Take Better Night Pictures With Night Camera

Ever since the iPhone came out in June 2007, one of the main criticisms of its hardware is the less-than-impressive specs of its camera. These days, a 2 megapixel camera with no auto-focus or flash doesn’t cut it for a smartphone. Pictures taken at night or in low-light especially suffers from blurs, despite my best efforts to hold it still, like in this photo:

The app Night Camera [iTunes link] helps with this specific problem.  The program uses the accelerometer to figure out if you’re holding your iPhone steady enough to take a picture.  When it knows the iPhone is steady, it automatically takes a picture.  Check out the result:

For only $.99, night pictures and pictures in low-light are greatly improved.  I also think this is one of the most useful and innovative ways to use the iPhone’s accelerometer.  Just keep in mind that this program does not fix the iPhone’s deficiencies which could be rectified with flash or auto-focus.  Still, for a buck’s upgrade and as an avid iPhone photographer, this app is well worth it.