An Even Better Image Processing App

In my continuing quest for more and better image processing functionality, I uncovered Photo Forge. The two most interesting features for me include Vibrance adjustment and Clone stamp although its use is limited by the small screen and big finger tips. Here’s the updated feature matrix:

Edit Feature	PGene	PSXpres	Iris	Photo Forge
Crop	X	X	X	X
Aspect Ratio Control	X	X	X	X
Flip & Rotate	X	X	X	X
Horizon Straighten	X	X	X	X
Image Resize			X
Levels/Histogram	X		X	X
Auto Levels	X		X	X
Brightness/Contrast	X	X	X	X
-                      Shadow/Highlight			X
Saturation	X	X	X	X
Vibrance				X
Color Balance	X	X	X	X
-                      Shadow/Mid/Hilites			X
Auto White Balance			X	X
RGB Adjustment	X	X	X	X
Layers/Masks			X	X
Tilt/Shift				X
Texture Overlays			X
Undo/Redo Control	X		X	X
Filters/Effects
-                      Sharpen	X	X	X	X
-                      Blur	X	X	X	X
-                      Posterize	X		X	X
-                      Solarize			X
-                      Nightvision	X			X
-                      Infrared			X
-                      Sepia	X		X	X
-                      B&W	X	X	X	X
-                      Pencil/Sketch	X		X	X
-                      Heatmap	X
-                      Color Overlays		X	X	X
-                      Additional			16	18
Borders/Frames	X	X
Brush Painting				X
Fill Painting				X
Clone Stamp				X
Smudge				X

 

Blender Application

This app combines two images in various ways based on the selected blending option. It is difficult to explain how the various options blend images, so this app is best used by experimentation. Producing a satisfactory result also benefits from cropping or otherwise adjusting the two images to place the elements of the images in appropriate relationships. Here are two examples of my initial efforts at blending.

Flight Over Mt McKinley

A Blended Family

Adding Text to Photos

To add  text to an image, PhotoLabeler is a simple app that allows addition of titles at the top and/or bottom of an image. Tapping the text sequences through a limited series of color, font and typeface options. Though it is a “one-trick-pony” the trick is useful!

Another labeling option is found in Photogene where you can add cartoon type speech bubbles as shown here:

Camera Applications

The camera app that comes with the phone is basic though adequate. Features include Shutter Release, Still/Movie switch, Front/Back camera switch, HDR On/Off, Flash On/Off/Auto, Zoom Control and autofocus/exposure target designation.

The alternative camera apps I’ve tried include Genius, CP Pro and RealCamSP. They all support the basic camera functions and add some or all of the following:

Feature	CP Pro	RealCam SP	Genius
3 x 3 Grid Display	X	X	X
Horizon Level Display		X
Self Timer	X	X	X
Anti-Shake	X	X	X
LED On		X
Burst mode	X		X
Big Button	X		X
White Balance On/Off		X
B/W & Sepia Filters		X
Geo-Tags	X		X
Keyword Tagging	X
Resolution (H/M/L)	X	X
Copyright in Metadata	X
Date in Image	X		X
Share to Social media	X		X
Link to On-Line Manual			X

CP Pro includes a modest set of editing tools but it annoyingly (for me) saves the images, not in the Camera Roll photo library but a separate file, requiring yet another step to transfer them. There’s a lot of personal preference here but for me, the most useful features are gridlines as a composition aid and the Horizon level so I won’t be forced to crop the picture to level the horizon. Big button makes the whole screen a shutter button which is handy in some circumstances. Anti Shake would be great if it was really that but it seems to be just a 2 second self timer to prevent camera motion while pressing the shutter from degrading the image. Useful if you are patient and the subject is amenable to a long shutter lag (not usually the case for me;-).

The last “camera app” I want to mention is Theodolite. This app is not really about photography but it is so geeky I couldn’t pass it up. Theodolite turns on the camera and displays the output of just about every sensor in the phone. Overlays on the live image include Tilt, level and compass heading in both numeric and gauge format, GPS coordinates and controls for zoom, color filters, shutter release. Pictures taken have the position and angles printed on the image. Here’s a screen Shot.

Theodolite turns your iPhone into a Heads Up Display for a jet fighter!!

The Camera

So, what have I gotten myself into, switching from a Nikon D200 to an iPhone 4. First I’ll compare the specs. All specs are 35mm equivalent values (D200 lens specs are based on my most often used Sigma 18-200mm zoom lens; accessory lenses available for the iPhone will be covered in a future post):

Spec	D200	iPhone 4
Pixels	10 mp	5 mp (2592 x 1936)
Aspect Ratio	3:2	4:3
Focal length	18-200mm	30-150mm (digital)
Aperture	f 3.5-22	f 22
Shutter Speed	30s-1/8000th sec	1/15th-1/1000th sec
ISO	100-1600	80-1000
White Balance	Auto, Man	Auto
Metering	Matrix, Spot	Spot
Auto-Focus	Yes	Yes
Built in Flash Guide #(100)	39ft	10 ft
Video Recording	None	720p 30 fps
Weight	52 oz	5 oz

Even the four year old D200 is understandably tough competition but the iPhone 4 camera matches up better than I expected. While 5 megapixels is less than even my old Nikon D100 the image quality on the phone is quite good. Experts attribute this to use of a backlit CMOS sensor and a larger than typical sensor so that each pixel is larger and can gather more light. The fixed 30mm equivalent focal length can be improved with accessory lenses. The phone also has a 5x digital zoom but this is equivalent to cropping the image so you are better off shooting full size and cropping later. I only use digital zoom when I need to see the intended subject more clearly. The lens focal ratio is f2.8 in terms of depth of field but  f22 in terms of light gathering potential. Shutter speed and ISO range are adequate.

Before leaving the comparison, I need to mention that the “viewfinder” of the iPhone 4 is a stunning 960 x 480 pixel display, four times the resolution of my previous iPhone 3GS. Oh yes, and note the weight comparison.

Here are some examples of iPhone 4 photos right out of the camera:

Making the Switch from a Nikon D200 to an iPhone 4

I have carried a Nikon (D)SLR for over 30 years. My Nikon Digital cameras were wonderful, creating great images. However, as time went on, the camera, lenses and accessories grew heavier both literally and subjectively. I tried switching to a quality point-and-shoot big zoom camera but the results were unsatisfactory. The cameras limitations were grating and I was still carrying a camera on my shoulder, even if it was much lighter. Then I got an iPhone 4 with a 5 mega-pixel camera. I decided to try using it as my only camera. I stopped carrying a traditional camera and began doing my photography with the phone. The iPhone camera gets a lot of help from various applications that provide image manipulation and editing features that can make an enormous difference in the end result. These capabilities range from cropping and levels adjustment to High Dynamic Range processing, automatic panorama stitching and time lapse control.

High Dynamic Range Processing

One of the fundamental limitations of digital photography is dynamic range, the brightness range from the brightest to the darkest parts of a scene. Both DSLRs and the iPhone have lower dynamic range than film and both have post processing applications to expand the native dynamic range of the digital sensor. The basic technique is to take multiple exposures of the same scene at different exposure levels, then combine them to include detail in the darkest and lightest regions of the image. Sunsets and scenes with a lot of bright sky are the classic situations to benefit from HDR processing. Although the iPhone 4 had an HDR mode, I prefer the TrueHDR application. Check out this sunset at Shanty pond in Ocala National Forest: