There’s some buzz right now about the iPhone 3GS and other phones being capable of 720p recording, or perhaps even 1080p if they use the newest sensors. Wow! The future is here! 720p video built right into your phone! But here’s the thing: would you rather have HD video recording implemented very badly, as it must be with the limitations of mobile phones, or would you rather not have it at all and have capacity for more battery life or RAM? Because there’s no way that video is going to be watchable, except as a low-bandwidth stream, and if that’s your idea of 720p… come on now.
Look, I’m excited about the prospect too, but consider that today’s compact camcorders like the Webbie, Zx1, and MinoHD produce only passable video, and it’s the only thing they do. The lens, sensor, and encoder (in these low-end camcorders as they will be in the iPhone) are all going to be absolutely bargain bin. Everything that compromises them is going to be worse on a mobile phone. And no iPhone-specific lens set is going to change that.
