Yes, Halloween is over! However, this doesn’t mean you cannot show off your awesome costume for just a little longer. Postagram is sponsoring the Costume Contest: contestants get a chance to win an iPro Lens from Schneider Optics for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s.
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Category: News
Latest news on photo apps for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.
The Mobile Photo Awards – Open for Submissions
The Mobile Photo Awards are addressed to all mobile photographers out there. To take part in the contest, an entry fee of $20 for three images and $30 for five images is required; every image submitted is allowed for inclusion to up to three categories.
Mobile photography has acquired an enormous following over the last few years and it is now considered by many an alternative and valid form of visual art, on par with traditional photography. Thanks to the diffusion of mobile devices, even amateurs with no previous experience and with no background in photography are given an easy and accessible form of expression.
The Mobile Photo Awards are addressed to all mobile photographers out there. To take part in the contest, an entry fee of $20 for three images and $30 for five images is required; every image submitted is allowed for inclusion to up to three categories. Categories span a broad spectrum of photography genres, from Architecture to Digital Art & Collage. Specially sponsored app categories offer even more possibilities and hints to get creative. A Jury composed by renown names in the world of mobile photography will be judging all the images submitted. Note that any photo taken/processed with a mobile device is eligible for entry, regardless of the specific medium and software used.
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The iPhone 4S Camera in Detail
The new iPhone 4S announced today by Apple will include an upgraded camera, as we had previously speculated. As a matter of fact, the camera was one of the main points during Apple’s keynote, showing the importance of photography on smartphones also from a marketing point of view.
The new iPhone 4S announced today by Apple will include an upgraded camera, as we had previously speculated. As a matter of fact, the camera was one of the main points during Apple’s keynote, showing the importance of photography on smartphones also from a marketing point of view.
Apple Unveils iPhone 4S
In one of the most awaited keynotes in the history of the iOS platform, Apple unveiled today their next iPhone, the iPhone 4S. The keynote was held in Apple’s Town Hall room, where the first iPod was launched 10 years ago. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple after Steve Jobs resigned this August, led the show passionately.
In one of the most awaited keynotes in the history of the iOS platform, Apple unveiled today their next iPhone, the iPhone 4S. The keynote was held in Apple’s Town Hall room, where the first iPod was launched 10 years ago. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple after Steve Jobs resigned this August, led the show passionately, and was joined on stage by other Apple representatives. Phil Schiller, Apple’s marketing director, had the task to announce the iPhone 4S.
While a lot of fans that were eagerly waiting for an iPhone 5 announcement are already voicing their dissatisfaction though social networks and on technology blogs, the iPhone 4S includes the hardware enhancements that most were expecting. And the best news for iPhone photographers is that improvements to the camera made up a consistent part of the iPhone 4S announcement.
On the outside, the iPhone 4S looks exactly like its predecessor; anyhow, all the interior components had a consistent upgrade. The main features of the new iPhone include:
– New A5 processor: same chip currently used in the iPad 2. The new iPhone should be 7 times faster than the iPhone 4 at rendering graphics, according to Apple and representatives of Epic Games, on stage to show the demo of their new game, Infinity Blade 2.
– 8MP Camera with improved optics: 5 lenses instead of 4, improved light sensitivity, ability to shoot 1080p videos, faster sensor, which coupled with the new processor should make photography and video processing apps considerably faster. We will have a separate article today with more discussion on the camera improvements.
– Siri: voice based assistant, which will allow users to interact with their iPhone only using their voice. While this might seem a software only feature, it will be available only to iPhone 4S.
– New dual antenna system: the new antenna system will improve reception and allows Apple to manufacture a universal version of their iPhone able to connect to both CDMA- and GSM-based networks.
– iOS 5 and iCloud service: both available on October 12. iOS 5 will include a new camera app version and new software from Apple.
iPhone 4S: Price and Availability
The iPhone 4S will first launch in the U.S. and in 7 more countries (Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan) on October 14th. Apple will start accepting preorders on October 7th.
The price of the iPhone 4s in the U.S. will be $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB model, and $399 for the 64GB model. We could not find a list of prices for all models outside the U.S., but so far we know that prices for the phone without subscription will be £499.00 for the base model in the U.K., and 629€ in Germany and France (and I suppose in most of Europe, even though the price is not showing up in other stores yet).
On October 22nd, the iPhone 4S will become available in 22 more countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland).
By the end of the year, the iPhone 4S will be available in over 70 countries.
iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS Prices
Both models will be available and will support the new iOS 5 features (with the exception of the Siri system). In the U.S. the iPhone 4 8GB will cost $99 with a phone subscription; the iPhone 3GS will be free with an AT&T subscription.
Stay tuned for a couple more articles: one highlighting the new camera features, the other discussing iOS 5.
You can watch the keynote here, and the iPhone 4s introductory video here.
iPhone 5 to Have 8MP Camera, Suggests “Leaked” Photo
A photo uploaded on Flickr, supposedly taken by an Apple engineer at Cupertino, could be the first “leaked” image taken with an iPhone 5. Pocketnow.com, a website focusing on smartphones, discovered the photo while browsing Flickr looking for images taken with the new iPhone 5. ArsTechnica also commented on the find, considering the leak plausible enough.
According to the GPS data contained in the photo (which, of course, could also be forged) and the info on the Flickr profile, the photo was uploaded by an engineer at Cupertino this July, during lunch. Soon after the news about the leaked photo started spreading, the guy removed the photo from public viewing.
While the EXIF of the photo lists the camera as an iPhone 4, the pixel dimensions of the photo (2291 x 2235) don’t match those of the current iPhone 4 (2592 x 1936). According to the EXIF data, the photo was also cropped from an original resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels, or 8MP.
Other interesting data in the EXIF include:
- Maximum aperture: f/2.4 (current iPhone 4 maximum aperture is f/2.8)
- Focal length:4.28mm (current iPhone 4 focal length is 3.85mm)
ArsTechnica goes on with an analysis of the EXIF and a comparison with photos taken with current generation smartphones equipped with 8MP sensors, concluding that that new iPhone might offer little improvements over the current iPhone 4 camera, especially in terms of noise reduction.
Whether this leak is an hoax or not, the iPhone 5 is expected to launch in the next months, possibly as early as October. In fact, while details on the device are scarce, according to the latest reports, suppliers are already manufacturing the iPhone 5 components at full speed, with 150,000 units being assembled each day.
This fall will also see the release of iOS 5, which will be compatible also with current generation iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS.
Coming Soon: Adobe Carousel
Adobe announced Carousel, a new cloud-based service dedicated to photo storage and sharing. Adobe Carousel, which will be released later this month, will make it possible to store, edit and share images across Apple devices.
After downloading Carousel from the App Store, users will be able to browse their entire photo libraries from anywhere, perform post-processing making use of the same technology of Lightroom, and share their images with their contacts — all without the need to sync. Carousel will allow its users to catalogue photos, enhance them by adjusting various settings and by applying presets, and to create unlimited image galleries which they will be able to share with up to five people. A single Adobe ID will be required to access the service from all iDevices — that is, Macs running OS X Lion and iPhone 3GS/iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4G and iPad/iPad 2.
The introductory price for subscribers will be $59.99 a year or US$5.99 a month — the offer will be valid until January 31, 2012 — while the regular price to access the service will be $99.99 a year or US$9.99 a month. As for other Adobe products, a 30-day free trial period will be available.
Although Adobe state on their site that support for Windows and Android is in the works, Carousel will be open at the beginning only to Apple users.
Get to Know Your Hipstamatic with AppJudgement & Doc Pop
The folks at AppJudgment recently released a “Master iPhone Photography” episode focusing on the best-selling photo app Hipstamatic. The show was co-hosted by Doctor Popular, who, as his moniker suggests, is a well-known name, especially in the Instagram community. Thanks to his creative use of iPhone apps in his “appsperiments”, Doc Pop gained a huge following and succeeded in winning the media’s attention — which also includes a feature in the New York Times.
AppJudgement’s Hipstamatic episode is entirely dedicated on uncovering tips and tricks to make the most of Hipstamatic. How much do you really know about the app? Are you a timid user or an experimenter? Wanna find out?
If you want to know more on Appjudgment, you can visit their official page here.
The Original iPhone Film Festival Open for Submissions
In recent years, thanks to new technologies, it has become significantly easier for independent film-makers to shoot, edit and find alternative channels of distribution for their works. Both amateurs and professionals in the movie and TV industry are exploring the possibilities offered by hugely popular consumer devices like the Apple iPhone and iPad. Several initiatives to promote creative efforts in connection to these new media are emerging everyday.
Worth mentioning to the creative iPhone and iPad community is the Original iPhone Film Festival, which is currently looking for passionate videographers to take part in the first edition of the event. The Original iPhone Film Festival is an online festival addressed to those who are into indie film-making and have embraced the possibilities offered by their iDevice as a means of expression.
The festival’s rules are simple: submitted videos must be entirely shot on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad 2. Editing on iOS devices is recommended but not mandatory. Videos can be submitted to any of the accepted categories: fiction, non-fiction, brand film and music video. Submitting is 100% free and there is no limit to number of entries per person. A jury composed by experts will choose the winners of the festival — Lasse Hallström will be judging too!
Deadline for submissions is October 31, 2011. If you want to know more about the Original iPhone Film Festival, please visit the event’s official page.
OpenPhoto: Set Your Photos Free
Some news that caught my attention earlier this month concern an open source project that could definitely bring some fresh air and, hopefully, new exciting possibilities both to casual and dedicated photographers. OpenPhoto — this is the name of the project — will be an open source equivalent of many photo sharing services we are already acquainted with, like the various Flickr, Smugmug, Picasa, Photobucket and so on.
Do we need another photo sharing service?
The answer to this question depends, of course, on what kind of photo sharing we are talking about. The principle inspiring OpenPhoto is, at its core, very simple: you shouldn’t be forced to commit yourself to a company when all you want to do is simply enjoying the sharing of your own photos. The difference between OpenPhoto and other services is that you will be given the freedom to use your photos as you like and the photos will remain yours and yours alone. No more dealing with cryptic terms of service that, ultimately, go to the advantage of the service provider; no more situations in which somebody has a final say on what you can do and what you cannot do with your own creations.
OpenPhoto will provide a sharing service that will rely on users’ cloud storage accounts like those on Dropbox, Rackspace and Amazon S3, to host not only photos, but also tags and comments.
In the words of Jaisen Mathai, former software engineer for Yahoo! and project founder, OpenPhoto is the “digital equivalent of shoe-boxes filled with photos”, only safer and more convenient: take your photos with you always, use them as you wish, post them on other services like Twitter and Facebook. The project’s funding on Kickstarter was successful and updates are expected in the forthcoming months.
As for the question that probably interests many of you: will a mobile (iPhone, Android) version be available? The project founder clearly stated that it’s in his intention to bring OpenPhoto to mobile platforms. However, both iPhone and Android applications are not the top priority for the present moment. This means it’s very likely OpenPhoto will eventually arrive to your mobile device, but it’s not possible at the moment to predict when or how this will happen.
If you are interested in learning more about this project and if you want to keep yourself updated on further developments, please visit the official OpenPhoto page or follow OpenPhoto on Twitter.
New Telephoto Lens for Your Camera Phone
Photojojo just released their new telephoto cell phone lens, out now and available from their shop. The new lens is the third release in a series of cell phone camera add-ons, which also include a macro/wide angle and a fisheye lens.
With a 2x zoom capability, the telephoto is the aid you are looking for if you want to make subjects look closer in your photos. Like the macro/wide angle and the fisheye, the telephoto lens is compatible with most cell phone cameras. Yes, also with your older iPhone model. To attach it to the camera, the lens features a detachable magnetic ring. Front and back covers come with the lens to prevent scratching.
Note that in Photojojo FAQ it is stated that lenses will fit most cell phone bodies, but iPhone 3GS and 4 users will experience some issue due to the design of their devices (the curved body in 3GS and the flash in 4 getting in the way). Note also that the lens produces intense vignetting around the borders of photos taken with it. The vignetting may be a problem for some users, although for others it may be a point in favor, as it gives photos a peculiar style.
The new telephoto ships for $20, but it’s possible to get the complete three-lens kit at the special price of $49.