The most heavily touted feature of the iPhone 11 series is the ultra wide camera. Don’t get me wrong, it is a useful tool, but disappointment is guaranteed if you blindly believe the marketing spiel.
Why? Because the ultra wide camera isn’t a first class citizen on the iPhone. It can’t shoot RAW, doesn’t have optical image stabilization, has no focusing of any kind and has severe distortion that is only partially corrected by iOS. You may wish to read my former post for more details.
It was a real challenge to make this thing live up to the quality demands of Technical Camera and to the high expectations of its users. There are a few aspect we can’t change, because hardware is given. But fortunately, I’m a seasoned expert in the correction of the most annoying of its properties: distortion.
Time to show off…
Technical Camera distortion correction compared
There’s no need to talk a lot about it. Technical Camera can give you a well corrected, almost perfectly rectilinear image, while the built-in camera app – and most others – simply can’t. This is where six and a half years of experience shows. So if you shoot buildings, interiors, or anything else where barrel distortion is a problem, then you will appreciate my app.
The apparent image quality difference which comes through even at this small size is partly attributable to the ability to use manual ISO in Technical Camera. The above image was shot at ISO 200, while Apple’s Camera app used ISO 1250.
Live view in Technical Camera shows you exactly what you get in the final picture, so you can frame your shot precisely. Apple’s camera app captures a little wider (and more distorted) image than its live view shows.
On the positive side, the ultra wide camera provides better image quality than any wide converter accessory lens I’ve ever created a distortion correction profile for. You still get corner smearing, so I do recommend to use a lower resolution image quality setting, such as JPG Quarter HQ with this camera.
Speaking of image quality settings…
If you happen to use an album that has RAW set as the image quality, and subsequently switch to the ultra wide camera, the app will warn you that since that camera can’t shoot RAW, JPG will be used instead. You can also choose to hide this warning. But don’t worry, it can be restored with the Warnings screen in the menu.
OK, but how do you switch to the ultra wide camera? There are two ways. You can use the WIDE icon on the Camera Options screen (which can be displayed by tapping the circle icon in the corner of the main screen). Tap the WIDE icon again to return to the default wide angle camera. Alternatively, you can set up a Smart Function Key with the Toggle Wide Mode function (the exact same way you do with a wide converter accessory lens). The latter method is what I use personally.
Version 1.6 is a free update for existing Technical Camera owners. New users can purchase the app in the App Store.
There’s a limitation, though, that you should be aware of. When light levels drop, simulation may end up showing a darker image when the actual (non-simulated) exposure would also use a very high ISO. Practically this isn’t a big deal, since very high ISOs are unusable on a phone.
We’ve added a new Optical Only option to the Image Stabilization preference. Honestly, I was never a big fan of Apple’s digital image stabilization (used when Auto is selected), so that’s why we have this option now.
The focusing indicator is the vertical bar displayed on the left side of the AF point (see the magnified screen shot on the right).
