Air Shows and iPhone Cameras, Together at Last

I like air shows.

I also like the camera on my iPhone (4S, if you’re wondering), mainly for the serendipity of it all. For instance, let’s say that the Snowbirds (Canada’s military aerobatic team) are doing a fly-over and you, spur of the moment, decide you want a picture. It takes a second to unlock the phone. Another second to open the camera app. Another two or three seconds until the camera itself is fired up. By this point, the planes have traveled quite some distance and the shot you originally wanted to take is long gone. You point your phone skyward (+1 second) and wait for it to focus (+1.5 seconds). You hit the shutter button. Then, being a phone more than a camera, it takes another while (+2 seconds) to actually take the picture while you track your hand to keep the formation in the frame. It finally snaps. The planes are gone. A second of waiting. Is it blurry? Is it streaky?

Nah, it’s perfect:

~Mike!