Ok, so by now pretty much everyone in the free world knows about the newest iPhones released by Apple yesterday. Gold case, blah blah blah. Colorful new plastic model, blah blah blah. BUT. What may have slipped quietly by is that one of the biggest improvements to the iPhone - I'm talking the higher end 5S here - is massive improvements to the camera built into the phone.
By now, I don't think anyone has any doubt left as to the power of basically everyone in the world having a high-quality camera in their pocket with them at all times. Just look at the behemoth that Instagram has become as well as the thousands of photos shared daily amongst your friends on Facebook. With each new iteration of the iPhone, the camera has gotten better and better, to the point where I do not hesitate in the least to use it to capture important moments - even those I intend to print out on, gasp!, actual paper.
But as of yesterday, we now have what just may be the ultimate action-sport capturing tool ever available - packing features that until it's release were reserved for dedicated photo or film tools that could reach into the tens of thousands of dollars.
Seriously, it's that big a deal!
Here are what I consider the most important new features of the iPhone 5S's incredible new camera:
Bigger sensor + larger aperture
This is a hard one for non-techies to comprehend the importance of but basically Apple has increased the size of the actual photo sensor (the digital chip that actually captures the image) by 15%, as well as the size of the opening in front of it. This means more light can enter the camera allowing for not only brighter images but also more possibility of shooting in low-light situations like that moment right before sunset when the jump is lit up just perfectly.
10 frames-a-second burst mode
I remember when it was a HUGE deal to have the ability to shoot at 3 frames-per-second on a digital body. Now the iPhone can shoot at 10 fps, allowing you to not only capture wicked looking sequences, but more importantly you can just hold the button down for the whole trick and then pick the perfect moment after the fact, ensuring you're always gonna capture that perfect moment. Bam!
From what I can tell there is also some built-in software to help you narrow down your choices after you shoot 30 frames of a trick. Ie. the best and sharpest images will be highlighted, another great feature!
Auto-stabilization
Shakey hand from too many beers? No problem as the iPhone now has built-in stabilization to help capture that perfect, sharp moment. It's unclear if this works while shooting video too but if so it could be extra huge.
Slow mo video
Now this is just incredible. The iPhone now shoots video at 120 frames a gooddam second! To put that in perspective, my $5000 professional camera body can only do 60 fps, and that was a big deal until, well, yesterday! Capture those incredible tricks in super silky slow-motion and then - this is the real kicker and the genius of Apple - they made it super easy to pick which sections of the clip you want to play back at normal speed and which to keep in slow-mo, which will make every backyard trampoline clip into the next Art of Flight (picture those epic shots of Travis bombing down the runway of a jump at full-speed, only to smoothly transition to ultra slow-mo just as he leaves the lip of the jump).
So there you have it. The new iPhone will be available by week's end. Who's gonna be lining up for one? I know I will!
