The iPhone 4S: A Professional’s Take

1 minute read
A night scene inside the Lincoln Memorial taken at ISO 640.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
By Mark Rykoff

One of the vaunted features of the new iPhone 4S is the improved camera, which includes a 60 percent increase in megapixels, a sharper and faster lens, as well as a new illumination sensor. TIME asked White House photographer Brooks Kraft to take the camera out for a test run.

After photographing around the District, Kraft says he would use the 4S on the job. “I like it because it lets you work quickly and inconspicuous,” he said. “When I use professional looking cameras, it can attract attention, and impact what I am trying to capture. But with the 4S, you pull a phone out of your shirt pocket, and generally nobody notices.”

The ability to manipulate the images with various apps will also be an added bonus of the 4S, Kraft says. “It’s not going to replace by professional gear, but it is another tool you can put into your bag—or your pocket.”

Read Kraft’s full review of the iPhone 4S here.

The iPhone 4s accurately captured the golden hue of the Washington Monument at sunset.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
A night scene inside the Lincoln Memorial taken at ISO 640.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
A couple reads an inscription inside the Lincoln Memorial in very dim light, captured at ISO 800. "Because the 4S is so inconspicuous," Kraft says, "I was easily able to capture this intimate moment. If I had been using a professional camera, I may have called to much attention to myself, and lost the moment."Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
The camera's biggest improvement over its predecessor is its excellent auto white balance. Here it balances the artificial lighting on the columns of the Washington Monument with the sunset behind, at the high ISO of 640.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
The 4S also did a good job of balancing the artificial light on the Lincoln Memorial at night.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com