Camera de-Bugs
More iPhone updates.
I have a 3G. One of my (few) big beefs with this phone was that in a single, but very significant way, I went backward when I switched from my Motorola Razr to my iPhone: no video! With my old phone I could take photos and also short video clips. For inexplicable reasons, the 3G would not record video, though a jailbroke 3G could (so clearly, it wasn't a technology issue!), and the 3GS would.
The other annoying thing was that the camera lacked a zoom control!
Just recently, I installed three little applications that took care of all that. And your phone needn't be jailbroke to get them!
First, there's iVideoCamera from the labs @ laan. This is an extremely cool little app that allows video recording, WiFi Sharing (via networks like Twitter and Facebook), SMS sharing, and emailing.
In addition to shooting and sharing, users can store and process video using effects (4 are included, additional effects are for a nominal download fee). Included are Vintage, Heat, Snow and Breaking News. You can also opt for Dancing Hearts, Night Vision, Infinite Zoom, and the brand new "obama vision," whatever that is, among others.
It works pretty much as promised - a nice quality video was sent to a friend in reasonably quick time. And it's only $.99!
Next, to solve the zoom problem, and get some other nifty features as well, download Gorillacam from Joby. A free app, this one allows you to zoom, and with the "anti-shake" feature enabled, will do a reasonably good job of stabilizing and focusing those closeup photos. You can also enable time-lapse, a bubble level, a grid, a three-shot burst (kinda like the old motor wind for rapid-fire photo sequences), a self-timer, and here's my favorite: if you've ever tried to take a photo of yourself, or one of you and a friend, you know how difficult it is to hit the little camera icon when it's on the "back" side of your iPhone. With the "Press Anywhere" feature, you can touch any spot on the face of the phone to snap a photo. Sweet!
Finally, there's CameraBag from NeverCenter. This app lets you shoot a photo, and then filter it to create some fun (and even useful!) effects. Granted, it's a $2.99 application, but with it you can add these effects to your shots:
I have a 3G. One of my (few) big beefs with this phone was that in a single, but very significant way, I went backward when I switched from my Motorola Razr to my iPhone: no video! With my old phone I could take photos and also short video clips. For inexplicable reasons, the 3G would not record video, though a jailbroke 3G could (so clearly, it wasn't a technology issue!), and the 3GS would.
The other annoying thing was that the camera lacked a zoom control!
Just recently, I installed three little applications that took care of all that. And your phone needn't be jailbroke to get them!
First, there's iVideoCamera from the labs @ laan. This is an extremely cool little app that allows video recording, WiFi Sharing (via networks like Twitter and Facebook), SMS sharing, and emailing.
In addition to shooting and sharing, users can store and process video using effects (4 are included, additional effects are for a nominal download fee). Included are Vintage, Heat, Snow and Breaking News. You can also opt for Dancing Hearts, Night Vision, Infinite Zoom, and the brand new "obama vision," whatever that is, among others.
It works pretty much as promised - a nice quality video was sent to a friend in reasonably quick time. And it's only $.99!
Next, to solve the zoom problem, and get some other nifty features as well, download Gorillacam from Joby. A free app, this one allows you to zoom, and with the "anti-shake" feature enabled, will do a reasonably good job of stabilizing and focusing those closeup photos. You can also enable time-lapse, a bubble level, a grid, a three-shot burst (kinda like the old motor wind for rapid-fire photo sequences), a self-timer, and here's my favorite: if you've ever tried to take a photo of yourself, or one of you and a friend, you know how difficult it is to hit the little camera icon when it's on the "back" side of your iPhone. With the "Press Anywhere" feature, you can touch any spot on the face of the phone to snap a photo. Sweet!
Finally, there's CameraBag from NeverCenter. This app lets you shoot a photo, and then filter it to create some fun (and even useful!) effects. Granted, it's a $2.99 application, but with it you can add these effects to your shots:
- Helga: this desaturates and adds a vignette border as well as crops the photo.
- Lolo: crops the photo to a square, adds a white border and increases situation and contrast.
- Cinema: desaturates photo and adds a blue tone to the photo.
- Ansel: Adds white border and converts picture to Black & White (grayscale).
- 1962: converts to black & white (grayscale) and increases contrast.
- 1974s: adds sepia tone to photo, adds white border and crops photo.
- Fisheye: Creates a bubble type of effect with your photo. (not really fisheye).
- Infrared: Converts the photo to black & white (grayscale) then Inverts the colors.
This application is also available for your desktop.
So, for a $4 investment, you can go from a so-so iPhone 3G to a robust-featured camera phone in three quick downloads.
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