Saturday, March 19, 2011

Helpful iPhone Apps

PhotosInfo allows you to view the EXIF, geo-tag location data and image dimensions (after iTunes' automatic size conversion from the original for iPhone) of a photo in the Photo app albums (including camera roll). Reviewing images in iPhone albums, this allows me to see which lens (by deduction from focal length: the lens ID is not displayed), aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc. was used, at a glance. By clicking on the 'Details' tab, you can view the full information including location, editing software, colour space, etc. as you would usually find in the EXIF meta tags. I was looking for a way to access this information on the iPhone. Available in appstore.

PS Express is, as its name suggests, a miniature PS-style editor by Adobe for images on the iPhone or iPad. Combined with a RAW format importer (such as PhotoRAW) and the camera kit on the iPad, you can import an original image from the camera and make a rough edit, or perform simple adjustments to contrast, sharpness, saturation, cropping in an 'emergency', e.g. with a view to MMS-ing or emailing off immediately in the field, though I would never trust the iPhone/iPad display calibration for serious work! It's also rather handy for fixing the images straight from the iPhone camera. It utilises the touch gestures of the IOS by controlling the application of whichever tool is active by panning the finger left/right across the whole screen. This is effective for achieving greater control than a microscopic finger-operated slider permits. Available in appstore.