Camera Zoom and its souped-up version for the iPhone 3Gs looks good on paper. The app takes the limited flexibility of an iPhone camera to give it zoom-lens muscle.
Too bad this 99-cent app from KendiTech fails to impress. True, many iPhone users love Camera Zoom as it consistently ranks among the top downloads. But I’m no fan after running it through real-world situations. If Camera Zoom were a photographer, it would be your goofy uncle who shoots the family photo with someone’s head cut off.
As you zoom in with the on-screen slider, iPhone’s camera becomes shaky—lowering the odds of a good picture. I tried many, many shots with Camera Zoom at a recent wedding, and retreated in disgust to standard settings. Clarity also suffers, despite options that adjust quality post-shot.
Semi-serious telephoto shutterbugs should stick to real zoom lenses. The iPhone camera, in my view, works much better when you (duh) walk closer to your subject. If you can’t, Camera Zoom might do in a pinch. But don’t expect much sharpness—unless you attach your iPhone to a $10,000 minicam trolley.
