(Image © Engadget.com)

For those of you who are like me and salivate at the latest Apple news you probably already know that the keynote address for WWDC is happening right this minute. Scott Forstall, SVP of iOS Software announced many new updates coming in iOS 5. For us iPhoneographers, the most exciting update coming for iOS 5 may be the updates to the Camera app.

First up, there will be a Camera button added to the lock screen! You will soon be able to apparently double-tap the home button when your iPhone is locked and it’ll fire up the Camera app. There is also a Camera button on the lock screen so you can single tap the home button to wake up your iPhone, and then push the Camera button and jump straight into the camera. (There must be something missing here otherwise there is going to be an inordinate number of pics of the inside of peoples pockets coming to Instagram – I predict a new hashtag #insidemypocket.)

Next, Apple is (finally!) making the volume up button a shutter button. Now you can push the little “+” volume button to shoot your photos. That’ll make it feel much more like a standard camera, particularly in landscape mode. No word if other non-Apple non-native camera apps will be allowed to do this. Presently several camera apps have been removed or rejected from the App Store because they tried this trick and Apple didn’t like it.

A few other features include pinch to zoom in camera, press and hold to set exposure, and even some basic edit capabilities inside the native camera app including reduce red-eye, crop, rotate, and a single button enhance. I’ll be sure and compare it to Camera+’s “Clarity” enhancement.

I’m very excited to see that Apple is paying attention to the growing popularity of the iPhone as a camera. I’m still pulling for the rumor that the next-gen iPhone will have an 8 MP camera!