Life in LoFi: iPhoneography | iPhone Photo News, Showcases, App Reviews

RetroCamera
Version 2.0
Price: $1.99

Bottom Line: It’s all that’s good about the original RetroCamera and much more. Now in greater than full resolution.

UPDATE 06.08.11 @ 10:45: Updated review with mention of bugs when working with square frame  images. Because of this bug,I’ve dropped my rating down half a star. My apologies for any inconvenience. =M=

Back in December, 2009, I reviewed RetroCamera, an analog photo app and at the time I said had “possibly the best set of filters I’ve seen in an app so far, but hampered by low-res output.” Output was an abysmal 320×480 pixels. Otherwise, the app was awesome. I was assured by the developer that an update was coming that would address the resolution issue.

When no update arrived, I, along with most of us, thought RetroCamera was a dead app. 18 months later, the developer CLBITZ Ubiquitous Communications Inc. has released the 2.0 RetroCamera update. It’s all that’s good about the original RetroCamera, plus a lot of the good from the dev’s other app, the excellent FILM LAB, and it supports more than the iPhone 4′s native resolution.

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Photographed with an iPhone 2G.

Toolbox: AutoStitch, FILM LAB, Photo fx, FocalLab

Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio
July 19, 2010

The cockpit of the Boeing 707. The Boeing 707. For me, there are three that matter — John Travolta’s personal 707 painted in classic Qantas livery, the original Dash-80 prototype that’s in the Smithsonian, and this one. But, this is the one. This is the aircraft that landed at Dallas Love Field that autumn morning. This is the aircraft that carried the President’s body back to Washington, DC. LBJ was sworn in as President in this aircraft — in an aisle just behind the wing. I got chills when I stood in the spot and faced forward.

Living near Dallas and appreciating its past, you can’t help but feel a connection and a sense of history where JFK is concerned.

=M=

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FILM LAB
Version 1.1
Price $0.99

Bottom Line: The 1.1 update has bug fixes and a ton of new filters that make for an exciting update!

Do you have FILM LAB yet? What are you waiting for? Really, just get it now. You’ll thank me after.

The 1.1 update just hit the App Store and it rocks! In addition to various, unspecified bug fixes, the image rotation issue seems to be fixed — that was one of few issues in my initial review. FILM LAB also supports resolutions up to and larger than the iPhone 4′s 5MP images. You may need to check FILM LAB’s settings. The default resolution is 3.2MP and may need to be changed for your device.

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Click to enlarge image

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It’s ironic that as digital photographers, we spend a lot of time in processing to duplicate the look of film in our photos. I’ve found very few apps that achieve the look and texture of analog films that I used to shoot with.

One of my favorite photo apps is FILM LAB. Despite its flaws, it’s a very impressive app that recreates the tonal qualities of a wide range of film stocks. The one thing it is missing, though is film grain.

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Hoey

Toolbox: Spaten, ProCamera, Film Lab, ClassicPOLA

Just an apped-up diversion which started as a zoomed image from our seats near the back row of a recent Jeff Beck / Gary Hoey concert. Inspired by Spaten.

=M=

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Mozart

April 9, 2010
Chicago, Illinois

Toolbox: Film Lab, Photogene, FocalLab, Best Camera

I love the buskers on the train platforms. New York, London, and Chicago are especially rich with musicians of widely varying talent playing for you for tips and spare change as you wait for your train.

His name isn’t Mozart. Maybe it’s an epithet passers-by throw his way as they talk among their friends. Mozart is what he played so very passionately on his Erhu while I waited for the Red Line to take me downtown.

Accompanied by a CD on his boombox, this clash of cultures created a sound that was mesmerizing and one that I don’t think Wolfgang Amadeus himself would have minded.

=M=

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I Love It When My Plane Leaves On Time

Meigs

Skyline

Toolbox: Perfectly Clear, Film Lab

On a man-made peninsula on the shores of Lake Michigan, a small building and a control tower still stand — all that remains of Chicago’s third airport, Meigs Field. The runway was destroyed years ago and the land was restored to nature.

The old terminal building still stands. Now as part of the park, guests are allowed to go into the starkly furnished building. Most of the furniture is gone — only a few airport chairs in the upstairs lounge.

I never got to fly through Meigs, but as I explored the building, with its spectacular view of the downtown skyline, I felt the ghosts of airports past when there were no security lines to clear and when smoking was still allowed on flights.

I love airports — even old ones.

=M=

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Psycho

Toolbox: Perfectly Clear, Film Lab

The shower in our hotel room in Chicago did not have great water pressure, but it made for a great photo op.

=M=

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The L, monochrome

The L

Toolbox: Perfectly Clear, Film Lab

A taxi, a bus, a train, and one MD-80 later, we are back in DFW from our trip to Chicago.

Chicago is one of my favorite cities on the planet period and as many Windy City iPhoneographers will attest, it’s a gorgeous city to photograph.

Many of the images I found myself taking this trip lent themselves to processing in Film Lab. One of the things that I liked about using the app was the surprising ability to stack effects. For instance, the high contrast monochrome of the L above was achieved by layering Fuji Neopan 1600 over EPP High Contrast – Blue. The surreal, grainy colors of the bottom L were acheived by stacking EPP High Contrast – Blue over itself.

I’ve got to get caught up on some deadlines for the day job. I’ll be posting more photography from Chicago throughout the coming days.

=M=

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Related links: Film Lab

Film Lab sample image

Film Lab
Version 1.0
Price: $0.99

Bottom line: Great renditions of A TON of classic film stocks. An orientation bug needs to be fixed though.

Not all film stocks are created equal. Photos shot with AGFA ISO 100 film looked much different than shooting with Kodak ISO 100 film. The unique formulations of the films and the different chemistries needed to process them gave each film its own unique color characteristics. For instance, the Fuji films I preferred to shoot with were cooler than many Kodak films, which tended to be warmer and more color saturated.

Film Lab is the latest photo app from CLBITZ Ubiquitous Communications, the makers of Retro Camera. Although it’s not perfect, iPhoneographers who used to shoot with film or who want to recreate the look of analog film stocks will love Film Lab.

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