NEW B&W iPhone App for Real Photographers !!

[Scott_Sheppard]

Hello Everybody:.

One of my buddies Lenny Eiger just finished a killer app for the iPhone that I think all B&W photographers are going to dig !!

It's called PhotoToolsPro, and it has a bunch of features that just about every APUG user will need.

PhotoToolsPro has a very extensive note-taker feature that allows you to create a record of your photos, organizing them by trips and photo sessions. You can enter the details of your cameras, lenses and film, while creating defaults for everything from favorite film for this camera to preferred f-stop for that lens. This makes entering data on a photo page very easy.

On a photo page you can specify your holder and side, or a negative number. Of course it takes your GPS location automatically. You then specify your exposure - either manually, or you can put in your Zone 3 and Zone 7 readings - and it DOES THE ZONE SYSTEM CALCULATIONS FOR YOU! Can you modify them? Absolutely. Corrections for Reciprocity, Bellows Extension and Filter Factor or Filter stops? Of course!

Once you've done that you may want to take a picture of what you are doing; so you snap a pic with the camera and, well, you find that it's not really what you were shooting. So why not rotate it and crop it to match your photo exactly? Then you can add a note - with text or a voice recording.

How about a vibration sensor that could alert the photographer if the camera was moving - from a little too much wind, vibrations from trains and trucks; whatever. The iPhone is a perfect device for it because of its built-in accelerometer. You simply place the iPhone onto the bed of the camera, press 'start', and it will trigger an alarm if things are moving too much. The sensitivity is 100% configurable. This is a very cool feature.

It also has a level for the LF shooters. Want to make sure the back and front standards are at the exact same angle? No problem. Want to check to see just how much forward tilt you are adding? You got it - it's all there.

This app is totally configurable; from adding and removing fields from the entry screen, to specifying how many stops you think N should be for your development. It's got reference items (a treatise on a very simple approach to the Zone System) and Photo Tips from Lenny as well.

Here's the iTunes link:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-tools-pro/id374359605

I will have Lenny on the radio program here very soon.

In the meantime go look at this App on iTunes... it SMOKING COOL !!

You should really check this app out, It is truly an app for the rest of us... "Analog Photographers"

Thanks

Scott

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

That sounds great!

 

[Sirius Glass]

May be it is me, but I have found that a pad of paper and a pen do an excellent job. GPS?? I usually know where I am when I take a photograph.

I am sure that there are some who will find the application useful. Myself I consider it a WOMBAT.

Steve

 

[Scott_Sheppard]

May be it is me, but I have found that a pad of paper and a pen do an excellent job. GPS?? I usually know where I am when I take a photograph.

Steve:

This a DIGITAL Moleskine with even more features.

Just because we shoot old school traditional photography does not state we have to live like its 1860 !!

Thanks

Scott

 

[Shawn Dougherty]

I don't think making notes in my Moleskin means I live like it's 1860... =)

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I usually use a Moleskine, but I can see the attraction of an iPhone app, because people with iPhones usually carry them all the time anyway. It's much quicker usually to write a brief note than to type in data, but it's also handy to have an app that does photographic calculations.

I use the free iHandy level app to level the camera and measure tilt angles sometimes, but since this is a photographic calculator app, it would be cool if it could also do Scheimpflug calculations like the Rodenstock calculator, but without so many steps to remember. You know, like use the iPhone to measure the tilt of the camera base with the standards parallel to the ground and store that number, then a ruler pops up on the edge of the screen and use the iPhone to measure the distance on the groundglass between the two points that you want in focus and store that number. Then use the ruler to measure the distance on the rail between the two focal points. Then use the level to find the angle of the focal plane with respect to the lens axis, and BAM!-you've got your tilt angle.

(Yeah, I know, you can just look at the groundglass too).

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

Mmmm!
Thumbs up from me as an iPhone 3GS owner. App works well and is full featured. I'm not at this time (possibly in the future) an LF user and downloaded it ($9.99) to assess it impartially.

At the end of the day, though, the iPhone, like all electronic devices, can run out of power (especially in 3G mode, but you don't need that on unless you're actively making a call from middle-of-nowhere), so a pencil/notebook is still the best record and a permanent one. I have a couple of other APPS I regularly consult e.g. Soluna (Sun/Moon/Sunrise/Sunset/Tides etc.) and PhotoBuddy, and the stopwatch function for pinhole shoots.

I also recommend the iHandy app for its levels, angles and bulls-eye spirit. Just make sure you have a grip on the iPhone and not let it go on an unintended expedition in the rainforest creek.

 

[Leighgion]

Dang, I'm an imaginary photographer, not a real one. I guess I can't use this app.

 

[M.A.Longmore]

Thanks Scott,

I can retire my Dell Axiom Pocket PC now, most of us are never without a cell phone.
But, I hardly make phone calls with it. So it can definitely serve a secondary purpose.
And it's always great support one of our own.

Enjoy The Weekend.

Ron

From The Long Island Of New York

.

 

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

I assumed, by the title, that this was a new ap to simulate various film emulsions for the iPhone's camera...Pleasantly surprised, but I don't have an iPhone. Hopefully this will be handy to a few people, and it's always nice to see film photography catered for, not disregarded. My bits of paper work alright, and I've always thought one of those little voice recorder things would probably be more handy.

 

[ozphoto]

Like Fleath, I don't have an iPhone, rather an Android smartphone.
So for now, I'll also be sticking with my Moleskin.

It looks like a great app - any plans for release on different platforms in the future?

 

[lenny]

Like Fleath, I don't have an iPhone, rather an Android smartphone. So for now, I'll also be sticking with my Moleskin.
It looks like a great app - any plans for release on different platforms in the future?

Thanks. For those of you without iPhones - if you happen to have an iPod Touch it works on that as well.

We do plan to convert it over to the Droid. We put our hearts into this thing designing and re-designing it while it was being built. It's been a long haul and we need to take a breath... and see how the iPhone sales are.

So far everyone seems to like it - all the comments have been great. They may want another feature or two but what's there they like. I will let everyone know here when we start coding...

Thanks,

Lenny

EigerStudios

 

[snay1345]

Sounds like an interesting program. I am going to have to check it out. I really wish apple would seperate the camera programs from the actual photography programs so stuff like this would be easier to find in the sea of 100000 auto processing camera apps in the store.

 

[Scott_Sheppard]

Yes.. it is very hard to find Apps that are really for traditional photography and app's that are made for the iPhone. A new sub category would be REALLY nice

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

There's another thread or two around here about the Massive Dev Chart for iPhone, which is a darkroom processing timer. It also includes the Massive Dev Chart, but it's completely programmable for whatever processing times you use. Just search in iTunes for "Massive Dev Chart."

Other useful programs I have for traditional photography are iHandy level, which I've mentioned (a bubble level/protractor app); Daylight, which tells you when sunrise and sunset are, so you can figure out when the golden hour is and how much light you have left to shoot; and Easy Release, which is a model release program that's perfect for street photographers, and is recommended by Alamy, if you want to sell your travel/street shots as stock for commercial use (you can type in details, get a signature, and snap a photo of the model with you're iPhone to match the release up to the photographs later).

 

[M.A.Longmore]

Downloaded the app. this morning, and started customizing for my trip on Monday.
I've been using a Dell Pocket PC for the last two years. But, sometimes I forget the charger,
or the USB cable, or just forgetting to pack it completely.
But I always have the iPhone with me. Now I need to find a proper iPhone stylus so I
this thing more efficiently. Especially once the cold weather returns, I'll be able to work with gloves on.

Has anyone come across a decent stylus for the iPhone ?


Enjoy The Weekend, And Patriotic Festivities !


Ron

From The Long Island Of New York

.

 

[eclarke]

May be it is me, but I have found that a pad of paper and a pen do an excellent job. GPS?? I usually know where I am when I take a photograph.

I am sure that there are some who will find the application useful. Myself I consider it a WOMBAT.

Steve

I have a strip of removeable gaffer's tapr on my holders where I make my notes and can peel and transfer them to an envelope after development..

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

For a while I was using Post-It notes on the holder, and they did work pretty well, because they could follow the neg from the holder to the temporary storage box, and then to the darkroom or the lab order, and finally to the filing sleeve, until the time I developed a batch of 11x14" negs and found a mysterious blank rectangular patch at one end of the neg. Went back to check the holder and found the Post-It inside. Evidently I'd forgotten to remove it before putting the holder in the camera, pulled the darkslide, and the Post-It stuck itself to the film, but stayed inside the holder when I unloaded it for procesing.

 

[dbonamo]

Iphone Iphone Iphone! if it was available for a Blackberry I try it

 

[lenny]

Other useful programs I have for traditional photography are iHandy level, which I've mentioned (a bubble level/protractor app);

There are definitely some good apps. I was impressed by the The Photographer's Ephmeris and LightTrac that show the exact angle of light, anywhere. That's some work...

I will add, however, that we put a photoghrapher's Level in this app. It's made to be placed on the ground class or the lens. We locked it to Horizontal or Vertical so that it wouldn't be swapping around unnecessarily - and made it so that it would give you the degrees in decimals. It should be easy to parallel the front and back standards, or to record the amount of angle one tilted the front standard down. It can also be zeroed to whatever angle you want... Our next version will make it even prettier, but it's a lot nicer to use, IMHO, than the iHandy Level, which is made for carpentry.

Lenny

EigerStudios

 

[SMBooth]

It there some way of using the camera in the iPhone as a viewer? Plug in the camera format (4x5, 6x12) and len size.

 

[Gadfly_71]

It there some way of using the camera in the iPhone as a viewer? Plug in the camera format (4x5, 6x12) and len size.

There's an App for that too. I've been using "Viewfinder Pro" for a while and it's great. The price is a little steep ($14.99 US) but I can keep presets for up to four different formats and several focal lengths for each format. It's a really nice alternative to a viewing card.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[Dave Wooten]

Sounds really cool However here in many parts of Nevada and Arizona, I have found that only Verizon or one of Verizon's subs can give me signal access...I've heard that Verizon is in the near future for the I Phone?

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I'm thinking of getting the new iPhone once they've worked out the kinks, but meanwhile I use an iPod Touch and Verizon mi-fi, which gives me wi-fi anywhere I can get Verizon, and I can run Skype on it, which isn't quite as functional as a cellphone, but I can get messages and make calls from it, and I can receive calls when Skype is running.

 

[Scott_Sheppard]

Hey Everybody:

Has any roll film users tried this app yet ?

Thanks

Scott