The iPhone's updated 5 megapixel camera includes a feature called High Dynamic Range or HDR. According to Apple, the iPhone's HDR feature when activated, takes a series of three photos, each with different exposure levels. The iPhone then layers the shots together to create a single sharp photo. In a patent application published earlier this week, we find Apple working on a similar type of feature, except this time around, it's about how the iPhone's camera will deal with blurry photo shots. Other patents disclosed in our report today cover how the iPhone deals with vignetting effects and how it uses a "skin-tone-mask" to avoid over exposed photos. In total, there were ten camera related patents published this week alone which marks the importance that Apple is placing on cameras within the context of the greater iOS device revolution.
You may have noted that Apple added HDR (High Dynamic Range) processing to its iPhone cameras recently - these patents take things a step further, including taking multiple exposures very quickly and picking the sharpest to try and reduce typical movement blur (often from the user, rather than the subject). It's a fascinating piece but, in the context of some of Nokia's cameras (N8, N86), you have to wonder if the best solution is for all manufacturers to simply start putting in better cameras in the first place, with larger sensors, better lenses and (most of all) Xenon flash, so that we don't have to go down the post-processing route in the first place?
On the other hand, all manufacturers, including Nokia, already do some post-processing, without necessarily telling anybody, so yes, I want the best of all worlds - a decent camera, great flash and really intelligent supporting software.
Comments welcome!
Steve Litchfield