iPhone - FutureTG.com

The Camera
The iPhone’s camera is the little hole on the back, in the upper-left corner,
and the best term for it may be “no frills.” There’s no flash, no zoom, no image
stabilizer, no image adjustments of any kind. In short, it’s just like the camera
on most cameraphones.
The camera is capable of surprisingly clear, sharp, vivid photos (1600 x 1200
pixels)—as long as your subject is sitting still and well lit. Action shots come
out blurry, and dim-light shots come out rather grainy.
All right—now that you know what you’re in for, here’s how it works.
On the Home screen, tap Camera. During the 2 seconds that it takes the
Camera program to warm up, you see a very cool shutter iris-opening effect.
Now frame up the shot, using the iPhone screen as your viewfinder. (At 3.5
inches, it’s most likely the largest digital-camera viewfinder you’ve ever used.)
You can turn it 90 degrees for a wider shot, if you like.
Self-portraits can be tricky. The chrome Apple logo on the back is not a self-portrait
mirror, unless all you care about is how your nostril looks. On the other hand, the
shiny plastic back of the iPhone 3G works pretty well as a big reflective surface for
framing your self-portrait.
When the composition looks good, tap the _ button. You hear the snap!
sound of a picture successfully taken.
You get to admire your work for only about half a second—and then the
photo slurps itself into the ` icon at the lower-left corner of the screen. That’s
Apple’s subtle way of saying, “Tap here to see the pictures you’ve taken!” In the
meantime, the camera’s first priority is getting ready to take another shot.
Technically, the iPhone doesn’t record the image until the instant you take your
finger off the screen. So for much greater stability (and therefore fewer blurrier
shots), keep your finger pressed to the _ button while you compose the shot.
Then, take your finger off the button to snap the shot.
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Chapter 5