Apple iPhone 4S
£500.00
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Apple’s latest camera phone, the iPhone 4S, was announced late last year. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, the iPhone 4, the 4S shares an almost identical design but benefits from enhanced internal features, which are there to appeal to new iPhone users or those looking for an upgrade. Significant developments revolve around the iPhone’s camera, which now boasts a faster f/2.4 aperture lens and a backside illuminated 8Mp sensor, advancing on the 5Mp chip and f/2.8 lens fitted to the iPhone 4. To avoid shutter lag and to speed up touch focus operation, the iPhone 4S is fitted with a new dual-core A5 processor that works alongside an image signal processor, with advanced algorithms in place to enhance colour accuracy and white balance.
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Camera operation has been improved to make image-taking easier; the volume-up button on the side of the body lets you hold and shoot much like you would with a compact, and there’s the option of double-tapping the menu button to access the camera straight from the locked screen. Both of these features have been made available to existing iPhone 4 users with an update to the iOS 5 operating system, however two new features not included on the iPhone 4 is full HD video capture at 1080p and voice activated recognition control - known as Siri - that responds to speech commands.
In use, the 4S works intuitively as both a phone and a camera. The 3.5in screen displays images with outstanding sharpness and clarity, and responds to the lightest of touches. The camera loads in just under 2secs from the menu screen and we didn’t experience any signs of shutter lag. Capturing an image and saving it to the camera takes just 1.5secs and reviewing and comparing our test shots with the iPhone 4, we noted more authentic and faithful colour with less obvious in-camera processing. Sharpness and detail results were streets ahead, too, enabling us to print at A4 size without interpolation.
As camera phones go, the iPhone 4S captures good images but is still yet to offer features such as macro modes, ISO control and an optical zoom. If it’s emails, internet, music and reasonable image quality you want from a mobile phone, the 4S ticks all the boxes, but it’s not cheap, with the lowest spec 16GB version costing between £36-£45 a month based on a fixed 24-month contract.
AT A GLANCE
Price: Free to £500 depending on contract
Resolution: 8Mp (3264x2448 pixels)
Video: HD, 1080p @30fps
WiFi: Yes
GPS: Yes
MP3: Yes
Email: Yes
Face Detection: Yes Flash: Yes
Display: 3.5in retina widescreen touch display
Weight: 140g
System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later, PC Windows XP, Vista, 7 (SP3)
Dimensions: 115.2x58.6x9.3mm
Visit: www.apple.com/uk
AS FEATURED IN APRIL 2012 ISSUE OF DIGITAL PHOTO.