iOS 4.1 - Should We Be Excited About HDR Photography?

By now, you've probably heard that Apple's upcoming iOS 4.1 software update comes with a new Camera app feature called HDR - which stands for High Dynamic Range photography. As explained by Steve on Wednesday, when a user switches on HDR in the iPhone's Camera application, something pretty impressive happens. Instead of taking one photo, your iPhone takes three: one overexposed (captures shadow detail), one underexposed (captures highlights), and one at normal exposure. It then combines all three to make one beautifully exposed digital photograph. Most times, HDR photography creates much better photos than taking a single conventional photo alone would. This is especially the case in scenes with very bright and very dark areas. But, if you don't like the HDR version of the photo, it saves the original just in case. If you were wondering whether HDR is something worth getting excited about, then wonder no more. We've got a few sample photographs for you to check out now, so you can firmly make up your mind about high dynamic range photography. So, let's get started. First off, enabling HDR in your iPhone's Camera app couldn't be simpler. Simply touch the HDR icon at the top of the screen to switch over from standard photography, to high dynamic range. Then just point and click (or touch, rather). Your iPhone will snap the picture, and take a little while (we're talking about approximately two seconds) to compile the resulting image.

The results are pretty impressive. I've noticed that HDR comes in handy when you're confronted with "uneven" lighting conditions (if you know what I mean). Think skies, horizons, and shadows. HDR can sure help you there. As you can see from the photographs below, HDR really helps when the sky, specifically, comes into the equation. The original digital image generally spoils the sky, producing a white sky instead of a blue one, due to the standard exposure settings. However, HDR fixes this error. Check out the photos below:

I've posted a gallery at the bottom of this article, where you can find full resolution versions of the above images and more. Personally, I think HDR is a great feature. Not necessarily a life-changing one, but still an addition I'm glad to have in iOS 4.1. So, be sure to check out the photos (below) and let us know what you think in the comments box at the bottom of this article! [gallery]

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