Review: iPhone 3GS
One of the other big neat-o features of the iPhone 3GS is that it finally has the ability to capture video (yay!). When in the camera application, there's a little software switch at the bottom of the screen to start the video capture mode. There doesn't appear to be a way to launch the video camera without first launching the still camera. (Other camera phones will launch the video camera with a long press-and-hold of the camera/video button).
Shooting video is fun. Because the iPhone records video in the same aspect ratio as the screen, I highly recommend that you remember to turn the iPhone sideways when capturing video. Video taken with the iPhone in portrait orientation is simply odd looking. If you take it in landscape orientation, it will look more natural during playback on today's computer monitors and TVs.
Same as with the iPhone's camera, press the shutter button to begin capturing video. There doesn't appear to be a limit to how long you can record videos. Just to check, I recorded at least one video of more that 5 minutes in length. Perhaps Apple (and AT&T) will impose a time limit for videos that will be sent via MMS in a software update near to when the feature is enabled by AT&T.
When you're done recording, videos are placed into the gallery alongside pictures. One really neat feature is that you can edit the videos on the iPhone itself and send them directly to YouTube. The editing feature is limited, but still nifty. iMovie users will recognize the user interface of the iPhone's movie-editing software, as it is similar to iMovie 2009. You'll see a visual representation of the video clip with movable markets at either end. These markets can be used to fine-tune the start and end times of the video clip.
OK, not the most feature-rich editing tool ever created for a phone, but hey, it's something. One thing to note. Once you edit a video on the iPhone 3GS, it is permanently clipped. There is no master version saved alongside the clipped version. The clipped version will be the only version left on the iPhone. In other words, if you accidentally clip off half the video, you lost it, bro, it ain't coming back.
Video Quality
The iPhone 3GS shoots VGA video at 30 frames per second. It does a pretty good job. Videos I shot outdoors in the (late afternoon) sunlight looked rich in color, but a little over-exposed with some areas and details washed out. Videos shot in the shade outdoors looked spot on in color, white balance and exposure. Other video that I shot indoors was amazingly free of grain and digital noise that is common to indoor video. The iPhone 3GS reacted well to drastic changes in light, fast-panning back and forth and most of the tests we put phones through.
The iPhone 3GS is not going to replace your free-standing HD digital video camera, but it's going to get you by in a pinch when you need to take some reasonably decent video of your kid's softball or soccer game.
Here are two videos we shot with the iPhone and then uploaded directly to YouTube. Check out a typical family video here on YouTube, and a second video, showing how wel it adjusts to changing light conditions, here.
Apple iPhone 3GS
