The best new iOS 5 camera and photo features for iPhones and iPads
Among the 10 new features of iOS 5 rolled out at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference yesterday were some exciting new camera and photo features. Apple's latest mobile operating system promises to bring iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches several useful new camera tricks, the best of which deliver quicker and easier access to snapping photos.
Perhaps most exciting is that the volume-up button on the iPhone 4 can now be used as a shutter release. But even more useful is the ability to snap a photo straight from a shortcut on the lock screen without having to unlock and search for the camera icon. Even if you have a passcode set, you can snap a new photo without taking the time to enter the code -- you can't see any previous photos you've taken or anything else on your phone without typing your passcode, but you can take a photo immediately (even by using the new volume-up button functionality).
Other camera and photo related enhancements include:
- Optional grid lines to help you compose your shot using the rule of thirds
- Pinch-to-zoom when composing your shot
- Lock in autofocus and auto exposure settings by holding your finger over part of your scene
- Built-in photo-editing tools including crop, rotate, red-eye reduction, and one-click auto-enhance
- Organize photos in albums from within Photos app
- Use iCloud to sync photos between all your iOS 5 devices
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