iPhone Camera

Thanks to a built-in feature of iOS 5, the iPhone can easily take photos without ever touching the display screen. You may already be familiar with the fact that pictures can be taken by pressing the up volume button on the side of the iPhone, much like the shutter release on a compact camera. This improves the picture taking experience on the iPhone, but can still shake the device.

Photographers looking to stabilize their cameras during shooting look to use a remote control, or a cable shutter release to snap the photo without touching the camera. iPhones come with a modern version of the cable release in the Apple Remote Earphones.

Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey raised a lot of eyebrows when he told IFTN.com he used an iPhone to film some scenes for The Avengers.

“The beauty of photography or cinema is that you make every choice based on the content at hand. On The Avengers, I did a couple of shots on the iPhone and they are in the movie. In fact, they are in the trailer! I understand that sometimes there is no choice and you have to go for the cheapest option, but if you are limited for choice, you can still make poignant decisions that will effect the look of the film."

The Avengers is Marvel Studios most ambitious film to date, rumored to have cost over $200 million. The studio probably wasn't very happy when their director of photography told the world it was filmed on a cell phone. McGarvey later clarified he only shot one mobile phone POV using an iPhone.

The iPhone has already surpassed other cameras on photo-sharing sites like Flickr, and iOS 5 and the next generation Apple iPhone are sure to accelerate this trend in the fall. Many improvements are in the works for iPhone photography in the next generation firmware.

Not only this, but the iPhone 5 hardware will likely include an 8 megapixel sensor from suppliers OmniVision and Sony. So what improvements have already been seen in the beta versions of iOS 5? Read on for a complete list.

It looks like the rumored 8 megapixel camera for the iPhone 5 is finally confirmed. DigiTimes has reported that OmniVision will be handling 90 percent of Apple's supply of 8 MP camera sensors, with Sony handling the other 10 percent.

In April, Sony sparked 8 MP camera rumors when CEO Howard Stringer said the company faced delays in image sensor production for Apple, due to its earthquake damaged facility in Sendi, Japan. There was speculation that Apple was looking to switch to Sony, from OmniVision, who handles production for the current 5 megapixel camera for the iPhone 4.

Two interesting new rumors have surfaced surrounding future iPhone camera designs. The first involves a leak from Sony regarding an 8 megapixel camera the company manufactures that sounds like it's headed for the iPhone 5. 9to5 Mac reports Sony CEO Howard Stringer explained how their best image sensors are produced at a factory that was affected by the earthquake in Japan.

He noted that this problem will delay shipment of images sensors to companies like Apple. The only thing is that Sony doesn't make image sensors for Apple... yet. The Street reported in April of last year that Apple would be moving away from current supplier OmniVision for the iPhone 5, and going with an 8 megapixel Sony component instead.