App Review: Camera Genius by CodeGoo

Apple’s latest iPhone has pretty much everything: GPS, iPod functions, Safari, Voice Control, Camera and so much more.  The latest generation has also improved the camera capabilities of the 3GS and significantly improved its quality.  However, the latest camera app from Apple still doesn’t go far enough and the fact that Camera Zoom v1.1 has been in the number one position in the app store is testament to that.  Camera Genius takes what Camera Zoom has done, but adds a lot more value and function (even some great photography tips) for the same price (currently).

Similar to Camera Zoom, Camera Genius also has a digital zoom feature that works pretty much identically to the afore mentioned app.  However, Camera Genius brings other missing and interesting features such as Sound Capture (more below), Anti Shake, Big Button, Guide lines and my favorite, Self Timer.  Let’s look at each of these in further detail:

1. Camera Zoom.  Similar to the app “Camera Zoom v1.1″, this feature adds a slider to the screen that controls the digital zoom of the app.  Digital zoom can be adjusted easily by moving the slider.  Unlike Camera Zoom v1.1 (the app), I didn’t have time to do any photographic tests to see if digitally zoomed images have any processing done to them to make them sharper.  However, if it’s anything like what is offered by the other app, then this is a great feature.

2. Sound Capture.  Enabling this function is not what you think it is.  No, it does not capture sound with your photo, which is what I originally thought it was when I first saw it.  Instead, it’s a new take on a self timer function.  When this is enabled, the app will take a picture when the noise it hears reaches a high enough level.  Or, in easier terms, if you setup your iPhone to take a pic then say “cheese!” the app will then take the picture.  Like I said, it’s an interesting and fun twist on the self timer function.  I like it.

3. Anti Shake.  There have been several other camera apps in the app store that have implemented this same function in pretty much this same manner.  How this works is, the app enables the accellerometer in the device, then waits for the vibrations and movements of the accellerometer to lower to a reasonable level then it will trigger the shutter.  One addition that Camera Genius adds that I have not seen on other implementations is a shake meter.  This gives you a visual representation of the shaking and vibrations that the device is subject to.  Very cool.

4. Big Button.  Big button is just that, it turns the whole screen into a shutter release button.  So, if you’re like me and have a hard time finding the shutter button on the current app then this should help.  Once enabled, just touch anywhere on the screen and your picture will be captured.

5. Guides.  As a photography buff there is one thing that drives me crazy… crooked pictures.  Camera Genius adds a full set of on-screen guide lines that you can overlay the liveview image with.  Use the guides to level your shot against the horizon or simply help you frame your shot using the rule of thirds.  Many digital cameras have the option to enable guide lines through their options menu and I’m happy to see them here.

6. Self Timer.  Self timer is pretty self-explanatory if I don’t say so myself.  However, this self-timer does go slightly further by allowing you to cycle through 2, 5, 10, 15, 30 second timer options.

7. Camera Manual.  Unlike any other camera app I’ve seen, Camera Genius actually provides a “quick reference guide” of photography right wihin the app for easy access.  The guide, or manual, offers eight highly effective (yet often overlooked) photographic tips from “focal point” to the “rule of thirds.”

I’ve installed many camera apps on my iPhones over the past year.  In fact, I just barely got finished testing and using Camera Zoom v1.1 when I stumbled upon Camera Genius and I’m already writing this review.  Since dSLR camera gear is so expensive, I take my addiction out on camera apps from the app store!  However, there are few of these apps that are ever worth their value that you paid for it and few of them stay installed on my iPhone for longer than a day or two (and never get mentioned on AppChatter either).

While I’ve been very impressed with all of the useful functions of Camera Genius it does have a couple of minor drawbacks that I would love to see the developer improve or add.  The first of which is the touch to focus function of the new 3GS iPhones.  This is such an excellent addition in the new devices and I use it regularly.  Unfortunately, touch to focus is not included in Camera Genius (apparently this is an SDK limitation).  Second, the sound activated shutter is not sensitive enough.  When we tested this out with the phone just a few feet away we were practically yelling before the picture triggered.  So, while a neat little feature it is, the sensitivity needs to be slightly better to make it truly useful.

Camera Genius is, in large part, what Apples own camera app should have been.  All of the missing features that I would like to see in the real camera app are implemented here (and even a few others).  If you take a lot of pictures with your iPhone then I highly encourage you to look at Camera Genius, it’s, well…. Genius!

Note: Camera Genius was $.99 when tested, however the regular price is stated as $2.99.

App Review: Camera Zoom v1.1 by KendiTech with Samples

Camera Zoom by KendiTech has been holding strong on the App Store’s top 100 list. In reality, there’s no wonder that an app offering a zoom function on the iPhone would be doing so well as this is a feature that most iPhone users wished the iPhone had. Well, now, through the Camera Zoom app, you can have it today.

Nearly every camera on the market, be it in a cell phone or not, has some type of zoom capability built in. Most (real) cameras have a combination of optical zoom and digital zoom capability that offer the photographer some flexibility in their photo snapping experience. However, everyone also knows that the only type of zoom worth having is optical zoom, since this leverages the lens to do the zoom work and allows the camera to use the full megapixel capability of the sensor for each image taken. Digital zoom, on the other hand, is where a camera will take the same resolution image at every zoom level, but then process the image by cropping and enhancing the result to give the user the effect of true optical zoom. So, in essence, the further you zoom in on a digital zoom system, the less effective pixels of the sensor you are using and your final result would have less detail in it.

Being a photo buff myself, I’ve scoffed at the Camera Zoom app since it hit the app store, since you wouldn’t catch me using digital zoom on any image. I much prefer to take my pics on my 3GS and post-process them in Photoshop (or even PhotoForge) where I have greater control and can sharpen them as necessary should I decide to crop them. So, needless to say, I have been putting off for some time to try out Camera Zoom.

Review

Upon launching Camera Zoom on your iPhone, you are presented with a familiar camera interface but with one exception: the presence of a slider on the bottom edge of the screen. Since the app is called “Camera Zoom” it’s not hard to figure out what the slider is for - zooming. The first thing that struck me as odd however, is the focus/metering square of the 3GS is off-center (not touching the screen). When I compared the interface to the actual camera app, the image on Camera Zoom is already slightly zoomed from the original app and cannot but zoomed out to match that of the real camera app.

Taking pictures is easy, as one would expect. Simply slide the slider to the zoom you want, and touch the camera button on the bottom of the screen. If you have a 3GS camera, you can also touch the screen to focus / meter and then take you picture. The interface becomes a little odd here, since it appears as though the camera zoom app is actually zooming the camera interface in order to achieve the visual zoom effect. This makes for a rather odd experience when using the app.

The other issue I had with the app is that when previewing pictures, the preview function looks just like the camera roll in the real camera app, but does not have nearly the same functions. For example, you can preview a picture, but that’s it. No other controls or onscreen functions are provided. To email pics or copy/paste etc you will need to close Camera Zoom and launch the camera roll.

I did a series of photographic tests, to which only a couple of them are included in this review. The only real test worth doing is to compare the quality of the images coming from Camera Zoom to images coming from the real camera app, at different crop and zoom levels. The oddities that I mention above while, well, odd, don’t prevent one from taking zoomed pictures with the app. So, from here on out we’ll look at the end results.

My results after a few tests were actually rather surprising. The app appeared to perform rather well at digital zooming the image and achieved results that were on-par with my own post-processed images. There’s no doubt that the app is doing its own post-processing of the image in order to get a decent result after cropping away all the unused pixels. Looking at the pics below, you can see that the two images are very similar. On the left, is an image taken using the camera app and then post-processed (crop and unsharp mask) in PhotoForge and on the right, an image taken using Camera Zoom (no processing except for size). Here’s the results:

Camera App Cropped and unsharp mask in PhotoForge	Camera Zoom No processing except size.

As you can see, the two images are near identical. Both images exhibit significant noise artifacts (to be expected considering the dim lighting conditions and the amount of crop done to achieve the ‘zoom’ level). However, one cannot discount the ease of which it is to use Camera Zoom without having to post process. This is, in my opinion, the only reason why someone would use this app. For everyday, casual shooting the app works great. Digital zoom is easily and effectively achieved. However, if you care at all for image quality, then you’ll likely be the type to not even want to use digital zoom under any circumstance, even on your phone. For those I say, post process, to everyone else I say Camera Zoom is a great alternative.

App Review: Mosaica by Dapper Vision Inc.

Mosaica by Dapper Vision Inc allows you to take pictures of a scene and turn them into a mosaic.  A mosaic, since you’re wondering, is similar to a panorama except for a few major differences.  In a mosaic, the pictures are not stitched together to make a bigger image.  Instead, they are overlaid, where they overlap, and are then presented in an interactive manner in which the viewer can navigate the series of images.  Mosaica for iPhone brings mosaic imaging and building to your iPhone and allows you to share them on http://m.osaica.com.  The app also allows you to view other shared mosaics from the same website.

I recently took the app on a test run in our neighborhood and made a couple of mosaics.  The app performed as I would have expected and allowed me to easily make the mosaics, upload them to m.osaica.com and share them.  I was also able to easily view mosaics from other users, which was much more fun than making a mosaic.

To create your mosaic, assuming you’ve already found an interesting subject, you simply start the app, select My Mosaics then new and touch the camera icon on the bottom of the screen.  Take your first image, touch use in the bottom right and while it is processing the image touch the camera icon to take another image.  Repeat the steps as many times as you would like to add more images to the mosaic.  As soon as you’ve taken an image the app will start processing it against the other images taken, but don’t worry, just keep taking more images.

In reality, the app is fairly simple, so there’s really not that much to write about.  If you enjoy panoramas or mosaics or even just some cool imaging effects, then Mosaica by Dapper Vision is a must have app.  I find myself on occasion starting up the app just to check out the current popular mosaics as I find it kinda fun and interesting to see what others have created.  There’s also currently no reason not to get this app since it recently dropped to Free on the iTunes App Store.

Mosaica Tips

1. To toggle between edit and view mode just remember: portrait mode (phone is vertical) is edit while landscape mode is view.  This took some getting used to in order to get the controls back.  If you’ve lost the controls, turn the phone vertical.
2. Adding pictures to a mosaic is a bit confusing.  The trick is to just keep pressing the camera icon after each photo (regardless of the fact the app looks like it’s busy) and keep taking and adding pics.
3. Remember, this is not a panorama.  Mosaics are intereactive and my contain several overlapping images that can be the center of attention in your mosaic.
4. When creating your mosaic overlap your pictures buy big amounts.  If your pics just overlap by a bit (say 20%) then your mosaic can be a little boring.  The better mosaics have several images that overlap by more than half.
5. Now that you have your first creative mosaic, share it.  Mosaica adds its own URL shortner that you can use as a unique link to your mosaic.  Twitter anyone?

Developer’s Website: http://m.osaica.com/

App Review: PhotoForge by GhostBird Software

One of my more favorite genres of iPhone apps are those that fall under the photography category.  So, it shouldn’t be any surprise that I decided to checkout PhotoForge by GhostBird Sofware.  PhotoForge promises to be the Photoshop app for the iPhone by providing a robust and advanced set of editing functions and filters that you can apply to your images.

I recently installed the latest version of PhotoForge (1.6), and found that the primary complaint, not supporting the 3GS photo resolution, had been resolved. This problem would have been an immediate show stopper for me, but with the upgrade it’s no longer an issue.

PhotoForge is a very complete mobile imaging editor for your iPhone. The interface is incredibly easy to use and very intuitive.  It gives you easy access to all of the tools that the app offers. There are no cumbersome menus or tricks to get to the tools or filters you want to use. One of the features that I found helpful is that when you are editing the actual picture, the menu and tools slide away, giving you the maximum screen area.  As soon as you are done, though, they slide right back. Here’s a list of features:

ADJUSTMENTS
• Curves: Create your own filters. Edit in RGB, CMYK and CIELab color spaces.
• Sharpen & Unsharp Mask: Sharpen images to remove the softness introduced during digital photo capture.
• Noise Reduction: Digitally reduces color noise present in the photo. (Apply multiple times for more reduction)
• Simulated HDR: Produce images with greater detail by manipulating the visible range of an image’s highlights and shadows.
• Auto White Balance
• Auto Exposure
• Manual Exposure
• Manual Vibrance
• Hue, Saturation & Lightness
• Brightness & Contrast

TOOLS
• Crop tool: Crop, rotate, and flip.
• Brush tool: Experiment with 8 different brush strokes. Choose from unlimited sizes, colors, and transparency options.
• Smudge tool: Smears the pixels along the direction of the brush stroke.
• Clone Stamp tool: Sample pixels at one location in an image, and paint them in a different location.
• Eraser tool: Erase away portions of brush strokes, filters or effects applied to the image. For example, this tool will allow you to colorize black and white filtered images, among countless other uses.
• Magnify tool: Zoom in, out, and pan.
• Eye Dropper tool: Selects the color of individual pixels in an image.
• Fill tool: Fill the visible area of the image with color.

FILTERS
• Black & White, Dreamy, Enhanced, Lomo, Sepia, Water Color, Oil Painting, Night Vision, Heat Map, Pencil, Neon, Blur, Emboss, Sunset, Blue Sky and Television.

I have only one complaint with PhotoForge: While editing a photo, you are actually editing a low-resolution preview of the original. So if you zoom in to get a more detailed edit, the preview quickly becomes pixelated. You can still make the edit, and when the photo is saved it is saved at the higher resolution.  However, while you are editing it, you are stuck with a low-resolution copy. For the majority of your edits this wont be a big deal. However, if you’re doing really fine detailed work (want to see the results of unsharp mask, for example) then you would have to save your work and open the saved file in photo viewer to really see the results.

I found PhotoForge to be an easy and intuitive app for editing photos on your device. I loved the interface and the vast array of tools and filters that are available to use. I did not like the low-resolution image that you actually edit. However, if you’re looking for a complete, all-in-one photo editor for your iPhone that would offer some advanced filters then PhotoForge may be for you.

Tips

• As soon as you install the app, go to Settings->PhotoForge and change the default resolution from 1024 to “Max”. This will allow you to save your pictures in the full resolution, otherwise they will be saved at the default lower resolution when you’re finished editing them.
• It may be a little confusing at first, but edits are applied immediately to the preview. There is no “apply” button to touch.
• To see the full version preview you will need to save the picture and then open it in the camera roll app.

App Review: AutoStitch by CloudBurst Research

Being the photography buff that I am, and having used the excellent windows version of AutoStitch in the past, I couldn’t pass up the chance to try out the iPhone version.

Using AutoStitch for iPhone is incredibly easy.  The process is simple: use the regular iPhone camera app to take a series of pictures with your iPhone.  Be sure that the pictures overlap by about 25-30%.  Once you have a few overlapping pictures, launch AutoStitch on your iPhone.  Now that you have autostitch running, use the app to select images recently taken for your panorama.  As you tap each image the app will load them into a seperate view along the bottom.  Once you have the images selected, touch “Stitch” to put them all together. A few minutes later and you should have your panorama rendered on your phone.  Click Save and you’re done!

One drawback to any panorama program, regardless of what stitching program you use, is that resulting panoramas are always oddly shaped.  This is completely normal and is a result of the lens of the camera.  It’s OK, once you have your panorama saved from AutoStitch you can use Cropulator or Photogene to re-crop the resulting image into a nice rectangle.

I’ve only used AutoStitch for the iPhone a couple of times, but so far it works well.  If you’re looking for a panorama app for iPhone then AutoStitch is the best game in town.

AutoStitch is $1.99 in the iTunes App Store.

Developer Website

App Review: Cropulator by Digital Film Tools

I originally downloaded Cropulator (by Digital Film Tools) a few weeks ago, and after being very disappointed with the app, I decided it wasn’t worth my time for a review. However, with a recent update that hit the App Store last week, I decided I would give it another try.  This time I was pretty pleased with it.

Cropulator is a pretty straight forward app that provides two basic functions: image cropping and image rotation/straightening. Upon loading the app, you are prompted to select an image from the device’s photo store.  When the photo is loaded, you are automatically placed into cropping mode.  Cropping is easily accomplished by dragging the corners of the crop space to where you want them.  Then, touch save. Rotating the image works in a number of ways.  First, you can touch one of the two rotate 90 degree buttons which turns the image in the direction you chose. The second way to rotate a picture allows you to define a line that you want to be used as the horizontal or vertical horizon by swiping your finger across the picture in line with the horizon.  Using this function, you can take a crooked picture and draw a line across it horizontally.  The app will rotate the picture so that the line that you drew is a flat horizontal line.  There are also straighten buttons that, when touched, nudge the image rotation about 1 degree. These buttons are great for straightening a crooked shot.

I’m glad to see this version of the app overcome some of the deficiencies in the first version, and I’m still hoping that they keep improving on it by adding aspect ratio controls during crop mode.  Cropulator is a great app when it comes to simple crops and image rotation/straightening and is recommended if these are the edit functions you are looking for.

Cropulator is $0.99 in the iTunes App Store.

Developer Website: Digital Film Tools.

App Review: Photogene by Omer Shoor

As a photography and photo buff, I am always looking for good, quality, mobile photo apps.  I downloaded a few photography apps over the past several months and had given up on finding one that did the few things that I need to do on my phone in a mobile environment (ie. cropping, rotation and very minor corrections).  Enter Photogene.

I first saw Photogene when it hit the top 100 apps.  After I looked at it online and on iTunes, I decided to give it a go.  I went ahead and purchased it and I was not disappointed.  For the mobile photography enthusiast this app pretty much does everything you would need or even want to do on your iPhone.  The app is very intuitive and offers great control over your images for editing.  Photo edit functions include: crop (fixed aspect or not); rotation (incremental or 90 degrees); mirror image (vertical or horizontal); sharpness, pencil and other special effects; color adjustment including levels, exposure, etc; and the ability to add a frame, conversation bubble or other symbol. Another nice feature of Photogene is its unlimited undo and redo function so you can always get back to where you started.  When you’re done editing a picture, clicking the check box saves the image as a new image, leaving the original untouched.

Photogene by Omer Shoor is a great mobile photo editor and one that I’ve been looking for for a long time.  It’s $2.99 price is well worth it.

Photogene is $2.99 in the iTunes App Store.

Developer Website: Omer Shoor

App Review: ProCamera - brings shake-free to the iPhone Camera

Being a camera Guru that I am I couldn’t pass up the invitation to review ProCamera from daemgen.net.  With promise of sharper pictures and a self timer I was anxious to take the app for a test drive, after all every iPhone owner has been frustrated with blurry images, right?

So, to be clear, ProCamera does not offer anti-shake in the same sense that say, Canon or Nikon would in their current camera roundup.  After all, these cameras implement a system of moving lenses or sensors that counteract the movement of the camera which is clearly not provided by the iPhone’s built-in camera.  With ProCamera, sharper images are achieved by letting the accelerometer trigger the shutter.  So, if you have really shaky hands, then the app waits until movement has come to a stop, or near-stop and then it automatically takes the shot.  ProCamera achieves a sharper picture because the shot is not attempted until the app senses that the camera is held still.  There are three levels of accuracy for the anti-shake, the only notable difference is that in ‘high’ mode there will likely be a longer wait time before the picture is taken because the app looks for a more steady moment before snapping the pic.  Also, if you are taking pics of action (read: kids) forget it!  Undoubtedly the shot you’re after will be long gone before the app triggers the shutter.  This is already a major problem for most consumer cameras that must focus and then take the pic, so speedy shots would be an issue.

The second function: self timer, is actually just that - your typical self timer on any modern camera.  The wait time is adjustable, anywhere from 4 to 20 seconds and when the timer is within a few seconds of the shot it will start to beep louder so that you know its coming.

I took a series of indoor shots using ProCamera to achieve maximum sharpness.  Since it was in low light I was expecting to get some blurry shots, but I didn’t.  However, I did revert to the native camera app and took the same shot and my outcome was the same sharpness.  While my cursory use of the app didn’t achieve any notable difference in sharpness that’s not to say the implementation doesn’t work.  I’ve taken many shots in low light with the native camera app where they’ve all been blurry, my limited use (as of time of this writing) hasn’t shown any change over this.  I’ll amend once I’ve had more of a chance to use it.

If you’re looking for sharper images and a self timer then ProCamera is may just be the ticket for you.

ProCamera is $2.99 in the iTunes App Store.

Developer Website: http://www.daemgen.net

App Review: ColorSplash Adds a New Dimension to Photos

When I downloaded ColorSplash, I had seen several sample photos in the iTunes App Store and on Hendrick Kueck’s website.  They looked pretty cool so I thought I would give it a try.  What I didn’t realize was how fun it would be to create by own black and white pictures with a splash of color here or there.  The process turned out to be easier than I expected.  When you launch the app, it prompts you to visit their help section before beginning work on your first picture.  I would highly recommend doing so.  The help section explains what the app is capable of and the controls.  After reading the help, you can pull a picture from your photos on your iPod Touch or iPhone and set to work.

After you have a picture pulled up in ColorSplash, the app will automatically convert the picture to a black and white photo.  Your job then is to add the color back in key spots.  There are three buttons across the bottom of the screen.  The first is a pan and zoom button.  When this button is selected, you can move the picture around with a simple touch and zoom in or out using two fingers.  It is amazing how far this app allows you to zoom on the picture.  The zoom is essential to being able to color your picture just right.  The second button is the color button.  When this button is selected, you can add color to the screen by simply “coloring” with your finger.  The third button is the gray button.  It allows you to add gray back to the picture in any area that has color in just the same way you added the color.  This feature is very helpful when you make a mistake or change you mind.  At the top of the screen there is also a very handy undo button that will undo your previous brush strokes.  That one is a must have, as I found myself often needing to correct a slip of the finger.

The tools used for adding color, your brushes, are limited to 4 types.  Two of them produce opaque color or restore the ful color of the image all at once and the other two add back the color more gradually.  Within each group of two the brushes either have a sharp or soft edge to them.  These different brushes allow you to create different effects depending on whether the objects you are adding color to have sharp edges or less defined edges.  I was able to achieve the effects I needed with the brushes that I had.  Sometimes I had a hard time coloring in tiny spaces with these 4 brushes, even when I zoomed way in.  Luckily, there is a way to change the size of your brush tip.  ColorSplash places a couple of options in the Settings application of your device.  One of these options allows you to change the brush tip size and choose to show the brush tip while you are working.  These options can both be very helpful when working in a smal space of a photo.  Also in this menu is an option turn off the auto rotate on your device.  Sometimes it is hard to get the right angle between your painting finger and the photo on the screen.  It is helpful to be able to turn the photo without have the iPhone/iPod automatically rotate it to orient it right side up.

Another very handy feature is the ability to change your view mode.  The default mode is the black and white color mode.  If you are having trouble seeing what you have colored and what you haven’t, the second mode changes all of the colored sections to a bright red color.  The red makes it much easier to see exactly where the color is and isn’t.  If you must leave the app before you finish your picture, the app simply saves your session just the way it is and you can pick it up again later.  When you finish your work of art, you can easily save the picture to your Photos app.  ColorSplash has a lot of options built into a very user friendly interface.  It is a lot of fun to see what you can create.

ColorSplash is $1.99 in the iTunes App Store.