iOS 8 Camera Features
While many of the iPhone’s great photo-taking features remain, there are some new additions with iOS 8 that help you take the best shot possible.
Indulging in constant shooting
Even the most discerning photographers sometimes need help getting the perfect action shot or shot sequence. Burst mode provides assistance on iPhone 5s and later models. Shoot with confidence, knowing you won’t miss a junior kick in the soccer game winner. (Through software improvements in iOS 8, Apple has improved the slower burst mode capabilities of some older iPhone models.)
Taking pictures at shooting speed couldn’t be easier than ever. When you’re ready to shoot, hold your finger on the camera button and hold it there until you’re satisfied that you’ve got what you want. The A7 chip in the 5s and the A8 chip in the 6 and 6 Plus include an image signal processor that works with the iSight camera and camera software to automatically focus on burst images.
With the 6 and 6 Plus, Apple has added this ability to dash to the FaceTime HD camera. For the slightest of selfies or group shots, the iPhone captures every one. Burst mode blasts 10fps on this front camera as well, and Apple says each sequential sequence is analyzed in real time for clarity and clarity.
Face detection has also been improved, with Apple even claiming to better identify blinks and smiles.
Speaking of selfies, the FaceTime camera on the 6 and 6 Plus also has an f/2.2 aperture. With this new aperture and sensor, Apple claims that the FaceTime camera can capture 81 percent of the light.
Burst mode is a great feature. But Apple realized that in most cases, you probably won’t want to save every photo you take during the shoot. Fortunately, the software in the phone processes the photos in real time and suggests the photos it thinks you’ll like based on factors like clarity, sharpness, and even whether a person’s eyes are closed.
So how does Apple display the best photos? So glad you asked.
Click on the thumbnail preview of the last snapshot. You’re taken to the recently added folder on your iPhone (or camera roll), where all the photos you’ve taken on the phone are stuck (and not yet deleted). You can access a recently added folder (or Camera Roll) as well from the Photos app.
You can tell if a photo is part of a shooting party in three ways. In the first method, the word Burst appears in the upper left part of the image, with the number of sequential images in parentheses. The second method is to visit a pre-created Bursts album that Apple provides conveniently for expression periods. Still another way is revealed when you access the Recently Added folder (or Camera Roll) from the Camera or Photos app.
The thumbnail that represents this sequence of shots will appear as though it’s sitting on a stack of photos. (You’ll see this thumbnail stack also when you come to moments view in the Photos app.)
You see a Select button at the bottom of the picture from a burst sequence. Tap Select. The selected image from your burst appears front and center, bordered by the edges of other photos from the sequence, which in this view you can barely see.
At the bottom of the display is a strip of thumbnails, each representing a picture from this batch. Below one or more of these images, you may see a grey dot, indicating that the photo is one that Apple has determined is the best or among the best of the bunch. Scroll to the left or right to examine the other pictures in the grouping.
As you scroll, if you agree with Apple’s suggestions and want to keep a selected image, tap the circle in the lower-right corner of the image so that a check mark appears, which prepares the photo to be copied as a stand-alone image in the Recently Added album (or Camera Roll). Tap Done.
You are given the option at that point to keep all the photos that the iPhone captured as part of your burst sequence or just the one or more images that you’ve manually selected. Indeed, absolutely nothing is stopping you from checking off pictures that Apple has not elevated to chosen status so that they too become stand-alones in Recently Added.
If you’re not satisfied with any of the pictures, you can deep-six them all. Open Recently Added from the Photos app, tap the thumbnail for this particular burst, and tap the delete icon in the bottom-right corner. Apple will make doubly sure that you want to remove all the pictures in this sequence by making you tap a Delete x Photos button before completing the deed.
In Settings, under Photos & Camera, you can turn on a switch that will upload all your burst photos to Photo Stream. If this switch is off, only favorite burst photos will be uploaded to Photo Stream. You can designate a photo a favorite by tapping the heart icon below the image.
Using the self-timer
Many physical cameras have a self-timer that lets you be part of a picture, perhaps in a group setting with friends. The new self-timer built into the Camera app in iOS 8 adds this functionality to your iPhone, whether you’re using the front or rear camera. If anything, the addition of the self-timing feature might improve the quality of your selfies.
Tap the timer icon and choose the 3 seconds or 10 seconds as the time interval between when you press the shutter and when the picture is captured. You’ll see a countdown on the screen, and then the phone will capture a burst of 10 images.
To turn off the self-timer, tap the Off button. Couldn’t be easier than that.