The evolution and popularity of iPhoneography

The ascension of iPhone is reflected by many metrics … now add one more … Flickr.com.   people say it with pictures! The last four (4) generations of iPhone now dominate Flicker and other social media photography platforms. iPhone has captured four of the top five (4 of 5) cameraphone spots on Fickr.* Of note is the fact that Apple’s newly launched (Oct 2011) iPhone 4S has quickly shot up to become the second (2nd) most popular Cameraphone on Flickr. And the iPhone 4S’s predecessor, iPhone 4, is the most popular camera on Flickr … not just cameraphone, but any type of camera.*

“The best camera is the one that’s with you.” While some camera purists bemoan the picture quality of photos captured on mobile handsets, with each iteration of iPhone (Gen-one, 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S), the camera, and hence “picture quality,” gets better. iPhone 4S with its 8 megapixel (MP) camera and enhanced optics, only promises to further boost the popularity of iPhotos and iVideos. Now add in the ability for virtually anyone to use camera apps (e.g. ProCamera 3.3) to shoot better photos/videos and then easily edit and improve their work, and the popularity of iPhoneography will almost certainly accelerate.

Jan '07 - Steve Jobs intros iPhone to the world

iPhone camera evolution:

• June 2007 – The first generation iPhone (GSM EDGE 2G) was unveiled by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007. The original iPhone had a 2 MP (megapixel) camera – no optical zoom, flash, or autofocus.

• June 2008 – The iPhone 3G was introduced with a 2 MP camera (same as gen. one) and no support for video recording. However, various 3rd party apps subsequently allowed video recording on iPhone 3G. The iPhone OS 2.0 software update (preloaded on the iPhone 3G at launch), enabled users to embed location tags in iPhotos and presto! iPhone 3G introduced “geo-coded” photographs.

• June 2009 – The iPhone 3GS (“S” stands for speed) was revealed. iPhone 3GS has a 3 MP OmniVision camera with higher resolution and video capability.  In addition to the higher megapixel (MP) count, iPhone 3GS also comes with auto-focus, auto-white-balance and auto-macro, and is capable of capturing VGA video.

• June 2010 – The iPhone 4 introduced a backside-illuminated 5 MP rear-facing camera with 5X digital zoom, an LED flash, and 3.85mm f/2.8 lens capable of recording HD 720p video at 30 frames per second, and a front-facing VGA camera (at a lower resolution). The two cameras in combo, enabled Apple’s FaceTime video calling. Both cameras make use of the tap to focus feature (part of iOS 4) for photo and video recording.

Oct 2011 - Phil Shiller demos new iPhone 4S camera

• October 2011 – Unveiled at Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event, the iPhone 4S has taken iPhoneography to a new level with its 8 MP camera capable of shooting high quality still (3264 by 2448 pixels) and recording 1080p videos at 30 frames per second with upgraded quality (30% better clarity, 26% better white-balance, and enhanced color accuracy). The iPhone 4S camera has an additional lens, IR filter, a wider f2.4 aperture, and Image signal processor (built-in A5). The camera can now be accessed directly from the lock-screen, and the volume-up (+) button can be used as a shutter trigger (Read about ProCamera’s Volume Trigger). The built-in gyroscope is able to stabilize the camera while recording video. The iPhone 4S camera also includes a macro lens (for close up pictures) and “fast capture” function which allows user to take a photo in 1.1 seconds and the next photo a half (1/2) second later.

*Reflects the camera brand and model type used to take photos that are uploaded to Flicker.