App Update: TiltShift Generator

TiltShift Generator, the original and best tilt-shift app for the iPhone has just been updated with the following new and long-awaited features:

• Ellipse Blur is added.
• Auto Color Adjustment for slider setting is added. Now you can disable default auto adjustment.
• Now Camera and Save button is blue colored to make it friendly for beginners.
• Tell Friends button is added in setting menu.

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

This weeks notable app updates are...

This week has seen a number of app updates, most notable are...

Image Blender [App Store Link], which in addition to the features listed below is now a universal app.

What's new?

• The app is now universal and works great on iPad.
• iPad 2 camera support.
• Improved blending-engine that supports full preview rendering.
• Various bug-fixes.

Pic Grunger [App Store Link], which now has..

• Better support for newer devices
• Six new textures to grunge your photos with
• Easily share via Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and email
• Ability to select picture from Camera as well as Photos

TiltShift Generator [App Store Link], which sees the return of the Blur type button, as well as the introduction of the "No Blur" mode.

Finally Phoster [App Store Link], which has...

• New design.
• New icon.
• Bookmark favorite template.
• Movable text.
• Adjustable text font.
• More text color options available.
• 5 more new templates.

iPhoneography meets iCreate Magazine

Issue 87 of iCreate magazine which is published here in the UK by Image Publishing has a nice article all about iPhone photography called "iPhone 4 Photography: Tips, Tricks & Apps".  The article is pretty good, covering some top apps with readers photos, as well as a small section from me, called "My top iPhone photo apps".

Now due to space limitation, not all of my top apps were published, so for those interested, here is my article in full.

My top iPhone photo apps by Glyn Evans, editor of iPhoneography.com

The iPhone 4 is not just any old smartphone. With its 5 megapixel camera and wide range of photo manipulation app, its a camera and darkroom in your pocket.

With so many photo apps in Apple's App Store, you may be wondering which ones are the best, so here are my top apps.

1. PictureShow: If you only buy one photo app for your iPhone, then I recommend PictureShow [App Store Link].  PictureShow offers 28 different filters/photo style effects, 20 frames, 10 different light and 11 different noise effects, which you can choose from, or let the apps "Shuffle button" do for you.  In addition to these predefined looks, you can manualy adjust the brightness, contrast or colour, as well as being able to add text, before saving and/or sharing via Twitter, FaceBook, Flickr, Blogger or via email.

2. AutoStitch: Create sweeping panoramic photos with AutoStitch [App Store Link]. Simply take a series of photos with your iPhone from a single viewpoint, panning as you take them.  Then once saved, simply open AutoStitch, select the images and let AutoStitch go to work. When complete simply crop and save, and there you have a panoramic photo. It really is that easy.

3. Photogene: Photogene [App Store Link] is like having a desktop photo editor in your pocket, giving you the ability to truly edit your photos on the go, letting you crop, sharpen, straighten, rotate and add frames to your photos, as well as manually or automatically adjust histogram levels, gamma correction, RGB balance, the colour temperature and saturation.

4. Pro HDR: Pro HDR [App Store Link] lets you create tone mapped HDR images by taking one under exposed photo, one over exposed photo and merging them together, right on the iPhone.

5. TiltShift Generator: Available for both the iPhone and iPad, TiltShift Generator [App Store Link] lets you create photos with a limited depth of field or selective focus, creating that fake miniature look, reminisant of Tilt-shift photography.

6. Black & White apps: If you like shooting Black & White, then there are 3 apps that I would recommend.

• Vint B&W [App Store Link] is a camera replacement app that offers the best tonal range of any Black & White app currently available for the iPhone.
• Spica [App Store Link] is a one trick poney Black & White app that lets you create high contrast, grainy and gritty photos.
• Monochromia [App Store Link] is a Black & White editor, letting you adjust the contrast and brightness, as well as add vignette and film grain to you photos.

These are some of my top apps, which you can use singly, or why not mix together to create soemthing extra special!

New iPhone Photo App: Tilt Shift Focus

Description from the AppStore: With Tilt-Shift-Focus you can easily edit photos to create fake miniatures, enhance or change the depth of field and focus area of your picture, or precisely soften details. Fake miniature and depth of field can improve the visual and artistic quality of your photographs and you can do all that with just a few taps in the Tilt-Shift-Focus editor.

Features:

• select one or take a new photo
• edit and adjust with 4 different blur-tools
• smooth transitions between blurred and focused areas
• tilt-shift effects on the go
• quick miniature effect
• cool zooming effect
• contrast enhancement for stronger miniature effect

AppStore Link: Tilt Shift Focus - Price £0.59/$0.99

Editors comments: I gave this app a quick spin to see how it compare with TiltShift Generator.

First off the interface is much more clunkier and positioning the linear position was much more fiddlier than TiltShift Generator.  Whilst the app has the option to increase contrast, unlike TiltShift Generator there are no other tweaks available.  The biggest disappointment with this app, was its out put size, that whilst not low res, was not full res either, saving on my iPhone 3G at a disappointing 1024 x 768 pixels.

Above: My "Toy Boat" photo processed with Tilt Shift Focus.Over all this app was disappointing and has some way to go to challenge TiltShift Generator, so for now if you want that tilt and shift effect, then I would recommend TiltShift Generator [AppStore Link].

iPhoneography: "Toy Boats" by Glyn Evans

Above: "Toy Boats" taken with the iPhone 3G and edited with TiltShift Generator [AppStore Link]