Photography

Apple exploring ‘super-resolution’ iPhone imaging

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 8, 2014

If Apple's patent filing with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) is anything to go by, future iOS devices could appeal further to iPhoneography fans by allowing them to take very detailed snaps using a fancily named 'super-resolution' imaging.

According to the filing, this could be achieved by using optical image stabilization - a feature that must be implemented in the camera hardware itself - to capture multiple images in a burst, each at a slightly offset angle.

The software would take it from there and stitch individual image data together to form a single super-resolution image, bypassing the need for more megapixels...

Vhoto review: get the best photos out of your videos

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 27, 2018

I may have mentioned before that I like to take pictures of bands. I’m always trying to get great pictures of a guitarist doing a mid-solo jump, or a singer climbing around on PA speakers. It’s a lot harder than you’d think, especially using the iPhone camera since the shutter triggers just a bit slower than I’d like.

Vhoto takes all of the guesswork out of knowing the right time take a picture by turning your video clips into photos. You don’t have to scroll through frame after frame either. Check out our Vhoto review to learn more…

Camera Fx8 and FiLMiC Pro go free for a limited time

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

If you're like me, you've downloaded dozens of camera and image-editing apps to your iPhone to satisfy your inner iPhone photography nerd - and you're still yearning for more. Unfortunatelly, your newly found obsession with photography software may end up costing your hard earned dollars for most of these apps definitely don't come cheap.

If you're on the lookout for a not-to-be-missed software deals, this should be a no-brainer.

Camera Fx8 by Apalon Limited has gone temporarily free. This piece of software lets you apply fun effects, shapes and borders to your images in post-processing or in real-time. It's gone free today for the next 24 hours so give it a download before it goes back up to its regular price of $2.99.

Also notably, FiLMiC Pro, one of the best video camera apps and a $4.99 value, has gone free for a limited time in the App Store...

Union lets you stack, blend, and superimpose images together for great effects

Lory Gil ∙ April 18, 2014

Pixite, the creator of Tangent, LoryStripes, and Fragment, two of which made it to our top-ten best photography apps of 2013 list, has been working hard for the past year to bring some pretty interesting photo effects apps to iOS.

Union is the latest release from the app maker. It is an image blending program that lets you mask, edit, and merge multiple images into one. Plus, you can import photos from Tangent and Fragment with the original image and shapes on separate layers to create interesting effects…

Flickr 3.0 for iOS: revamped UI, HD video capture, auto-tagging, detailed metadata and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 17, 2014

Yahoo-owned Flickr is a great photography service - I've been using it for years as my default companion photo storage solution.

It's not just the fact that everyone gets a whopping one terabyte of free cloud storage for their photos, Flickr features a bunch of advanced options and keeps your photos backed up in the cloud in their full resolution.

Flickr's iOS app has been nice, albeit a bit rudimentary in terms of features. This changes with today's release of an all-new Flickr version 3.0.

Some of the many new features iPhone photography fans will surely fall in love with include the ability to record, edit and upload high-definition video, photo auto-tagging, comb through your photos using complex search criteria, access detailed photo data, share easily and quickly to Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook and lots more...

Instagram and Facebook stepping up fight against spammers

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 16, 2014

Facebook-owned Instagram has responded to complaints from users who have noticed a sharp increase in the number of fake accounts and followers that are spamming them. If you fire up Instagram's free iPhone app and hit the Following button, you'll see a message about changes in followers.

"We've removed deactivated and spam accounts," the message reads. "Your list of followers and people you follow may have changed" as a result.

This is a welcomed albeit way overdue change.

I've been a frequent victim of spammers on Instagram. Some of these guys are really smart in how they get on your Following list with the ultimate goal of populating your feed with spammy posts often disguised as so-called viral images and videos...

Mextures 2.0 comes with new features including full photo editing, shared formulas and more

Lory Gil ∙ April 12, 2014

Last May, we took a look at Mextures and found it to be one of the best filter apps for adding subtle effects and layered textures to your photos. The app uses “Formulas” that are similar to what you might see in a photographer’s dark room. Mextures has also made an appearance on a multitude of our photography-related app lists, and was named photo app of 2013 by Apple.

Today, Mextures received a major update with a plethora of new features, including formula sharing, photo editing, new Formulas, and more. The app also received a user interface redesign and is now faster than ever at processing and exporting images…

Adobe Lightroom for iPad now available

Cody Lee ∙ April 8, 2014

Nearly a year ago, Adobe’s Tom Hogarty showed off an unnamed prototype iPad app that brought pro-level photo editing and image manipulation capabilities to the Apple tablet. Then in January, the company let it slip that an iPad version of Lightroom was in the works.

Today that app has landed in the App Store as Adobe Lightroom for iPad. From afar, the software looks powerful, capable of editing RAW DSLR photos and more. But, as with many professional mobile tools, you'll have to be a subscriber to Adobe's Cloud service to use it...

Kodak launches new ‘Moments’ photo book app for iPad

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

A familiar name popped up in the App Store under the 'Photography' section today. Just 6 months after officially exiting bankruptcy, Kodak has released a new app called 'Kodak Moments for iPad' that allows customers to create and order photo books, prints and enlargements using drag-and-drop on their tablets.

The app is the product of Kodak Alaris—the personalized and document imaging businesses group that retained the license to the Kodak brand following Eastman Kodak's exit from bankruptcy last fall—which already has a handful of low-key iPhone apps. But this is the firm's first significant software release for iPad...

ProCamera 7 gains TIFF and high-res Instagram support, printing, Vimeo sharing and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 2, 2014

ProCamera by German developer Cocologics GmbH has been featured on our 10 Best Photography Apps of 2013 list, you rated it one of the Best Apps of 2013 and it's been consistently featured throughout our ongoing iPhone photography series.

Small wonder, given ProCamera combines photo and video recording, advanced editing and sharing into a single app laden with rich controls, more than 76 pro-grade filters and effects, a dedicated Lightbox (like in Camera+), full-res photo preview and lots more.

Cocologics has pushed a major new ProCamera 7 update this morning, adding numerous nice-to-haves while implementing some nice new features like high-resolution Instagram uploads, support for the lossless TIFF file format, in-app printing, an improved Lightbox and Night mode, Vimeo sharing, Open-in functionality and lots more.

The new ProCamera 7 version 5.3 is now live in the App Store and available free to existing users. We have a few promo codes to spare so read on for the full reveal...

Ultrakam lets you shoot film-like 2K video on iPhone 5s

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

As you know, the iPhone 5s's iSight camera can shoot full HD 1080p video (1,920-by-1,080 pixels) at 30 frames per second, as well as slow-motion clips at 120 frames per second at a reduced resolution of 1,280-by-720 pixels (720p). The back shooter can also take eight-megapixel stills at the image capture size of 3,264-by-2,448 pixels.

But what if the handset could take a series of stills in a rapid succession and stitch them together to form an ultra-resolution footage?

That's what Ultrakam, a novel iPhone application by Hassan Uriostegui, does for you. Available in the App Store for $6.99 for a limited time, the software brings 2K film resolution to your iPhone 5s at 30 and 20 frames per second.

It also includes a handy film-like 24 frames per second preset and can automatically smooth rack-focus during recording. Read on for the full reveal...

Camera Plus introduces AirSnap feature that lets you shoot photos remotely

Lory Gil ∙ March 28, 2014

This whole “selfie” phenomenon has just got to go. How many people do you know with one of those top-down, slightly angled pictures of themselves used as their profile image for just about everything? The front-facing camera may have made it easier to snap pictures you are in, but they’ve turned everyone into self-centered paparazzi.

Camera Plus was recently updated to include support for the iPad, but that’s not the biggest news. You can use one device to take pictures with another using AirSnap. Now, those selfies won’t look so staged…