iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus cameras put to test: The results show a definite improvement from the iPhone 5s

Apple's highly anticipated newer, larger iPhones finally went on sale last week. The iPhone 6 frenzy has got Apple loyalists queuing-up to get their hands on the nifty devices every where they've been launched. Needless to say, both iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have received rave reviews from critics. Incidentally, the camera abilities of the devices have also been lauded. Now, Apple maintains the same 8MP sensor on its phones, but as we know, the resolution hardly dictates how good the images can get. With a slew of other improvements and an additional optical image stabilisation added to the iPhone 6 Plus, the cameras have become a key highlight of the devices. Ace photographer Austin Mann has teamed up with TheVerge to test the iPhone cameras in beautiful locations of Iceland. The photos and videos puts all the features claimed during the iPhone 6 announcement to test, including Focus Pixels, manual Exposure Control, higher-resolution Panorama photography, Slo-Mo video enhancements and optical image stabilization. "Iceland is an incredibly diverse place, and the weather changes quickly, so you kind of just have to go with the flow. I’ve found that the iPhone is really liberating in this type of environment because it’s so flexible and can handle so many different types of situations," says Mann. [caption id="attachment_235108" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Capturing the drop using iPhone 6 Plus[/caption]While trying to capture a drop of water (as seen in the image above), he says there are few ways to create a shallow depth of field. Using the iPhone, the best way is to alter the distance between the lens and the subject. "I used AE/AF Lock (Auto-Exposure/Auto-Focus Lock) to lock focus on the closest water drop. You can do this on the iPhone by touching and holding on an area for a couple of seconds until the yellow indicator shows. Once your locked, you can move your camera freely around without it auto-adjusting focus or exposure," he added. "I found the iPhone 6 Plus screen to be remarkable as I framed and focused this shot… if I moved even a millimeter I'd lose focus on the water drop but with the massive viewfinder and over two million pixels to look at I didn't have a problem at all, he further added. The image below shows a vast improvement from last year's iPhone 5s.  Focus Pixel makes a dramatic improvement in the photos taken with the iPhone 6. There is an noticeable difference in the pictures taken by the 5s, owing to this feature. "Focus Pixels are all about autofocus. They enable phase-detect focusing on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which makes switching subjects in your frame both smooth and fast. It works well in stills, helping you always keep your subjects in focus, but it's most useful when you're shooting video," he points out. The manual exposure control allows users to manually lighten or darken photos and videos in real-time with a simple slider. The following picture was taken using the 5s and 6 models in low light conditions, after sunset. Mann believes that the iPhone makes for a great primary shooting device, “The great thing about carrying the iPhone as my primary shooting device is it’s simple yet so powerful: it’s ready to capture virtually any scenario I encounter. It enables images like this in a way no other camera ever could, no matter the cost,” he explains.  Take a look at Austin Mann's website to watch videos showing the slow-mo and time-lapse mode. Images: TheVerge, Austin Mann