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The best lenses for iPhone photography
By Erin Lodi This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After more than 16 hours of research during which we considered 70 lens attachments and tested 15 models (with hands-on shooting that included a hiking trip through the Cascade Mountains and sightseeing on a Grand Canyon road trip), we found that Moment's Tele and Wide mobile-photography lenses are the best for avid smartphone photographers. They offer image quality as good as that of anything we tested, along with a straightforward attachment system that doesn't lock you into using a case you don't like (unlike most of the competition).
DPReview takes a detailed look at the iPhone 5s camera
DPReview is well-known for its exhaustive camera reviews that analyze both the hardware and the resulting images produced by that hardware. Beside traditional point-and-shoots and DSLRs, DPReview also examines smartphone cameras with the same amount of detail it uses with its traditional camera reviews. The photography review site recently turned its attention towards the iPhone 5s in a 10-page review that features 78 sample images. Not surprisingly, the reviewers found the iPhone 5s to be a very capable camera in the smartphone category. DPReview concludes, The iPhone 5s features a very good camera that's easy to use and delivers strong results with little user intervention. It's a logical extension of the Apple design philosophy, with evolutionary performance increases and feature extensions. iPhone photographers looking to trade up will find much to like in the 5s, but it's not likely to lure users who prefer larger screens or are committed to other mobile operating systems. You can read the entire review on DPReview's website. [Via The Loop; Image from DPReview]
Motrr Galileo robotic iPhone mount to finally ship in November
Today seems to be the day for delayed Kickstarter projects to announce that they're finally going to ship. Earlier it was the Narrative Clip (neé Memoto), now the long-delayed Motrr Galileo robotic iPhone platform is available for pre-order at 10 percent off list price at US$149.95 and will ship next month. The device caught the attention of the iOS community last year when the remote control mount was first outed on Kickstarter. Galileo can pan and tilt a full 360° at speeds of up to 200° per second. An app will provide controls for the mount, or a web browser can be used from anywhere to aim your iPhone. There will be two different versions of Galileo; one that has a 30-pin connector and another equipped with Bluetooth. Both can be mounted on a standard tripod, can work to charge your iPhone or iPod touch and have a lithium-polymer battery to power the precise pan and tilt motors. Motrr has a full SDK for developers who wish to build support for Galileo into their apps. Already, the company has announced two in-house apps -- Motrr and Motrr LIVE -- and supports AirBeam, CollabraCam, RecoLive MultiCam, TimeLapse and DMD Panorama. Support has been announced for Sphere -- which will create 360° spherical photos -- FiLMiC Pro and IguanaLapse. TUAW hopes to have a full review of the Motrr Galileo after it ships next month.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10/DSC-QX100 smartphone lenses to ship later this month
Rumors have been flying about a pair of camera lens accessories from Sony that will work with the iPhone and Android phones. Now AppleInsider is reporting that details have been leaked on the Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 (about US$250) and DSC-QX100 (about $500), both of which are set to be announced tomorrow and launched later in September. The news was initially published by SonyAlpha Rumors earlier today, complete with an advertisement showing how the lenses work. They can be used totally detached from a phone and controlled by the Sony PlayMemories Mobile app (free), which allows the iPhone to be used as a real-time viewfinder. The lenses use WiFi to connect to the iPhone or an Android device, but can also store images on a microSD card of up to 64 GB capacity. The entry-level DSC-QX10 has a 1/2.3-inch Exmor CMOS sensor and a Sony G 9 lens. That combination gives the lens 18.9-megapixel images and a 10 times optical zoom. The DSC-QX100 has a 1-inch Exmor sensor capable of grabbing 20.9-megapixel photos, and has a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens with a fast F1.8 aperture, although not as much of an optical zoom range. Should you decide that you'd like to have the lens attached to your iPhone "DSLR-style," there's a camera attachment case that the lens snaps onto. These lenses are a fascinating photography accessory for the iPhone that will bring iPhoneography to a higher level. Check out the video demonstrating the DSC-QX10 and DSC-QX100 below.
2013 iPhone Photography Award winners showcase the best of mobile photography
While many of us just use our iPhones to take quick snaps of friends and family, some photographers are pushing the limits of the iPhone camera and creating incredible works of art. The iPhone Photography Awards showcase the best of what photographers are able to capture and manipulate on their phones, and the 2013 winners are outstanding. Rather than discuss the photos, I'll simply make the suggestion that you should take some time out and enjoy the winning images. [via 9to5Mac]
Parenting Tip: Photographing your children with your iPhone
As a parent, I think the iPhone is a fantastic camera. Although it doesn't have the optics of a DSLR, it's always in my pocket, ready to snap a photo at a moment's notice. My children are my favorite subject, but I must admit -- they are a challenge to photograph. Kids don't sit still, and the iPhone just isn't good enough to freeze motion like a DSLR, especially when I'm trying to snag a photo inside my dimly lit house. Because of this camera limitation and my very active kids, a lot of my iPhone photos come out blurred. Over time, this Mom photographer (not professional by any means) has learned a few tips and tricks to increase the odds I will capture a photo that lasts a lifetime. I've listed a few of these hints below. If you have any other suggestions for photographing children, please share them in the comments. Get them to pose I will start with the most unrealistic tip as it is hard to get children to sit for a photo without moving or goofing around. Posing, however, is the easiest way to get a focused, non-blurry shot. When posing my children, I try to keep it simple and short, so I can maximize the odds that they will stay still. I try to frame the shot so they can sit or lean on something, which will help keep them from fidgeting. Giving them something to hold will work sometimes, too. I arrange my children so they have some wiggle room as well. This minimizes the chance they will poke or push each other, either on purpose or inadvertently. Turn off the flash I leave the camera flash off by default for two reasons. First, the flash slows things down. I can't tell you how many times I've missed a shot because I accidentally left the flash on. Instead of a quick snap, I have to wait for the flash to fire before the camera snaps the photo. It might only be a one second delay, but that's long enough for a smile to turn to a frown. Second, I find the flash tends to overexpose a subject, especially when you are taking a close-up photo. Turning off the flash increases the chances of getting blur in your photos, but it preserves the lighting and color balance of a shot. When possible, I'd rather turn on a few lights or take things outside, instead of using the flash. That being said, there is an exception to my "No Flash" rule. I find that the flash is great for inside or low light shots in which the subject is more than four to five feet away. In these photos, the flash does a good job of lighting the area. As a bonus, it also helps to minimize motion blur. So feel free to turn on the flash when needed for a far away shot, just remember to turn if off when you are done. Remember, the iPhone camera remembers its last state and will fire up the flash again if you used the flash in your last photo. Of course, you could set the flash to Auto and let the iPhone decide when to use it, but, in my experience, that option is not without its problems. Sometimes the flash will fire when I don't want that extra light, and other times it won't flash when I think I need it. Personally, I would rather take control over the flash by turning it off and on as needed. Take things outside Shooting photos, especially shots of kids moving, is much easier outside. The lighting outside is better, and the iPhone is able to capture motion with minimal blur. Turn Off HDR I turn off HDR as I don't want the few second lag while the iPhone saves the three photos that it uses for the effect. This lag slows down my shot-to-shot speed, which is critical when you capturing something spontaneous. For most of my kid's photos, I'd rather capture the moment than the correct shadow and highlight details. Use tap to focus Tap to focus was added in iOS 4, and it is a great feature for photographing kids. Point your iPhone at your child and tap them on the screen. The camera will focus in on them and not their background. Use the lock screen camera Don't forget that iOS 5 added the very handy lock screen access to the camera. In the bottom right corner of the lock screen is a camera icon. Tap it and swipe upwards to open the camera without typing in your password or hunting for the camera app. In this mode you only have access to the camera app and not the rest of the phone. If you can't find the camera icon on your lock screen, you may have disabled it in the Restrictions. Follow this tutorial at OS X Daily to restore the camera to your lock screen. Consider alternative apps like Fast Camera or Camera+ The iOS App Store is filled with apps that'll help you with your photo-taking. I use Fast Camera from i4Software because its rapid shutter feature lets you take a hundred photos in less than a minute. When you take this many photos in succession, you will have at least a handful of keepers. The toughest part, though, is wading through all those photos to find the gems. Another alternative is Camera+ from tap tap tap. Camera+ lets you add stabilization to your photos and take burst shots, both of which will help you snap some great images. It also has a Live Exposure setting that'll show you the ISO, f-stop and shutter speed of a shot. You can't manually change these values like you can on a DSLR, but you can add lighting to your environment to improve these parameters. When you have taken a photo, you can use Camera+ to edit the image and apply effects like a clarity filter, flash filter or backlit filter to improve the quality of the shot. When in doubt, take it out Some of the best photos I've taken have been on a whim. The one I used in this post is a great example. I was running a 2K with my kids, and I saw that they were all going to line up in front of me with their feet flying. I pulled my iPhone from my pocket, swiped up on the lock screen to quick launch the camera and grabbed a few shots. They were some of the best photos I took that day. Practice Patience Be patient and don't expect perfection as you likely won't get that one shot that has everyone smiling or even looking at you. Be in tune with your children and read their cues. Try to call it quits before they get frustrated. Keep picture taking light-hearted and fun, so your kids will be willing to pose again in the future without grumbling and you will enjoy recording their lives as they unfold.
iPhone 5, HTC One cameras compared by iMore
Here at TUAW, we're strictly an Apple blog, but our friends over at iMore tend to take a more cross-platform look at things. Today, iMore's Allyson Kazmucha published a lengthy and detailed side-by-side comparison of the 8-megapixel camera built into the iPhone 5 and the highly touted 4 MP camera that is part of the HTC One Android phone. How did the iPhone 5's camera compare? Kazmucha took photos at the same place and time with both cameras, so you really get a feel for how each camera responds to certain lighting conditions. The iPhone uses an f/2.4 aperture on a 1/3.2-inch sensor with a pixel size of 1.4 micrometers, while the HTC One has a slightly faster f/2.0 aperture and a pixel size of 2 micrometers on the same sensor. As she points out, these "UltraPixels are larger and should allow for better light sensitivity, particularly in low-light situations." What follows are comparisons of general, motion, low-light and panorama photography. While I won't spoil the excellent post on iMore, let's just get to the bottom line -- the iPhone 5 has better color depth, tone and saturation, while the HTC One is much better at capturing images in low light. In the one sample image at the top of this post, that's the iPhone 5 on the left and the HTC One on the right. The iPhone 5's panoramas tend to knock the HTC One out of the ring, by the way.
Trygger Camera Clip: a better polarizing filter for your iPhone 5
Just a few weeks ago while I was down in the Caribbean, I had the fun of testing out an iPhone 5 camera polarizing filter from Photojojo. While the clip-on filter worked -- sort of -- it had a problem with causing some vignetting of photos. Now Trygger is shipping The Camera Clip (US$39.95), which is double the price of the Photojojo unit but also does its job without the vignetting limitation. The Camera Clip was funded on Kickstarter and is a small plastic, metal and glass device that slides onto the upper right side of a "naked" iPhone 5. It blocks the flash, but generally you won't be using a polarizing filter and flash at the same time. As mentioned in the review of the Photojojo product, polarizing filters work wonders on reducing glare from bright skies and reflective surfaces. There's a small knurled dial that is used to rotate the filter for maximum effect. I found that dial to be easy to find even without looking. There's a pass-through on/off/sleep/wake button on top of The Camera Clip, so there's no need to pull it off to turn your iPhone off or reset it. The inside surface of The Camera Clip is nicely padded with felt to keep it from scratching your phone. As for how it works? Well, here are a pair of images using that demonstrate the effect of a polarizing filter. To be honest with you, I think the image without the effect is more realistic, but polarizers definitely have their place in the toolkit of iPhone photographers. With the deepest polarizing effect: With the least polarizing effect: The top image, taken with the filter rotated for the maximum effect, shows darker blues and more contrast between the clouds and sky. On the other hand, the lower image is much closer to what was seen with the naked eye. My favorite places to use polarizing filters are near water, where glare and reflections from the surface are removed, and when taking pictures of sunlit snow. The Camera Clip is available from BiteMyApple.co and can also be purchased as a case for iPhone 4/4S at $49.95.
Photojojo University's first undergraduate course: Phoneography 101
iPhone photography and Photojojo go together like kittens and cute. TUAW has featured a host of products sold by the online retailer, ranging from the amazingly useful to the laughingly silly. The company realizes that iPhones (and other smartphones) now account for a staggering number of photos, and they've decided to train users in how to make the most of the camera in those devices by starting up Photojojo University. The first course offered by Photojojo U is Phoneography 101, a series of easily understood and fun email-based classes that show up twice a week over four weeks beginning on March 1, 2013. When you sign up at the introductory price of $5 (normal price tag will be $10), you're given your choice of instructor -- a stack of pancakes, an obnoxious professor or a cute basket of kittens. Don't let this silliness fool you, though -- the classes are actually quite helpful. Week one of Phoneography 101 is all about composing photos. The Rule of Thirds is mentioned, they tell you about holding the iPhone still to avoid blur, bring up the use of perspective and then have a challenge at the end to see if you've learned your lesson. Future classes will cover lighting, creative effects, editing and other topics. You won't get a diploma at the end of the course, but there's a $5 Photojojo gift card waiting for you as a reward. It's a lighthearted way to actually improve your iPhone photography, and well worth the minimal cost.
