Photo apps... commence!

Since I've had an iPhone, I've altogether stopped carrying around my digital camera. In fact, that poor thing has been neglected for the past two years, sitting in my desk drawer.

And I'm sure many of you are the same way: neglectful camera-parents since the adoption of an iPhone.

I'm going to assume that you already know about Hipstamatic and Instagram, so I won't bother with those.

Instead, let's talk about my two favorite "toy" cameras!

I grew up using toy cameras (like those made by Lomography), all made of plastic, including the lenses. I've always loved the light leaks and colors the toy cameras produced. Since the world has gone digital, however, it has become increasingly more difficult to find places that can actually develop film other than your standard 35mm, and when you do find a place, don't expect it to be cheap.


First things first, Pudding Cam! At least think it's called Pudding Cam. The app is in Korean (I'm pretty sure it's Korean, anyway). But I found it by doing a search for "pudding cam," and I'm pretty sure "KTH" works, too.

Either way, with this camera, you have the ability to change lenses and films, all reminiscent of vintage and toy cameras. It's not in English, but I was able to figure it out based on the icons and sample images. You can use either the front-facing camera, or the rear camera, you change the output settings (highest is 1280 px), and you can even adjust the exposure. Very clean, very minimalistic. If you don't mind using your wits to get around the app, I definitely recommend. Here are a few images:






It's a fun little app if you like toy cameras. I think if it did a higher resolution export (and maybe had an option for English?) I'd give it 5 forks, but until then, 4.

Second toy camera I tend to use is called Andigraf - multishot toy camera.


This one is similar in that you can change lenses and films, but Andigraf "specializes," I'd say, in multi-shot lenses. So if you want 4-up, 8-up, or 9-up shots. It also does 9 different types of film. If you've used Hipstamatic, I think you'll find that the interface is fairly similar - you swipe across the screen to change lenses, etc. Check out these images and screen shots:








Andigraf is a fun little camera app and the interface definitely reminds me of my old toy cameras. 4 forks.

That's all I have for today, please stay tuned because I have several more camera apps to discuss!

Thanks for reading, and bon appetit!

Scanning with Genius Scan

I have to scan a lot of documents for my job. This wouldn't be such a huge deal if my office actually had a scanner...

I do, however, have an iPhone 4!

I seriously would not be able to do my job without this nifty app: Genius Scan by The Grizzly Labs.


Genius Scan allows me to use my phone's camera to capture any documents or receipts, correct the perspective, and make the image appear as if it had been scanned by increasing the contrast and turning it black and white (though you can choose color enhancement, as well).

You can then email the jpeg or PDF, or add other images to it and create a multi-page PDF document. This PDF document can be emailed in multiple sizes, added to iBooks, or opened in other apps that allow importing PDFs. You can also share over Wi-fi to your computer.

I know I mentioned it earlier, but my favorite part is the perspective correction. It allows me to take a photo without worry that my camera is not square with the document I'm photographing, because I can adjust the borders and correct it. Take a look at these two photos to see what I mean:

Original, crooked photo:



Fixed perspective photo, cropped with Genius Scan:



And here's a couple screen shots to show what it looks like:




You can see how nicely the app straightens and corrects the receipt.

Genius Scan has a free version, with ads, and works on iPhone/iPod touch/iPad running iOS 4 and later, but be aware that it doesn't have an HD version for iPad and the camera function won't work for the original iPad, for obvious reasons (no camera).

There's also a paid version with no ads, plus the ability to upload to Dropbox, Evernote, or Google Docs for $2.99.

I think the user interface could be improved a bit, but it definitely gets the job done. And because of that, I'll let the UI slide. Like I said, I can't do my job without it! 5 forks!

Bon appetit!

As promised...

My obligatory post regarding styluses! I know, they're not apps, and I told myself I wouldn't get into accessories... but seeing as how I use a stylus on a daily basis in conjunction with apps, I decided it's okay.

I've personally owned and tried 4 different brands, so those are what I'll review here.

The first stylus I ever bought was the Pogo Sketch by Ten One Design. It has a foam-type nib that works with high capacitive touch screens, a metal pocket clip and comes in 4 metallic colors: pink, orange, green, and silver.



If you want something that you can take with you, this one will do the job. Other than that, this is not the one I would give my highest recommendation. I had it for a few months, and the nib wore down, which made me feel like the metal base was going to scratch my glass screen. It's also quite narrow - much skinnier than a normal No. 2 pencil - and made my hand cramp when I needed to take notes for a long period of time. Does it write? Yes. But not my favorite stylus. This one will set you back $14.95.

I give it a 2 on the tasty meter.





The second stylus I bought was the AluPen by Just Mobile. After having my hand cramp so much from the Pogo, I was anxious to get my hands on this chunky stylus.



The AluPen is reminiscent of those big crayons or pencils we had as children while learning to write. It is made of lightweight aluminum, has a rubber nib, and comes in six colors: red, gold, blue, green, black, and silver.

I found that the rubber nib works much better than foam, but this pen was quite skittish for me. It didn't always track with me while I wrote, leaving my lower-case a's looking like u's. It also doesn't have any kind of clip or lanyard, so I had to carry it around in my pocket or purse. A little annoying if I didn't have pockets or a purse. It worked much better, and felt better in my hands, so I used this one until my rubber nib cracked.

The AluPen will cost you $24.95, though I've seen some knock-offs for much cheaper. (I don't know if they work the same, however.)

If I could give it 3.5 forks, I would, but 4 will have to do...





My favorite stylus for writing is the third one I purchased, Stylus made by Griffin.



To me, it has the best of all worlds; the rubber nib, the pocket clip, and comes in great colors (or just plain black, if you prefer). It performs beautifully without being skittish, and is about the same width as a pencil so my hand doesn't cramp when I write. Plus, come on, the colors are so pretty! This stylus costs $19.99.

5 forks!





And finally, my 4th stylus, which was not made for writing, but for painting. It is the Nomad Brush.



The handle is made of walnut and carbon, and the bristles a mixture of natural and synthetic fibers. It reacts beautifully and feels so natural in my hand. I can't even think about using a writing stylus to do my digital paintings with, and in fact, the paintings I made in the previous post were all done with the Nomad Brush. I have to admit, I wasn't a believer when I saw the videos before this brush was released, but after buying and using it, I'm in love. If you're a digital artist (or want to be) and you're using an iPad, this stylus is a must. It'll cost you $24.00 and is well worth the price. Do yourself a favor and watch the videos on their website.

I think this rating is obvious:





Whelp, that's all I have! I hope I've helped you on your search for the perfect stylus.




Bon appetit!

iPad : UPAD

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