The Camera Control function I was eagerly anticipating was the half-press option for locking focus and exposure – a significant characteristic of conventional cameras.
While I’m thrilled to find this feature in the latest beta, real-world testing certainly illustrates its initial status as a beta functionality …
Understanding the rule of thirds
Though there are instances when centering a subject in the frame is essential, particularly for portraits, you’ll often want to position them off-center. A helpful way to think about this is through the “rule of thirds.” This technique encourages you to place a person’s face or prominent eye at one of the four points represented by intersecting lines – one-third from the top/bottom and one-third from the sides.
Apple incorporates a grid that adheres to the rule of thirds to aid in composition.
As with any guideline in photography, it should be regarded as a flexible suggestion, allowing you to use your discretion to achieve the best composition for what you’re trying to capture.
Previously, cameras would typically set both autofocus (AF) and exposure (AE) based on whatever was centered in the frame. Over time, AF and AE technology has significantly advanced, and face-detection is now commonplace in both dedicated cameras and iPhones. Nevertheless, it remains advantageous to manually select the point in the frame for focus and exposure.
Half-press to lock focus and exposure
Historically, a half-press of the shutter button has allowed users to lock both focus and exposure as long as the button remains pressed. The process involves centering your subject, performing a half-press to lock focus and exposure, adjusting your shot as desired, and then completing the shutter press.
Apple has successfully integrated this feature into the iPhone 16 via the Camera Control button, but there are positives and negatives.
Pros and cons
On the positive side: It works as intended. The images shown above and below are standard photos showcasing natural bokeh, not in Portrait Mode. I achieved these by centering Leah, locking focus and exposure, and then repositioning the camera.
On the downside: The functionality is quite finicky, which undermines its intended convenience.
There are two main issues with this feature. First, the multifaceted role of a single button:
- Launching the camera app
- Capturing a photo
- Recording a video
- Accessing the camera settings menu
- Swiping to select a menu option
- Lightly tapping to choose a menu
- Swiping to adjust settings
- Lightly tapping to select those settings
- Activating Visual Intelligence
The second issue is the limited motion range compared to a dedicated camera’s shutter release button, due to the compact design of the iPhone, which restricts movement.
The combination of these challenges results in difficulty when attempting to set AF/AE lock. Increasing the pressure accidentally triggers a photo, while reducing it can lose the lock after reframing, leading to a frustrating experience.
Potential improvements for Apple
There isn’t much Apple can alter regarding the limited movement with the Camera Control [don’t call it a] button.
However, Apple can likely roll out firmware updates to enhance its functionality regarding how much pressure is needed to activate features, as well as modifying the way different functions are triggered.
While half-press-to-lock is a well-known process that many find intuitive, the iPhone’s fiddliness suggests that Apple might benefit from revising its approach.
For instance, maintaining a lock could persist until the photo is taken or a double-press is executed to cancel it – possibly with a timeout of 4-5 seconds for a second cancellation option.
This adjustment would eliminate the need to maintain precise pressure, allowing users to lift their fingers from the shutter after locking focus and exposure, and simply perform a full press to take the image.
Conclusion
This marks the first attempt at implementing a beta feature, so it’s understandable that there are rough edges that verge on being cumbersome.
Nonetheless, I believe this feature holds great promise. It just requires careful consideration and development by Apple before a refined version is officially launched.
Photos: DMN
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
