All this talk of megapixels when a REAL FLASH is what the iPhone camera needs most. Whether 8 megapixels or 80 megapixels, photos will all look terrible at night (or in daylight contrast situations) with an LED "flash."
Why isn't there meta or exif data in this picture? All it says is Quicktime 7.6.6
The original photo posted to Flickr had a ton of EXIF data. Sadly, this photo was subsequently edited and finally marked private which is why the discrepancy between the EXIF data reported here at AI's forum (and elsewhere) versus what you are seeing.
As someone who lights stuff for a living, I'm a bit suspicious. In a "cafeteria" environment, I'd expect a down angle shot to reflect typical ceiling mounted "box shaped" lights. The reflective surface of this plate shows a very even RING of highlights on it's outer diameter. I'd expect that from a "flown softbox" lighting approach. That would also account for the very minimal and diffuse shadows from the food on the plate.
Also, the camera angle is essentially perfectly square overhead to the subject rendering the plate as an ideal circle. That also usually means that the hand/ arm holding the camera would typically cast a diffuse shadow on the subject. Where is that? this kind of result is more typical of a ring light mounted at the camera lens (would better explain the round hightlights on the plate diameter, BTW. Not something you'd expect on a quick
engineer in the cafeteria snap.
So unless the cafeteria in question has VERY interesting overhead lighting, I'm gonna be skeptical of the story here.
Not impossible, but all those physical clues make this kinda unlikely to my thinking.
As someone who lights stuff for a living, I'm a bit suspicious. In a "cafeteria" environment, I'd expect a down angle shot to reflect typical ceiling mounted "box shaped" lights. The reflective surface of this plate shows a very even RING of highlights on it's outer diameter. I'd expect that from a "flown softbox" lighting approach. That would also account for the very minimal and diffuse shadows from the food on the plate.
Also, the camera angle is essentially perfectly square overhead to the subject rendering the plate as an ideal circle. That also usually means that the hand/ arm holding the camera would typically cast a diffuse shadow on the subject. Where is that? this kind of result is more typical of a ring light mounted at the camera lens (would better explain the round hightlights on the plate diameter, BTW. Not something you'd expect on a quick
engineer in the cafeteria snap.
So unless the cafeteria in question has VERY interesting overhead lighting, I'm gonna be skeptical of the story here.
Not impossible, but all those physical clues make this kinda unlikely to my thinking.
For what it's worth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jd_in_sb
I think you may have found a smoking gun...
No.
If the picture was taken on the Apple campus, it is unlikely it happened in the cafeteria.
After all, Apple is highly secretive. Unreleased products are not waltzed around the hallways. They are kept in locked labs; when they are transported, they are draped under black cloth (and/or boxed) until they reach their secure destination.
If this photo was taken at 1 Infinite Loop, it was done so in a lab. Whether or not a top-secret lab would have the lighting that would generate this photo is debatable, but no one here should expect that this photo was taken at the cafeteria which would have plenty of non-Apple diners (friends, family, vendors, etc.).
As someone who lights stuff for a living, I'm a bit suspicious. In a "cafeteria" environment, I'd expect a down angle shot to reflect typical ceiling mounted "box shaped" lights. The reflective surface of this plate shows a very even RING of highlights on it's outer diameter. I'd expect that from a "flown softbox" lighting approach. That would also account for the very minimal and diffuse shadows from the food on the plate.
Also, the camera angle is essentially perfectly square overhead to the subject rendering the plate as an ideal circle. That also usually means that the hand/ arm holding the camera would typically cast a diffuse shadow on the subject. Where is that? this kind of result is more typical of a ring light mounted at the camera lens (would better explain the round hightlights on the plate diameter, BTW. Not something you'd expect on a quick
engineer in the cafeteria snap.
So unless the cafeteria in question has VERY interesting overhead lighting, I'm gonna be skeptical of the story here.
Not impossible, but all those physical clues make this kinda unlikely to my thinking.
For what it's worth.
Yup. The angle alone would be awkward for somebody taking snapshot, and the picture appeared to be evenly lit. You have good eyes.
If the picture was taken on the Apple campus, it is unlikely it happened in the cafeteria.
After all, Apple is highly secretive. Unreleased products are not waltzed around the hallways. They are kept in locked labs; when they are transported, they are draped under black cloth (and/or boxed) until they reach their secure destination.
If this photo was taken at 1 Infinite Loop, it was done so in a lab. Whether or not a top-secret lab would have the lighting that would generate this photo is debatable, but no one here should expect that this photo was taken at the cafeteria which would have plenty of non-Apple diners (friends, family, vendors, etc.).
Fromwhat I have read Apple does not restrict unreleased products to secure locations. They test them in real world situations (and sometimes lose them in bars).
Unreleased products are not waltzed around the hallways. They are kept in locked labs; when they are transported, they are draped under black cloth (and/or boxed) until they reach their secure destination.
And… carried to bars. We're not in product design stage. We're in testing stage. These products are USED. They have to be.
Also, it's definitely not in the 1 Infinite Loop Cafeteria. The cafeteria has an area outside. What's outside the building closest to the GPS coordinates, you ask?
Fromwhat I have read Apple does not restrict unreleased products to secure locations. They test them in real world situations (and sometimes lose them in bars).
Yeah, but being on the Apple campus in the cafeteria isn't really testing in a real world situation.
This would be a more authentic picture if it was a pint of beer or a plate of shrimp ceviche, not cafeteria sushi.
What we need is for one of Caruso's tech minions to use their CSI photo software to get, from the reflection on the salmon and after a couple of clicks, 10 seconds and an unneeded explanation of what they are doing, a perfect picture of the Apple engineer that took this picture, the ID badge hanging from their neck and more importantly, the IPhone 5 prototype.
As a developer, I would love to get the image data prior to the demosaicing stage. As it is, you can get the "raw" RGB data prior to the JPEG engine but there is still substantial time (and hence battery power/processing) demosaicing the RAW RGGB data to RGB data. Likewise, the memory foot print is at least 50% higher with the RGB data than the RAW RGGB data.
I put this in as a feature request but I am sure never to see it:-(
As a developer, I would love to get the image data prior to the demosaicing stage. As it is, you can get the "raw" RGB data prior to the JPEG engine but there is still substantial time (and hence battery power/processing) demosaicing the RAW RGGB data to RGB data. Likewise, the memory foot print is at least 50% higher with the RGB data than the RAW RGGB data.
I put this in as a feature request but I am sure never to see it:-(
To be clear, I'm not talking about memory footprint but quality of len & sensor and the fact that iPhone already save picture in lossless format (png). Also, its purpose is to shoot and share. Somebody might be pissed if he/she want to share but it's set to RAW (meaning he/she need to convert the pictures first).
Seems odd that most of the exif data in that jpg file is in plain text. Perhaps it is a result of whatever program processed the file, but I haven't seen that before.
Flash is the worst source of light. Pictures come out better when it is properly exposed from ambient lighting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jd_in_sb
All this talk of megapixels when a REAL FLASH is what the iPhone camera needs most. Whether 8 megapixels or 80 megapixels, photos will all look terrible at night (or in daylight contrast situations) with an LED "flash."
Ok, the different between focal length from iPhone 4 and 5 could be for one of two reasons:
-a new smaller sensor with new focal length to keep the iPhone 4 equivalent focal
-the same sensor size on iPhone 4 but with a wider focal length
The regular size of phone camera sensor is between 1/3" and 1/3.2", very few smartphones have gone beyond using 1/2.3" and 1/1.8" like Nokia.
The aperture f/2.4 is probably right, f/24 has not use in this kind of device and less for a tiny sensor.
The equivalent focal length on phone camera is between 24, 28 or 35mm and knowing the equiv. focal length on the iPhone 4 and the new size of the iPhone 5, could give a better idea.
The only thing I care about is the quality of the photos a camera can take. It's no surprise that Apple would boost the spec to 8 megapixels, but I hope they don't sacrifice image quality to do so. More isn't always better.
The white balance on this shot looks excellent, but the shot itself isn't at all crisp.
I'd rather have a sensor 50% bigger but with the same number of pixels than a same-size sensor with 50% more pixels. Photo quality comes from having a bigger sensor; playing the 'my camera has more megapixels than yours' game is marketing froth. The more pixels you squeeze onto a sensor, the more gaps there are between them, and these gaps produce 'artefacts' particularly in low light. They also result in low grade sharpness and general lack of detail such as fine colour control, high contrast etc.
As someone who was a pro photographer for seven years I can tell people that a well lit room with plenty of ambient light can produce very similar lighting conditions to those on this plate. I suspect the light conditions were fairly low because of the amount of grainy artefacts - look at the darker areas of the plate for example, although that could also come from high ISO settings.
As for the 4.3mm focal length this could come from:
a) optical zoom
b) larger sensor but same effective focal length in 35mm terms
c) a less wide fixed length lens
If it really is a f/2.4 aperture, that would be an improvement over current iPhones as has already been said, and that could support the fact that this picture was taken as a test shot to see how well the camera handled colours in low ambient light conditions.
Flash is the worst source of light. Pictures come out better when it is properly exposed from ambient lighting.
When it is dark and you are dealing with the real world where things move, long exposures are not an option. Nighttime photos with the LED flash are terrible and thus I can only use my iPhone for daytime shots. I use the ProHD app for many of my pictures to compensate for high-contrast situations but again that is not useful with your subject matter moves because the 2 merged photos blur.
Comments
Why isn't there meta or exif data in this picture? All it says is Quicktime 7.6.6
The original photo posted to Flickr had a ton of EXIF data. Sadly, this photo was subsequently edited and finally marked private which is why the discrepancy between the EXIF data reported here at AI's forum (and elsewhere) versus what you are seeing.
This wasn't a video. In other words, 1/30 s, not 1/30 fps.
As someone who lights stuff for a living, I'm a bit suspicious. In a "cafeteria" environment, I'd expect a down angle shot to reflect typical ceiling mounted "box shaped" lights. The reflective surface of this plate shows a very even RING of highlights on it's outer diameter. I'd expect that from a "flown softbox" lighting approach. That would also account for the very minimal and diffuse shadows from the food on the plate.
Also, the camera angle is essentially perfectly square overhead to the subject rendering the plate as an ideal circle. That also usually means that the hand/ arm holding the camera would typically cast a diffuse shadow on the subject. Where is that? this kind of result is more typical of a ring light mounted at the camera lens (would better explain the round hightlights on the plate diameter, BTW. Not something you'd expect on a quick
engineer in the cafeteria snap.
So unless the cafeteria in question has VERY interesting overhead lighting, I'm gonna be skeptical of the story here.
Not impossible, but all those physical clues make this kinda unlikely to my thinking.
For what it's worth.
I think you may have found a smoking gun...
As someone who lights stuff for a living, I'm a bit suspicious. In a "cafeteria" environment, I'd expect a down angle shot to reflect typical ceiling mounted "box shaped" lights. The reflective surface of this plate shows a very even RING of highlights on it's outer diameter. I'd expect that from a "flown softbox" lighting approach. That would also account for the very minimal and diffuse shadows from the food on the plate.
Also, the camera angle is essentially perfectly square overhead to the subject rendering the plate as an ideal circle. That also usually means that the hand/ arm holding the camera would typically cast a diffuse shadow on the subject. Where is that? this kind of result is more typical of a ring light mounted at the camera lens (would better explain the round hightlights on the plate diameter, BTW. Not something you'd expect on a quick
engineer in the cafeteria snap.
So unless the cafeteria in question has VERY interesting overhead lighting, I'm gonna be skeptical of the story here.
Not impossible, but all those physical clues make this kinda unlikely to my thinking.
For what it's worth.
I think you may have found a smoking gun...
No.
If the picture was taken on the Apple campus, it is unlikely it happened in the cafeteria.
After all, Apple is highly secretive. Unreleased products are not waltzed around the hallways. They are kept in locked labs; when they are transported, they are draped under black cloth (and/or boxed) until they reach their secure destination.
If this photo was taken at 1 Infinite Loop, it was done so in a lab. Whether or not a top-secret lab would have the lighting that would generate this photo is debatable, but no one here should expect that this photo was taken at the cafeteria which would have plenty of non-Apple diners (friends, family, vendors, etc.).
As someone who lights stuff for a living, I'm a bit suspicious. In a "cafeteria" environment, I'd expect a down angle shot to reflect typical ceiling mounted "box shaped" lights. The reflective surface of this plate shows a very even RING of highlights on it's outer diameter. I'd expect that from a "flown softbox" lighting approach. That would also account for the very minimal and diffuse shadows from the food on the plate.
Also, the camera angle is essentially perfectly square overhead to the subject rendering the plate as an ideal circle. That also usually means that the hand/ arm holding the camera would typically cast a diffuse shadow on the subject. Where is that? this kind of result is more typical of a ring light mounted at the camera lens (would better explain the round hightlights on the plate diameter, BTW. Not something you'd expect on a quick
engineer in the cafeteria snap.
So unless the cafeteria in question has VERY interesting overhead lighting, I'm gonna be skeptical of the story here.
Not impossible, but all those physical clues make this kinda unlikely to my thinking.
For what it's worth.
Yup. The angle alone would be awkward for somebody taking snapshot, and the picture appeared to be evenly lit. You have good eyes.
No.
If the picture was taken on the Apple campus, it is unlikely it happened in the cafeteria.
After all, Apple is highly secretive. Unreleased products are not waltzed around the hallways. They are kept in locked labs; when they are transported, they are draped under black cloth (and/or boxed) until they reach their secure destination.
If this photo was taken at 1 Infinite Loop, it was done so in a lab. Whether or not a top-secret lab would have the lighting that would generate this photo is debatable, but no one here should expect that this photo was taken at the cafeteria which would have plenty of non-Apple diners (friends, family, vendors, etc.).
Fromwhat I have read Apple does not restrict unreleased products to secure locations. They test them in real world situations (and sometimes lose them in bars).
Unreleased products are not waltzed around the hallways. They are kept in locked labs; when they are transported, they are draped under black cloth (and/or boxed) until they reach their secure destination.
And… carried to bars.
Also, it's definitely not in the 1 Infinite Loop Cafeteria. The cafeteria has an area outside. What's outside the building closest to the GPS coordinates, you ask?
A loading dock.
Fromwhat I have read Apple does not restrict unreleased products to secure locations. They test them in real world situations (and sometimes lose them in bars).
Yeah, but being on the Apple campus in the cafeteria isn't really testing in a real world situation.
This would be a more authentic picture if it was a pint of beer or a plate of shrimp ceviche, not cafeteria sushi.
Extremely unlikely? RAW would be overkill.
As a developer, I would love to get the image data prior to the demosaicing stage. As it is, you can get the "raw" RGB data prior to the JPEG engine but there is still substantial time (and hence battery power/processing) demosaicing the RAW RGGB data to RGB data. Likewise, the memory foot print is at least 50% higher with the RGB data than the RAW RGGB data.
I put this in as a feature request but I am sure never to see it:-(
As a developer, I would love to get the image data prior to the demosaicing stage. As it is, you can get the "raw" RGB data prior to the JPEG engine but there is still substantial time (and hence battery power/processing) demosaicing the RAW RGGB data to RGB data. Likewise, the memory foot print is at least 50% higher with the RGB data than the RAW RGGB data.
I put this in as a feature request but I am sure never to see it:-(
To be clear, I'm not talking about memory footprint but quality of len & sensor and the fact that iPhone already save picture in lossless format (png). Also, its purpose is to shoot and share. Somebody might be pissed if he/she want to share but it's set to RAW (meaning he/she need to convert the pictures first).
All this talk of megapixels when a REAL FLASH is what the iPhone camera needs most. Whether 8 megapixels or 80 megapixels, photos will all look terrible at night (or in daylight contrast situations) with an LED "flash."
-a new smaller sensor with new focal length to keep the iPhone 4 equivalent focal
-the same sensor size on iPhone 4 but with a wider focal length
The regular size of phone camera sensor is between 1/3" and 1/3.2", very few smartphones have gone beyond using 1/2.3" and 1/1.8" like Nokia.
The aperture f/2.4 is probably right, f/24 has not use in this kind of device and less for a tiny sensor.
The equivalent focal length on phone camera is between 24, 28 or 35mm and knowing the equiv. focal length on the iPhone 4 and the new size of the iPhone 5, could give a better idea.
The white balance on this shot looks excellent, but the shot itself isn't at all crisp.
As someone who was a pro photographer for seven years I can tell people that a well lit room with plenty of ambient light can produce very similar lighting conditions to those on this plate. I suspect the light conditions were fairly low because of the amount of grainy artefacts - look at the darker areas of the plate for example, although that could also come from high ISO settings.
As for the 4.3mm focal length this could come from:
a) optical zoom
b) larger sensor but same effective focal length in 35mm terms
c) a less wide fixed length lens
If it really is a f/2.4 aperture, that would be an improvement over current iPhones as has already been said, and that could support the fact that this picture was taken as a test shot to see how well the camera handled colours in low ambient light conditions.
Flash is the worst source of light. Pictures come out better when it is properly exposed from ambient lighting.
When it is dark and you are dealing with the real world where things move, long exposures are not an option. Nighttime photos with the LED flash are terrible and thus I can only use my iPhone for daytime shots. I use the ProHD app for many of my pictures to compensate for high-contrast situations but again that is not useful with your subject matter moves because the 2 merged photos blur.