MP + 2MP camera and offers an aperture range of f0.95 to f16 via the camera interface.The interface also offers a plethora of shoot modes including light paint, colour splash etc. On the front is a wide-angle 8MP fixed focus camera. Other specifications include a 5.5-inch full HD display, octa-core Kirin 655 processor, 34GB RAM, 32GB storage and a 3,340mAh battery.

Zopo Speed X (Rs 11,999)

Zopo's mid-range dual camera smartphone features a 13MP + 2MP rear camera system. On the softw are side, it has a dedicated bokeh mode that uses both cameras to add a background blur effect that makes the subject stand out.It has a 5-inch full HD display in an all-metal body and runs Android 7.0. Hardware specifications include octa-core Mediatek MT6753 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage and a 2,680mAh battery.

Honor 8 (Rs 14,999)

Snap this one up if you like deals because it used to be priced at Rs 29,990. The glittery back panel small size hides the fact that this phone boasts the same kind of dual camera smarts seen in the more expensive Huawei P9 (which was co-branded with Leica). Despite the small size, it has a clickable fingerprint scanner 'smart key', IR blaster, 3.5mm out and dual 12MP cameras that sit flush with t he phone.

One of the cameras only captures monochrome, serving to add detail to info from the primary. It also has shallow depth portrait and you can adjust the aperture level and area of focus after capturing the photo.

Common Questions Answered

For Cameras - Are Two Heads Better Than One?

For decades, we've been told that SLR and large format cameras are the best at photography. It simply has to do with size (of the film -and later, of the image sensor). Size wins in a traditional world but smartphones are anything but. Particularly in the camera department, manufacturers have found clever ways to eke out better quality every year. This explains why dual (and triple and quad...) cameras are a trend.

Having multiple sensors and lenses can overcome some of the limitations of a smartphone - a device that has to be thin, light, efficient and durable. In fact, the technology exists to make a camera with 16 sensors and lenses.The Light L16 camera is only sl ightly larger than a 5.5-inch smartphone but claims to capture DSLR-beating, 81 Megapixel photos. That's the next step for smartphones. It won't end with just two cameras, that's for sure.

Budget Dual vs Premium Dual - What's The Difference?

Just slapping on an extra lens does not mean you'll instantly get better photos. Plus, there are different approaches to the dual camera setup. One approach is to have two lenses of different focal lengths so that you can zoom in on a subject.

Another approach is to have one ultra-wide angle lens to offer an interesting perspective. Or the secondary camera could be monochrome, simply capturing additional light, which is to be merged with the results from the main camera for better overall quality.Whatever the approach, the kind of sensor used (size of pixels, size of sensor, quality), lens quality aperture and image processing engine algorithms go a long way in determining image quality.

Why Better Quality? Aren't Smartph one Cameras Good Enough?

Not by a long shot. Most of them still struggle to capture good photos in low light. And when you compare the noise levels and resolving power of a smartphone with a DSLR, there's still a massive difference. According to a recent report by analytics firm InfoTrends, of the roughly 1200 billion digital photos that are going to be captured by the end of 2017, 85% of those photos will be captured by smartphones.

Only 10.3% of those photos will be taken by digital cameras and that number is falling. Once you recognise this irreversible trend, you'll understand why the multi-camera is here to stay.

Source: The budget dual camera smartphone battle