Vibration from motorcycles can degrade iPhone camera performance, Apple says



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A new post on Apple’s support forum says exposing iPhones to high amplitude vibrations, “especially those generated by high powered motorcycle engines” could degrade the devices’ camera system. The company advises against mounting an iPhone on a motorcycle, as vibrations can be transmitted through the handlebars and frame of the motorcycle.

Here is Apple’s technical explanation:

If you accidentally move a camera when taking a photo, the resulting image may be blurry. To avoid this, some iPhone models are equipped with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) .1 OIS allows you to take sharp photos even if you accidentally move the camera. With OIS, a gyroscope detects that the camera has moved. To reduce image movement and resulting blur, the lens moves according to the angle of the gyroscope.

Additionally, some iPhone models feature closed-loop autofocus (AF). 2 Closed-loop AF resists the effects of gravity and vibration to maintain sharp focus in photos, videos and panoramas. With closed-loop AF, the built-in magnetic sensors measure the effects of gravity and vibration and determine the position of the lens so that the compensating movement can be fine-tuned.

IPhone’s OIS and Closed Loop AF systems are built to last. However, as is the case with many consumer electronics devices that include systems such as OIS, long-term direct exposure to high amplitude vibration in certain frequency ranges can degrade the performance of these systems and result in reduced image quality for photos and videos. It is recommended to avoid exposing your iPhone to prolonged vibrations of large amplitude.

The iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and all iPhones since iPhone 7 have both optical image stabilization and closed-loop autofocus (as shown by MacRumors, the first point of sale to spot the Apple support post). Both features are also vulnerable to magnetic interference from some iPhone accessories, Apple warned earlier this year, but removing the accessories should fix that.

Additionally, in the new post, Apple says that if you plan to mount your iPhone on a scooter or moped, it recommends using an anti-vibration mount to reduce risk to the phone and its camera system. And avoiding prolonged regular use of a vehicle mounted iPhone that produces lower amplitude vibrations is also a good idea.

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