Apple has announced details of the forthcoming versions of its iOS operating system for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. With these devices ranking among the most used on popular photo-sharing sites, it comes as no surprise that several new features in iOS5 are specifically aimed at photographers. These including additional camera features for the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad2, such as the ability to overlay thirds gridlines, and wireless syncing of photographs between iOS devices using Apple's new iCloud service.

New to the Camera app in iOS5 is the long-requested ability to use the physical 'up' volume button of the iPhone 4 as a shutter release, as well as the addition of pinch-to-zoom and overlaid 'rule of thirds' gridlines to aid composition. It is also possible to set exposure and AF lock with a single tap. The Photos app gains new crop, rotate and red-eye removal functions, as well as the ability to organise images into folders from within the app.  

New photography features in iOS 5:

Camera app (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad 2)

  • Volume up button (iPhone 4) can now be used as shutter release
  • Pinch-to-zoom in image capture mode (not just review)
  • Exposure and AF lock possible with single tap
  • New grid lines (rule of thirds) overlay
  • Camera app now available from lock screen

Photos app (all iPhones/iPod Touches/iPads)

  • New crop, rotate, remove red-eye and auto-enhance tools added
  • Organize photos into albums from within Photos app
  • Automatically sync photos between devices using iOS 5 using iCloud

Full details and compatibility of these and other new functions can be found at www.apple.com