iPhone: The Missing Manual, 3rd Edition

Taking Still Photos

The iPhone's camera is the little hole on the back, in the upper-left corner, and the best term for it may be "no frills." There's no flash, no zoom, no image stabilizer. In short, it's a lot like the cameras on most cameraphones.

The camera is capable of surprisingly clear, sharp, vivid photos (2048 x 1536 on the iPhone 3GS; 1600 x 1200 on the earlier models)—as long as your subject is sitting still and well lit. Action shots come out blurry, and dim-light shots come out rather grainy.

Now that you know what you're in for, here's how it works.

On the Home screen, tap Camera. During the 2 seconds that it takes the Camera program to warm up, you see a very cool shutter iris-opening effect.

Tip

If you use the camera a lot, you should assign the Home button's double-press shortcut to the Camera function so you can bypass the Home screen (and a bit of hunting) when you want to fire up the camera. Details are on General.

The first time you use the camera, you're asked if it's OK to geotag your shots (record where you were when you took them). Unless you're a burglar or you're having an affair, tap OK.

Now frame up the shot, using the iPhone screen as your viewfinder. (At 3½ inches, it's most likely the largest digital-camera viewfinder you've ever used.) You can turn it 90 degrees for a wider shot, if you like.

Tip

Self-portraits can be tricky. The chrome Apple logo on the back ...