Often cited as the most popular in the world, the iPhone has a pretty good camera - you may have heard of it. In the right hands, it can take some pretty impressive pictures. So why then would you want to connect an external camera to your iPhone - one which costs almost as much as the phone itself?
This is exactly what DxO is hoping you will do.
Better known as the team behind the widely respected DxOMark camera benchmark tests and the creators of DxO Optics Pro image processing software, DxO Labs has taken the plunge and launched a camera of its own. A camera which DxO claims can rival or even exceed the quality of a DSLR.
Aimed squarely at those who want the very best image quality, but don’t want to carry around a full size camera, the DxO One is a small, easily pocketable module designed to plug into your iPhone’s Lightning port via a swivelling connector.
Impressive specs
Using the iPhone as a control interface and Viewfinder, the DxO One adds a 20.2 megapixel 1-inch imaging sensor, fronted by a six-element f/1.8 lens with an equivalent 32mm focal length. It can operate in fully automatic mode, any of four scene modes, or make use of the Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual modes familiar to more advanced photographers. The camera also has proper two-stage shutter button, so there’s no holding the iPhone between fingertips while jabbing at the screen.
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These core specs add up to a device capable of capturing far greater detail than the iPhone’s internal camera, with better low-light performance and the ability to isolate your subject by blurring the background.
High-end raw image processing
Equally important, however, is the inclusion of DxO’s image processing technology. DxO Optics Pro (included free with the camera for a limited time) is one of the most respected raw conversion applications and the DxO One is designed with raw mode shooting in mind. JPEGs are automatically stored on the iPhone’s camera roll for immediate sharing, but the camera keeps the unprocessed raw files on its own microSD storage for you to edit later.
The One’s best performance results are achieved by using DxO’s new SuperRAW format, which captures four raw images in quick succession before combining them into a single file for increased dynamic range and reduced noise.
The iPhone actually does something similar internally to create JPEGs in low-light situations, but the One retains all of the raw, unprocessed data, and it’s this SuperRAW format which, according to DxO, offers higher fidelity than can be achieved with many DSLRs.
The DxO One contains no internal flash, nor can it trigger an external one. Instead, it uses the iPhone’s built in flash when required or, when twisted into in selfie mode, brightens the iPhone screen to help light up your face. The DxO One is powered by its own internal rechargeable battery, so it won’t eat into your phone’s battery life.
Can the DxO One succeed?
Perhaps the closest competition to the DxO one comes in the form of
The lack of wireless control does trouble me somewhat, as without it there’s no option to use the iPhone as a remote viewfinder. It also leaves the camera entirely reliant on the iPhone’s Lightning connector, which
Furthermore, the DxO One seems to be mainly about taking stills. Video is supported, but with a maximum resolution of 1080p at 30fps, its baseline specs are actually lower than that of the iPhone 6 camera. It also lacks optical image stabilisation which would have been a great help in low light.
However, DxO’s sample images are certainly very impressive, and the One’s benchmark results (admittedly carried out by DxO themselves) place it at the very high end of what the best compact cameras can achieve. Even so, I suspect that only the keenest of photo enthusiasts are likely to consider paying the $600 asking price.
I also believe we’re about to see the smartphone take huge leap forward through the wider adoption of multi-lens, multi sensor camera systems which will radically increase picture quality without the need for large external sensors.
I look forward to testing the DxO One myself in the near future, when I will bring you my findings in depth.
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