Getting Started in iPhone Photography with Tony Sweet

"The iPhone has become a popular choice for many creative photographers, both professional and amateur. It’s a convenient and powerful tool for creating unique imagery. With a rapidly growing number of photography apps, the possibilities are seemingly limitless" - Tony Sweet.

Tony Sweet has emerged as one of those professionals who have adopted the iPhone into their work and has become one of the Gurus of iPhone Photography. Getting great results can be easy and fun once you’ve learned what is possible with some of the most popular iPhone photography apps available. Join Tony on a workshop in Cape May and learn how he uses these photography apps to both shoot and process his unique and imaginative images.

• Running Time: 49 Minutes
• Format: iTunes/iPad Download
• Skill Level: Beginner – Intermediate
• Price: $4.99

The apps covered in this workshop are: Hipstamatic; iDrost; ClearCam; Diptic; Pro Camera; Slow Shutter; Pic Grunger; Pro HDR; True HDR; You Gotta See This; Photo Wizard; FX Photo Studio; Picture Show; Bad Camera; Plastic Bullet!

For more information on Tony's "Getting Started in iPhone Photography", head over to the Master Photo Workshops website.

On Sale: PictureShow, TrueHDR, ScratchCam and ClearCam

This weekend sees 4 very impressive apps go on sale in the App Store, priced at just £0.59/$0.99/€0.79.

First up is the impressive PictureShow [App Store Link], which offers almost endless edits, and of which I recently said "If you buy only one photo editing app for your iPhone, make sure it's PictureShow".

Next up we have TrueHDR [App Store Link], which offers and alternative HDR solution to that of Apples own built in HDR offering.

Then we have the new, yet to be reviewed, ScratchCam [App Store Link], which promises to make your photos look like someone in the photo lab has just dropped your negatives on the floor and walked all over them, and done a pretty good job of trashing them [I know, because I've done it].

And finally, ClearCam [App Store Link], a must have app for all iPod Touch 4G users, that want to get more than 1 megapixel images out of their camera.

Give away: ClearCam promo codes

I have a small number of promo codes for ClearCam, so if you would like the chance of winning one, then post your request in the comments below, and I will randomly select the winners in the next 48hrs.

Price Drop: ClearCam

ClearCam, which is an excellent camera replacement app [especially for the iPod Touch 4G] is currently on offer, priced at just £0.59/$0.99/€0.79, which is 50% less than its regular price of £1.19/$1.99/€1.59.

App Store Link: ClearCam; Price: £0.59/$0.99/€0.79

Price drop: ClearCam

ClearCam, the camera replacement app for the iPhone or iPod Touch 4th generation has just had a minor update to correct the occasional camera freezing problem on the iPod Touch, plus is currently on offer for a limited time priced at £0.59/$0.99/€0.79.

If you have an iPod Touch 4th generation, then I highly recommend this app to replace the default camera app. You can read my mini review of ClearCam and the iPod Touch 4th generation here.

iOS 4.x ONLY

App Store Link: ClearCam; Price: £0.59/$0.99/€0.79

Promo Codes: ClearCam

If you have the camera enabled iPod Touch 4th generation, read my short review of ClearCam, and fancy trying this app out, then you're in luck as I have 10x promo codes up for grabs.

If you want one, then post your request in the comments section, and over the next few days I will select 10 lucky winners at random.

Please note: These promo codes are valid with US iTunes account holders only.

Update on Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 11:45PM by Glyn Evans

Please note: All promo codes have now gone.  Well done to those who won one, better luck next time to those who didn't.

App Update: ClearCam

'ClearCam, the app that turns your 0.7 megapixel iPod Touch camera in to a 1.4 megapixel camera'

ClearCam the iPhone camera replacement app has just been updated, and now supports the new iPod Touch 4th generation.

So what's new?

New Features:

• iPod Touch Support (4th Gen)
• Faster, better algorithms for iPod Touch

Enhancements:

• Increased capture rate
• 17 new EXIF fields stored to the Cam Roll: Exposure Time, Aperature Value, Focal Length, and much more

Using ClearCam on the new iPod Touch

ClearCam has a simple no frills interface, and having launched the app, you have two choices to make. The first choice is which mode do I want to shoot in, Quick or Enhanced, whist you second choice is to tap the shutter icon to take a photo.

In Quick mode the app takes 6 photos in quick succession and then decides which photo is the sharpest before saving it directly to your camera roll. In this mode there is no enhancement and photos will still be saved at 0.7 megapixels.

In Enhanced mode the app takes 10 photos again in quick succession, saving all 10 in the 'Photo Queue'.  From the Photo Queue, the app will allow you to analyze all 10 photos, automatically align them before enhancing them to create a 1.4 megapixel image from the iPod Touch's 0.7 megapixel camera.

How does ClearCam perform on the new iPod Touch?

Photos taken with the iPod Touch's native camera are actually quite good when you consider just how low-res the camera is, but as my sample photos below show, using ClearCam in Enhanced mode boost the image quality significantly.

Above: This photo was taken with the iPod Touch 4th generation native camera.

Above: This photo was taken with the iPod Touch 4th generation using ClearCam in Enhanced mode.

Above: This is the native camera version zoomed in.

Above: This is the ClearCam Enhanced version zoomed in.

So what do I think of ClearCam?

Well, I'm not a big fan of camera replacement apps, rarely using them on any of my iPhones, however if you have the new iPod Touch 4th generation and use it to take photos on a regular basis, then I would highly recommend buying and always using this app in Enhanced mode.

In my view this is a 5 star, must have app for all iPod Touch 4th generation owners.

App Store Link: ClearCam; Price: £1.19/$1.99/€1.59

Update on Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 10:39AM by Glyn Evans

Disclaimer: Whilst the developers of ClearCam are paid advertisers on this blog, this has in no way influenced my view of this app.

App Update: ClearCam update and price drop

ON SALE until iOS4.1 is released sometime this week with support for *** CAMERA ROLL PLACES/GPS *** and 3G phones - A ClearCam exclusive.

ClearCam has just had it priced halved until iOS 4.1 hits the streets, which should be in a day or two, and now supports the following...

New Features (available only with iOS4.1):

• Camera Roll Places support (GPS/EXIF)
• 3G Phone support

Enhancements (iOS4.0+):

• Better Enhanced Mode algorithms
• Improved stability

In addition to the above new features there are a number of bug fixes, including the very annoying orientation bug, where landscape photos are saved as portrait.

App Store Link: ClearCam; Price: £0.59/$0.99/€0.79

App Update: ClearCam

ClearCam has just been updated to version 1.5.5, adding touch-to-focus with visual feedback*, double-tap for exposure control* and triple-tap to enable the LED flash*, in addition to new info/help screens.

* If supported by your iPhone's hardware

App Store Link: ClearCam; Price: £1.19/$1.99/€1.59

Promo codes: ClearCam

I have 5x promo codes for ClearCam (iOS 4 ONLY) up for grabs, so if you would like the chance of winning one, then post your request in the comments section and I will randomly select 5 lucky winners sometime in the next 24hrs.

DON'T forget you will need a US iTunes account to redeem the code.

Update on Monday, August 23, 2010 at 10:47PM by Glyn Evans

All promo codes have now been emailed out.  Congratulations to those who won, better luck next time to those who didn't.