I was happy to get an iPhone 4 in the mail yesterday. Today was my first day playing with it. Here are my first impressions, and lots of SOOC (straight out of camera) sample photos.
Cherry Tomatoes from the Santa Monica Farmer's Market
New Features
The new screen is flat-out amazing. Just stunning. The clarity and detail make all other screens seem like you’re viewing it through wax paper that’s pixelated. OK, so I may exaggerate, but it’s quite beautiful. Diminishing returns are part of the deal though, and I’ve already adjusted to the new screen after just one day. I wish it didn’t have such a negative effect on the older phones (making them look like crap), but such is the way of technological advances in the world of Apple.
Daily Photo for 7/10/10
My hopes were pretty high for the new camera, so I’m glad to say that there was no disappointment. I was able to create a pretty cool daily photo if I may say so myself. The camera is not nearly as capable as my 5-year-old Canon Powershot SD400, but the image quality is comparable. I doubt Apple’s Camera app will ever have advanced features, but I wish they’d at least open it up a little more so developers could create an app with things like manual shutter speed and white balance, or more control over the flash.
The 720p video sounds good, but I haven’t played with it yet. I will soon enough…
Sample photos
The following photos are directly from the phone – absolutely no touch up. Most are from either the farmer’s market or an eatery called Bite Bar & Bakery. There’s a link at the bottom to the SmugMug gallery where you can get the originals if you want.
Conclusion
It’s cool.
The square form factor is a little odd compared to the previous models, but I think I like it. The Apple store only had the “bumper” cases available, so I’m going sans case for the moment. I really like how simple it is to switch to the front-facing camera – it’s just a little transparent button that appears when you launch the Camera app. I look forward to playing around with it more, especially the video.
If you want to know more about it please ask me in the comments, or just read one of the numerous other reviews out there.
Thanks, bye!