The new depth of field feature on the iPhone 7 makes use of the dual camera setup on the device, offering the bokeh effect.
The iOS 10.1 beta release came in last week offering the new Portrait mode for the iPhone 7 Plus.
The Bokeh Effect
The advanced machine features of the phone combined with the dual camera setup on the phone uses the depth of field feature, offering the image with the subject in the front in sharp focus, whereas the background is blurred, resulting in this bokeh effect.
Shared Photos
Readers of MacRumors have been sharing many such photos that have been taken with the iPhone 7 Plus using this feature. The images seem to be as good as those shot with high-end DSLR cameras. This is a very impressive performance of the iPhone camera, as they are much smaller when compared to DSLR cameras. The best of cameras is something that users can carry along with them in their pockets and the iPhone 7 Plus seems to be offering just that.
Several Astounding Examples
The photos shared by Bryan of MacRumors have beautifully demonstrated the bokeh effect. A depth map is created with the combination of two pictures from a wide angle and a telephoto lens. The photos topic of the MacRumors forums has many other examples of regular photos as well as depth of field pictures taken on the iPhone 7 Plus.
iOS 10.1
However, in order to achievethe depth of field effect for your pictures, you will need the iOS 10.1, which is at present available for developers as well as public testing. The final version of the software update will probably be available to users in the month of October.
Real Time Preview
If you own an iOS 7 Plus phone, you can get the beta version of the 10.1 iOS enabling this Portrait mode, as it is really worth installing. The mode is able to use the combination of the dual cameras present on the rear of the iPhone. It then gathers the information about the distance along and combines them with algorithms, thereby producing the effect, where the subject of the image remains in a sharp focus with the background blurring out pleasantly. The entire effect is achieved in real time, so you can take a look at the picture before clicking it.
The iPhone 7 Plus also saves the image of the bokeh effect along with saving the standard type of the photo, so you can choose one or the other. Users can make a comparison of the two images and check out the effects of the bokeh or the blur.
Portrait Mode
In order to get this bokeh effect, the user has to first launch the Portrait mode on the camera and it will shift over to the telephoto lens. This means that the shooting is taking place at 2x of the optical zoom, when compared to the usual camera. There might be some additional grain or noise in the picture due to the zoomed lens. The application will also inform users to move away if they are too close and if they are too far away, it will ask them to place the subject at a distance of 8 feet from the lens. The results are great if users follow these instructions.