A Day with Apple iPhone 16 Pro's 'Camera Control' — Is it Really a Game Changer for Pros?

After a day with the new iPhone 16 Pro, I'm intrigued by its headline feature: the 'Camera Control'. While it's not quite the revolutionary game-changer Apple might have hoped for, it does show promise.

Let's dive deeper into Apple's star of the show: the 'Camera Control'. It's not your average button, but a clever little tactile switch on the phone's right side. At its most basic, it's pretty straightforward: press to open the camera, press again to snap a pic, or hold for video. Simple, right?

But here's where it gets interesting (and a tad tricky). With a light double press, you get a satisfying haptic click and access to settings like zoom, depth, styles, tone, and exposure, which you can tweak with a swipe. Double light press to switch between settings. It's like having a mini DSLR control right on your phone.

I'll be honest - at first, I found myself fumbling a bit. It's easy to overshoot your intended setting or accidentally change something you didn't mean to. I kept opening the camera by mistake until I set it to require a double-click. But here's the thing: once you get the hang of it, it starts to feel better. Zooming in and out with a slide of the finger? Pretty cool as an idea, but there is a learning curve.

Apple's not stopping there, either. They're planning to add AI smarts to this button in the future. Imagine pointing your camera at a restaurant and instantly getting ratings, or snapping a pic of a concert flyer and having it added to your calendar. Sure, it's a bit like Google Lens, but having it built right into the iPhone? That could be handy.

Now, I do have a few quibbles. Sometimes, the touchscreen still feels more precise for certain adjustments. And Apple says they're going to add a traditional camera-like two-stage shutter function in a future update, where a half press focuses and a full press clicks the picture - which makes me wonder why it wasn't there from the start.

My favourite use case of the Camera Control so far has been the zooming and the tone and styles which is basically a way cooler way to try on filters right when you're shooting. More feature controls like these have kept my hope alive about the possibilities of what this button can do.

In my limited experience, the Camera Control seems more suitable for those who shoot in the landscape as it's not very comfortable to use for vertical orientation. Also, while Apple didn't speak about it at the launch or in the briefing, I can sense that this can be a game-changer for smartphone filmmakers who attach extra accessories and rigs to their iPhones to shoot professional-quality videos.

But here's the thing: despite its quirks, I'm optimistic about the Camera Control. It's not perfect, but it's got potential. After a week of real-world use and once those AI features roll out, it might just become a photographer's best friend.

So, is it worth upgrading for this feature alone? Maybe not just yet. But it's a step in an exciting direction. The Camera Control might not be revolutionary today, but it could be the start of something really special for mobile photography. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing how it evolves.