Photography
When I started experimenting with the Eye-Fi Card and transferring images to my iPad as I shot them with my DSLR, I was very excited with the possibilities this technology would introduce to my photography workflow. Recently I reviewed a paid app called Shuttersnitch. The app worked well and seemed to be geared at pros. However, at the time there was an extra piece of gear needed to make it work. You needed to have a WiFi hotspot in order for the Eye-Fi card to see your iPad (iPhone or iPod touch). It didn't care what the hotspot was, but it needed one. I was using my MiFi, but many people seemed to be disappointed that there wasn't a more direct way to do this short of jailbreaking your device (more on that from Jason tomorrow). It wasn't long after that review that Eye-Fi announced a NEW lower priced card (Mobile X2) and a firmware update that would enable Direct Mode. Also if you're not a pro then chances are Shuttersnitch might not be in your budget (although the price is not bad for what it does). Eye-Fi announced a Free App for both iOS and Android devices.
The Eye-Fi App works in Direct Mode
The combination of the firmware update for the Eye-Fi X2 Card series and the FREE Eye-Fi App means that you can now shoot wirelessly from your digital camera to an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch without having to have both devices connected to a WiFi hotspot. This is AWESOME NEWS! Even if you're out in the middle of nowhere, you would still be able to shoot and transfer the images to your mobile device.
The Eye-Fi App is bare bones – I was a little spoiled by the features in Shuttersnitch. As a matter of fact the Eye-Fi App almost seems anemic by comparison. However, what you get for FREE will be enough for most users. There a few steps in setting this all up. First you must get your X2 card updated with the latest firmware. Then you enable Direct Mode with the card connected to your computer. You'll see the X2 card's network name (SSID) as well as the built-in WPA password. You'll need those to log into the Eye-Fi's network from your mobile device. Once you get the connection setup you'll need to login to your Eye-Fi account in the App and pair the card. It's pretty straight forward, but more than a couple of steps. Once you have both the card and the App setup, you can put the card in your camera and start shooting. The images will transfer wirelessly and directly to your Mobile Device. You can choose to transfer photos or movies or both from the camera. See step-by-step setup instructions here.
It works with your other images too – If you've transfered images to your Mobile Device from the built-in camera or perhaps the camera connection kit or even email, the Eye-Fi will see al of the images on your Camera Roll. This is good for people that wish to transfer or backup their images to the Eye-Fi Servers.
User Tip: Turn on Full Screen Mode – I thought that I was going to be disappointed by having to manually advance the shots as I took them. However, there is a secret "Full Screen" mode in the Eye-Fi App Preferences. Once you turn this on, your images will come in and not only display full screen, but automatically advance to the next shot as you take them.
If you don't care about seeing the movies you shot on your mobile device, definitely turn those off in the Card settings. Otherwise things will be moving along nicely and then you see a long pause as it transfers over a large movie.
Sharing is limited
The bad news is that the App only allows you to share your images to your desktop/laptop computer or up to the Eye-Fi service (which i don't use). However, the good news is that the shots automatically go to your device's Camera Roll. Since they are in the native camera roll you can use them anyway you like and in any app you like on your device. It would be nice to have a built-in email, Facebook and Twitter option, but I can certainly switch over to my favorite Apps and upload from there.
How fast is it?
In my testing I used my Nikon D7000 (a 16.2 MP Camera) and I used the first card slot to shoot RAW to my regular 16GB SD card and I put the Eye-Fi Mobile X2 card in the second slot. I set the camera to shoot BASIC JPG to the second slot. This means that it's transferring a 16.2 MP Basic JPG image to the iPad.
See the speed for yourself here:
The Bottom Line
Since I'm here to review the App more than the card (see my take on the X2 card here) then I would have to say that this is definitely one of those situations where you get what you pay for. The App is very basic in terms of features and is really designed just to get the images in, show them to you large and let you then transfer them up to the Eye-Fi server or to your computer. That's about it. There is no organizing, rating, tagging, EXIF data display, etc. If you want those kind of features then you should look at or stick with Shuttersnitch. Yes Shuttersnitch DOES work with the NEW Direct Mode too. See their setup instructions here.
Overall I'm pleased with this App. It could use a few more bells and whistles, but for the intended market it will be great and it's free.
You can get the FREE Eye-Fi iOS App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch here: 
You can get the NEW 8GB Eye-Fi Mobile X2 Card here for $79
You can get the 8GB Pro X2 Card (which handles RAW) NEW LOWER PRICE here for $99
You can get the Nikon D7000 here 
You can get the FREE Eye-Fi Android App here
There are literally thousands of photo Apps available in the App store. To be honest, I've probably tried most of them 
so it takes something different to catch my eye. I'd heard about Instagram before, but it wasn't until my buddy R.C. sung it's praises on The Grid that I tried it. Actually to be fair R.C. was saying that he was was seeing a ton of "Instagram" pics on Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr; almost enough to consider it over-saturated. To me that translates into popular, so I wanted to check it out. I have to tell you that out of all of the photo Apps that add filters and effects, Instagram is the easiest to use for me. The way the UI (user interface) is setup allows the process from image capture, all of the way through the filter process, and finally uploading to be a very short time.
What's it All About
Instagram describes itself as an amazingly fun and simple life-sharing App for your iPhone. The entire App is designed with this statement in mind. It all starts with an Instagram account (which is free). This allows you to follow your friends who are also using the App. To that end, you can also setup Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, Tumblr, and Posterous to share your images as well. Like any good photo social media community you can follow your friends, post and comment on images, and view popular images from around the world. The sharing mechanism built into Instagram is what sets it apart.
A Great Photo App
Beyond the social aspect, Instagram is a great stand alone photo App as well. With over a dozen built in filters and a tilt shift option, there is something for everyone's taste. The camera is quick, and has easy control of the flash with on, off, and automatic settings. There is optional geotagging for every image as well as the ability to add a description when uploading.
Conclusion
If you want a fun, easy to use camera App with some great filters, Instamatic is perfect for you. I'm seeing more and more people every day posting Instamatic images everywhere. I figure there's a reason it's popular, and why not try it out.
You can get Instamatic from the iTunes store for $Free here:
If only I had a nickel for every camera App I've downloaded and installed on my iPhone. You might ask "why do you need a 3rd party camera App on the iPhone if there is one built-in?" Well technically you don't unless of course you want more features. The built-in iPhone 4 camera app lets you take still pictures and video. It can zoom, use the flash/video light and even do a little HDR. After you take the shot you can tap to review it. That's about it. You don't really get much control over anything else and while the above bult-in features are probably enough for the average user, I tend to want more. Therefore I have lots of camera Apps that are great (yes I know Camera+ is awesome as well as (insert your cool favorite camera app choice here) ____________. The one thing that led me to check out QuikCam was a simple feature. SPEED! The native camera App seems to take more than a few seconds to launch and open the view finder before it can capture a shot. Sometimes I've missed shots in the time it has taken the native Camera app to open and get ready to shoot. Therefore I moved the Camera app off my first homescreen page and put QuikCam in its place. Not only does QuikCam launch faster, but it offers a few more features for taking better pictures. If you've followed my blog posts in the past you know that I've complained about the iPhone 4's white balance being way to yellow! While I did finally get a working replacement iPhone 4 that was night and day better than my 1st two, I do notice sometimes that depends on where I aim the camera indoors it will still lean towards the yellow side. Simply changing my angle sometimes will cause it to lock on to proper white balance. QuikCam has a setting that you can not only Tap to Focus, but you can also Tap to LOCK in White Balance. This means I can get great white balance, tap to lock it in and then recompose the shot. That's worth the price of admission to me alone. You can also set tap to lock in Exposure.
Rule of 3rds and more
The latest version has a rule of 3rds display up on screen to help you better compose your shot. You can also now review your pictures after you take them right in the app. Another cool feature is Shooting Speed! Not only does the App launch faster, but it has a rapid fire feature that allows you to take shots about as quickly as you can tap the onscreen button. You can even take still pics while shooting video. If you really want to shoot from the hip there is even a QuickPic mode that will Auto shoot when you launch the app. This way you can take a picture as fast as possible.
The Bottom Line
While there are many great Camera Apps on the App Store, QuikCam has found it's niche in allowing you to simply capture the moment before it slips away. The only thing that I find lacking from it over the native App is the HDR feature and that may be something that Apple doesn't allow 3rd Parties to include in their Apps. Otherwise, QuikCam is my default camera app for those times when I just want to take a picture!
You can get QuikCam for $0.99 here from the
I think we can all agree that any time you can transfer information quickly, easily and wirelessly between devices beats having to plug in a cable and do it via iTunes any day. My interest in PhotoSync arose when I saw it as an easy and fast way of getting a shot taken with my DSLR that was on my computer in Lightroom over to my iPad to use in a model release App. While there are other iOS Apps that allow you to wirelessly (Bump) images between devices, I like Photosync because it adds the ability to do it not only between iOS devices but also your computer too. You can install PhotoSync on each of your iOS devices. You can also download install the FREE PhotoSync companion app for your Mac or Windows PC. Transfers between Mac/PC and your iOS device happen via WiFi. Transfers between your iOS devices themselves can happen via WiFi or Bluetooth. PhotoSync allows you to send images or videos.
It works very well
This was one of the easiest Apps to setup that I've ever tried. The beauty is that there is no account to setup. The devices see each other automatically by just launching the app on each device. Select the images/video in your camera roll or albums and tap the Sync button. You will then see a list of available devices (running the app) on your network to send to. Tap the iOS device or computer that you want to send to and off they go. From your computer you can go the other way and this is what I wanted to setup. I even setup a Lightroom Export Preset to export my RAW images to JPG, put them in a folder and then fire up the PhotoSync app on my Mac automatically to start the transfer. The images show up in my iPad's camera roll and of course from there they are accessible to all my Apps that use photos. While the iPad 2 does have a camera and this lessons my need for this workflow, the camera on the iPad 2 is, let's just say not the best for taking quality pics. Your iPhone's camera is WAY BETTER and your digital point and shoot or DSLR is even better yet.
Send to the Cloud too
The latest version of PhotoSync added the ability to send images/video directly to your Dropbox and Flickr accounts as well as an FTP server of your choosing. This leads me to my only feature request. The App works beautifully but there is one thing I want and that is Bluetooth support for Computer to iOS device transfers. I can imagine being out in the field with a iPhone or iPad 3G and wirelessly syncing shots taken with my DSLR from my computer over to either of those 3G enable iOS devices for instant sharing/uploading. If Bluetooth support were there on the companion App for Mac/PC then you wouldn't need a WiFi hotspot to make those transfers. Also if there was a WiFi hotspot available then you could just upload from your computer anyway. Otherwise, I find PhotoSync to be VERY USEFUL!
You can get PhotoSync for your iOS devices for $1.99 here from the
Hipstamatic
I love the look and feel of analog “plastic” cameras. The unpredictability and quirkiness have always drawn me in and allowed for really fun photographs. When I saw the Hipstamatic App for the iPhone/iPod Touch I was really intrigued. With “swappable” lenses, film, and flashes I can have that fun plastic camera, analog feel that I always loved, on my iPhone.
That analog feel
Analog is what this App is all about. Back when I started in photography I would use plastic cameras that would leak light, had unpredictable exposures, and generally surprised you every time you developed a roll of film. Now with Hipstamatic I can have that same unpredictability, and fun with my iPhone.
Hipstamatic comes preloaded with multiple lens, film, and flash combinations, and offers many more of each via in App purchases. I have bought extra lenses, as well as the BlacKeys B+W film to try out. I really enjoy the monotone grainy feel of this film and recommend it to anyone. If you’re looking for a really cool color film, I prefer the Kodot ZGrizzled. It makes some really funky colors along with a really cool torn looking border.
Settings
There really aren’t a whole lot of settings to adjust inside of the App. You can change your lenses, your flash type, and film type like previously noted. You can also choose the image quality from standard, medium, and fine. Beyond that, there isn’t much else to change. The object of this App is fun. You never know exactly what you’re going to get out of it, and that’s why I love it so much.
Flash
From what I’ve found, this App works best without flash. It seems like any time I use the flash (no matter which virtual flash I have chosen) the center of the image becomes washed out and has a weird flare. This effect may work great for you, but personally I prefer the natural light look best.
Conclusion
This is an App for anyone that loves the analog look. With the multiple choices of lenses, film, and flashes the image combinations are seemingly endless. Even if you don’t have a specific love with analog, this App is just fun to use.
You can get Hipstamatic for $1.99 here from the
All my iPad toting photographer buddies have been looking for a solution to allow them to shoot wirelessly from their camera/DSLR to their iPads. The obvious benefit is seeing your photography instantly on the nice large iPad display. Also with the iPad you have several image editing apps to choose from as well as image sharing options. Yep, the iPad is great tool for photographers, but it's not a great camera. If you already have a great camera, this App let's you tie them together!
Wirelessly transmit images to your iOS Device
Shuttersnitch is not really tied to any one solution or camera manufacturer. It has built-in support for FTP (which many of the wireless solutions use). It also has built-in support for Eye-Fi WiFi SD memory cards. In order for this solution to work your iPad has to be on a WiFi network. Typically you would want your wireless transmitting device to be on the same network. The iPad doesn't have the ability to create an AdHoc network, so that means that you either have to have access to a WiFi hotspot or your transmitting device has to be able to create an Adhoc network. Currently Eye-Fi cards don't do that yet. You could probably use your iPhone's (or other phone's) mobile hotspot feature too!
Working with an EyeFi Card
I did a review of this solution today. Check it out here for all the details.
Here's a video on it working in real-time:
You can get an Eye-Fi Pro X2 8GB card here on sale.
What can you do once you get the images into the App
The App is nicely done allowing you to create collections to organze your images in either before or after you shoot. You can import RAW files too (provided they have a compatible JPG preview). Once you have images in the App you can then zoom/pan them as well as email them out directly from the App. You can also save them to the camera roll for later downloading and access by all your other Apps. The App displays important EXIF info like ISO, shutter speed, aperture and camera file name. You can Crop as well as tag images with Star ratings (great for client review while you're shooting). There are other nice touches like the ability to change the thumbnail size and to run a slideshow. Clearly this App was designed with photographers in mind.
What's wrong with it?
Actually nothing is wrong. The App works as advertised. The only problem I had was finding clear instructions on how to setup my Eye-Fi card to work with it. While the App displays an info box telling one thing to turn off in the Eye-Fi setup, it doesn't provide you with the steps you need to actually setup the card. After some digging on the forums of the developer site I found an FAQ walkthrough that answered my questions. The developer needs to take a few minutes and turn that FAQ into a real set of instructions with screen shots of what to set and how in the Eye-Fi control panel. Lastly, Wi-Fi is GREAT! However, I wondering if there would be a use for bluetooth transfers. The problem would likely be on the end of the device transmitting the images, but it would be nice to see something more direct as opposed to having to use a mobile hotspot or WiFi network. Not a ding of the App, just more wishful thinking.
The App is not cheap, but if you need to do this then it's a bargain!
You can get Shuttersnitch for $15.99 here from the
One of my Twitter followers asked me had I tried this App? While my first thought was "this thing will never be accurate enough", I decided to give it a shot in a real world scenario. Last week I had the pleasure of teaching a lighting class down in Texas. The lighting I was using in my class was the NEW Westcott Spiderlite TD6's. Since Spiderlites are a continuous light source it was the perfect opportunity to try out this App. Before I even remembered that I had the App on my iPhone someone in my class asked me if I ever used a light meter? Of course the answer was yes. I have a very nice Sekonic light meter, but I rarely use it in my studio. One reason is that I shoot tethered and I can see where to make adjustments after the first shot. Secondly I usually know where to start with my settings in my own environment. However, this time I was in a new setting. I had already taken some shots and got the results I wanted, but I decided to fire up the Pocket Light Meter app and see if it woud give me the same readings/settings.
It was really close
The shot above taken before metering was at 1/80, f/5, ISO 400. Had I not locked in the shutter speed in the App it would have been right on the money.
I was impressed with how well this worked. It was more accurate than I thought it would be. It takes a few moments for it to lock in, but in a pinch it should get you in the ballpark. If the App is consistently off in your environment there is an exposure compensation slider that lets you better calibrate the App for your setting. Just tap the i to ge to the controls.
The Bottom Line
This App doesn't replace a dedicated light meter! What it does do is give me a light meter that I will always have with me since I always have my iPhone with me. It has no way of working with or triggering a flash. If you're doing flash photography this won't be of much help. For the price (Free with Ads), you have no reason not to try it. I wish it would lock on a little faster, but part of that is limited by the camera on the device as well. While there is a Hold button on screen so that you can raise your device up to grab the reading and then hold it so that you can lock it in and see it as you bring your hand back down I'd like to see that button be larger or better let it be the whole screen. In other words hold down anywhere on the screen to capture the reading. I'd also like to hear a beep once the reading has been captured so that I know I can bring my hand down.
You can get a larger display and remove the ads with a $0.99 In App Purchase.
You can get Pocket Light Meter for Free here from the
I had the great pleasure of reviewing Joe McNally's new book – The LIFE Guide to Digital Photography and at the time I had no idea that it was also available as an iPad App. If you're even remotely interested in digital photography this is one of those books that you just can't put down. I'm not sure what I expected in the iPad App. Sure I assumed I'd be able to flip through the pages, see and zoom in on the photos, etc. However, what I didn't expect was such an immersive experience complete with video. This App is a prime example of not only how to do it right, but what's to come in terms of digital learning on devices. As a kid I wasn't that interested in reading. I was easily distracted and even to this day I probably write more books than I read Had there been these kinds of books/Apps as I was growing up I'd probably be a lot smarter today. While I certainly learn from reading what Joe has written here. I feel like I haven't really read the printed book at all. The reason is that in the App there are videos where Joe is explaining things and to hear his passion and the way he explains and illustrates a subject just can't come through in the printed word. Don't get me wrong, the printed word is important and is there in the App, but the use of audio, video and imagery makes this a totally different experience.
Easy to navigate with onscreen help
One of the first things I noticed was the onscreen help telling you at glance what all the icons are for and how to navigate the App. This is important because otherwise you may miss something. I also like how it tells you with a side bar when there are more pages to scroll down. This way you don't waste your time trying to flick every page up to see if there is more. If there is a shot that you want to know how it was captured you can usually tap and see the exact camera settings.
This App is an example of how books should be done. I feel sorry for any "print only" publisher that isn't embracing this kind of technology. While the App does perform there were a couple of little glitches for example if I started watching a video and then rotated my iPad the page would refresh and the video would stop playing. Not the end of the world, but something that needs to be tightened up in an update.
You can get the LIFE Digital Photo Guide for iPad for $14.99 here from the If you're a photographer and you want to be inspired you'd be crazy not to get it!
One of the things that I've always wanted to do from day one with my iPad is to somehow work it into my photography workflow and shoot tethered directly to it. Unfortunately this has not become a reality quite yet due to the restrictions that Apple imposes on what can connect and be controlled directly to/by the iPad. The good news is that onOne Software has come up with the closest, best solution to the problem that I've seen to date. Granted it requires a computer in the middle of the process, but it's really either that or nothing at all.
How does it work?
The first thing you need is a compatible DSLR. It works with the most popular Nikon and Canon DSLRs. The next thing you'll need is a Mac or PC running the DSLR Camera Remote Server (free download). Your Mac/PC will need to be on the same WiFi/network as your iPad. You'll also need a long USB cable to tether your camera to your computer. You then turn on your camera and fire up the server App. At this point you should be able to connect to the server over your WiFi network from the DSLR Camera Remote HD App running on your iPad. You can control many of the settings on your camera directly from within the App on your iPad. You can even bring up Live View (if your camera supports it) and see exactly what your camera is seeing in real-time on your iPad. This latest version not only supports my New Nikon D7000, but it also supports video controls too. I can use the App to start/stop recording as well as take still photos. This new version also allows you to save a low res version directly to the iPad's Camera Roll for quick sharing.
Lightroom Integration
By default the images captured from your camera are merely dumped into a folder of your choosing when you setup the server. There is an option to have a copy of those images automatically go into a Lightroom Watched Folder for auto import. This is the best of both worlds as someone could be reviewing and making picks on the computer in Lightroom as the photographer continues to shoot and review on the iPad.
Use Case
While it would be nice to just be able to use the iPad connected directly to your camera, there are some cool use cases for using this setup wirelessly. One great scenario is shooting an event like a wedding. You could have a camera setup in a location like behind the minister/priest to get that angle of the bride and groom. This is sometimes a difficult location to have a physical person stand in as it detracts from the wedding itself. This way as the photographer you could see on your iPad exactly what's going on and know when to fire the shutter without being anywhere near the camera. Since it's WiFi you could even be in a different room.
The Bottom Line
The onOne DSLR Camera Remote HD App is an elegant solution to a large (almost unsolvable) problem. They've done an excellent job in giving photographers the freedom to be almost anywhere nearby and not only control the camera, but also see the images that are being captured. All this in the palm of your hands with the iPad. While the App performs exactly as advertised I'd like to see a couple of small things addressed. For example, when you save a local copy of the image on the iPad there is no indication that it worked when you tap the button. It would be nice if it perhaps put a check mark on the thumbnail indicating that you saved that one to the iPad's camera roll. Also if you fire up the App and you don't have the server running you can't do anything. It just sits there with a blank screen and I know that really there's not a whole lot that you could do without the camera connected, but it would be nice to see perhaps the last cached thumbnails in the app.
If you shoot in a studio environment or on location where you can setup an adhock WiFi network, this is a GREAT solution to have in your tool bag.
You can get DSLR Camera Remote HD for $49.99 here from the
You can also get DSLR Camera Remote Professional Edition for your iPhone/iPod touch for $19.99 here from the
I don’t do a whole lot of image editing on the iPad, and even less selective coloring. With the lack of camera, there is rarely an image that enters my iPad that hasn’t been retouched already so I really don’t download a whole lot of iPad image editing Apps. Photo Delight is different. It has one cool little feature that really makes it useful; with Photo Delight you can download any image from any of your Facebook friend’s albums, this is a little something different that makes it really fun to use.
A Word about the UI
I am all about easy to use, well thought out user interfaces. Photo Delight is both. From the time you launch the App to the moment you save, share, or print your image the interface has been designed with ease of use as the primary concern. There are two ways to load images to the workspace. You either load them from one of your albums, or use the Facebook interface to load either an image from your Facebook profile, or from any of your friend’s Facebook photo albums. This is a really great feature, and the first time I’ve seen an image editing App give you the ability to load your friends pictures from Facebook. I hope all of the other editing Apps are reading this and taking note.
Like the other quality selective color Apps that I have tried out, Photo Delight desaturates the image initially and you “paint” the color back where you want it. Also just like most of the quality selective coloring Apps, Photo Delight allows you to select the opacity of the area that you are repainting. It also allows for brush size adjustment, hard or soft edged brushes, and an eraser option if you paint an area that you didn’t intend on painting. Another great feature that I’m glad they included is the ability to zoom in to near pixel level to select your areas. Using two fingers just as you do in most other places on the iPad, pinching zooms in and out of photos. This allows precision for when you are in normal brush mode. To be honest though, I hardly ever go into normal brush mode, I am almost exclusively in the mode that makes this a “Best App” for me; Smart Brush mode. For anyone familiar with the way that Auto Mask works in Photoshop Lightroom, you will feel right at home with the Smart Brush in Photo Delight. Selecting Smart Brush tells the App that the next color area that you select is the only color that you want to paint back as long as you don’t lift your finger off of the screen. Each time you lift your finger off of the screen and re touch the screen you select a new color range for your Smart Brush. This is an extremely helpful, and useful addition that really takes it to a new level in my opinion.
Once you’re done recoloring your images you have to decide what to do with them. As you would expect in almost any App designed for image manipulation on the iPad you can share via email, twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and of course save the image to your camera roll. The export feature that got my attention however was Air Print. Now I know that Air Print isn’t anything new, but it’s nice to be able to print your new selectively colored image to your wireless printer directly from your iPad. Most of the images that I will be selectively coloring on my iPad will be just for fun anyway, so being able to print a quick 4X6 or 5X7 is nice.
In the end…
Selective coloring isn’t anything new to the iPad but the level of control that Photo Delight brings to the platform makes it stand out above other Apps of its kind. If I were to add anything to this App it would probably just be a couple of more editing tools but this is nit picking. If you want to do selective coloring on the iPad, this is the App to have.
Get Photo Delight for the iPad for $1.99 here from the
