The recently released iPhone 7 and iPhone 7S are great pieces of work and with of all the specs, these two handsets stand out especially in terms of camera. Can they match the photo quality of entry level DSLRs like the Canon 1300D or the Nikon D3400?
Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7S, along with the iOS 10 update, provides tons of photography features that puts even the high-level digital cameras far behind.
With a few tricks, it is possible for the iPhone 7 or 7S' camera to achieve almost the same image output quality that entry-level DSLRs can do and that's counting the possibilities of varied lens like wide-angle and prime ones.
The current iPhone 7 and 7S model already have optical image stabilization to reduce blur on captured image as well as exposure control, noise reduction, burst mode and even a healthy host of full manual controls. The recently released iOS 10.1 also includes a portrait mode that somewhat provides blurry background in acceptable levels.
The only lacking part is a better and more convincing shallow depth of field that only DSLRs can normally do. Both the iPhone 7 and 7S also have a decent apertures of F/1.8, but due to the size of their sensor, which is significantly smaller, they produce broader depth of field or in layman's term, flatter image.
The usual workaround for this is by using iOS apps like BigLens, which lets users blur out the background by letting them select the foreground, which is usually the subject and this also goes the other way around.
While it extremely simple and easy to understand and learn to use, it is quite limiting, especially for those gunning for a more realistic shallow depth of field. For photographers and hobbyists who understand how these things work, apps like BigLens may not cut it.
Fortunately, there's an app called "Bokeh" (already a part of their software bundle called "Exposure") by Alien Skin. It works as a third party plugin for Adobe Photoshop. Let's face it, professionals and those who strive to be would rather do it the professional way and post-processing is more or less an essential part of the job in photography.
A video below shows the plugin in action.
For those who are familiar with photoshop, the only steps to take here is by utilizing the quick mask tool, which is by pressing "W" on the keyboard. With CS4 and later versions, this has been improved so great that it is almost effortless. Once this is taken care of, the rest will be a walk in the park with Bokeh.
The video above shows a quick, but in-depth use of the Bokeh plugin, which almost takes no learning curve at all. Options include the direction of where the blur strengthens, lens profile presets and even blade shapes.
Combined with the sharp images that the iPhone 7 or 7S can produce, entry-level DSLRs can take a break and enthusiasts as well as professionals will have more creative control. It may not be as eye-popping as the professional models, but with a bit of practice, anybody could fool anyone to think that the shots are made with DSLRs.
Alien Skin Bokeh is compatible on both the Mac and Windows versions of Photoshop.
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