Fredstuff.com » iphone http://fredstuff.com/blog Hi. I'm Fred. I live in Stockholm, Sweden. I like: Music, TV, Gadgets, Technology and the Webs. I also like to try out new things on the web and when I do I will write about it here. I've been blogging since 2005, mostly in Swedish. This is my first all English blog - Welcome! Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:41:21 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 iPhone Photography Blogs http://fredstuff.com/blog/useful-sites/iphone-photography-blogs http://fredstuff.com/blog/useful-sites/iphone-photography-blogs#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:32:48 +0000 Fred http://fredstuff.com/blog/?p=19955

There are really only two blogs targeted at iPhone photography that I follow on a regular basis (several times a day). The first one is iPhoneography and the second one is Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. They review all the latest apps and they also let you know when a certain app is free on the App Store. I rely on them quite a bit and heed all the warnings when an app is sub-par. Also, it’s nice to be a part of the iPhone photography community. So, if you’re into this sort of thing — go check ‘em out. Pronto.

Links:
iPhoneography
Life in LoFi: iPhoneography

]]> http://fredstuff.com/blog/useful-sites/iphone-photography-blogs/feed 0 Hipstamatic Disposable D Series http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/hipstamatic-disposable-d-series http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/hipstamatic-disposable-d-series#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:22:36 +0000 Fred http://fredstuff.com/blog/?p=15289
I’m not really sure why I’m writing this post. I don’t like this product — I’ve tried it and I will not be using it again. So, what is it? Well, The guys behind the Hipstamatic app for the iPhone have released a new app called Hipstamatic Disposable, or the “D Series”. The idea is that you have to shoot 24 frames (like old world cameras with actual film in them) before you get to see the results. I don’t get it. Maybe this promo video can explain?

Click here to view the embedded video.

I know that you are supposed to use this app together with some friends but will people actually use the app in this way? I doubt it. I shot one “roll” of film yesterday and today, no special pics just some stuff to get through the “roll”. Here are four of them:

I don’t like the results at all. You get much much much much better stuff from other retro cameras. To be fair I only tried one filter/camera but having to shoot all those frames to be able to see (I’m rambling!) the result made me lose interest. The app is free with additional in-app purchases if you want more film/cameras/filters/whatever. In conclusion; stick with the original Hipstamatic — skip this app — and you’ll be happy! Much more info on the app at iPhoneography (if you’re interested). And now for something weird; links to stuff I don’t like!

Links:
A really long review from another guy.
Hipstamatic Disposable D Series @ Official site
Hipstamatic Disposable D Series @ The App Store

]]> http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/hipstamatic-disposable-d-series/feed 2 New Hipstamatic SnapPak: Foodie http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/new-hipstamatic-snappak-foodie http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/new-hipstamatic-snappak-foodie#comments Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:44:49 +0000 Fred http://fredstuff.com/blog/?p=12392

(Oh, and this is for the iPhone… duh). I love the new Hipstamatic SnapPak called “Foodie”. It includes the Loftus lens, the DC film and the flash is called Tasty Pop. It’s supposed to be inspired by a photographer called David Loftus (his site is made in Flash, I refuse to link to it) and Hipstamatic seem to think that you should do food photography with this pack. Well, I’d rather shoot other things — and you know what? It works very well for other stuff.

It’s cool because it’s got a rather short depth of field so it’s sharp and blurry at the same time. Perfect for the kinds of stuff I take pics of at the moment. Just tow more pics and then this post is done.

The SnapPak is a Hipstamatic in-app purchase, it’s cheapo! You can find more pics shot with this SnapPak over at my Tumblr page.

Links:
Fredstuff’s Photos @ Tumblr
Hipstamatic
The Hipstamatic Combination Chart

]]> http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/new-hipstamatic-snappak-foodie/feed 0 New York City And Camera+ http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/new-york-city-and-camera http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/new-york-city-and-camera#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:41:17 +0000 Fred http://fredstuff.com/blog/?p=11108


I tried something different with a bunch of photos I had stored on my mac. The pics were taken with my Nikon D40 and transfered into iPhoto after my trip to NYC. I already had a “normal” set of NYC up at Flickr but as I said; I wanted to try something new. I synced the photos to my iPhone 4S and used Camera+ (currently on sale @ the App Store) instead of doing the editing in Photoshop. Mind you, the result is almost over-processed images but I still like the look Camera+ produced. I used the in app purchase option “I Love Analog” to get my hands on the filters “Diana” and “Nostalgia”. I also applied Scenes: Clarity to most of the photos, that produced kind of a HDR effect — semi-tasteful HDR mind you. 54 photos in the set at Flicker, click here to see them.

UPDATE:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I might as well post the video that got me interested in the filters mentioned in this post. This video (by Lisa/Camera+) shows you how to achieve the look in Photoshop — even though it’s much faster/easier with Camera+.

Links:
My Camera+ NYC set @ Flickr
Camera+ Official | App Store

]]> http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/new-york-city-and-camera/feed 0 New Earphones: Nocs NS200 http://fredstuff.com/blog/tech/new-earphones-nocs-ns200 http://fredstuff.com/blog/tech/new-earphones-nocs-ns200#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:51:28 +0000 Fred http://fredstuff.com/blog/?p=11005 Yes, I got a new pair of headphones — again. I traded a pair of broken AKG K518DJ for a brand new pair of white Nocs NS200. I had tried to fix the AKG’s myself but I never got them to sound good again after trying to solder the cord. So, what do I think about these new ones? I like them. They are tiny and they sit comfortable in-ear (you get four sets of rubber tips in sizes small, medium and large). The sound is surprisingly good for the price range ($70), good bass and middle but the highs can get just a tad bit harsh/sharp in certain tracks — that might be due to crappy encoding or compression of the tracks in question). These earphones are targeted at Apple products (iPhone/iPod) and they have the same remote on the cord as the NS300 that I bought a few weeks ago. It lets you answer calls, change volume and track. It also doubles as a mic. Would I recommend these to a friend looking for affordable mid-range earphones to go along with their apple product? Yes, yes I would.

Link:
Nocs NS200
A longer, more professional review @ iLounge
My post about the Nocs NS300 Headphones

]]> http://fredstuff.com/blog/tech/new-earphones-nocs-ns200/feed 0 Authentic Stockholm Subway Ride http://fredstuff.com/blog/video/authentic-stockholm-subway-ride http://fredstuff.com/blog/video/authentic-stockholm-subway-ride#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:47:45 +0000 Fred http://fredstuff.com/blog/?p=9283

Click here to view the embedded video.

I shot this the other day. Notice the reflection of the accordion player in the window. View of Old Town (Gamla Stan).

Link:
Video @ Vimeo.com

]]> http://fredstuff.com/blog/video/authentic-stockholm-subway-ride/feed 0 Photography Freedom 2 http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/photography-freedom-2 http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/photography-freedom-2#comments Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:03:19 +0000 Fred http://fredstuff.com/blog/?p=9224

I recently mentioned that I’ve gone back to the Hipstamatic app for the iPhone when taking pictures. That doesn’t exclude mixing the results with other apps. The workflow in this post is similar to the one in this post (Photography Freedom). I love mixing apps to get more of my own results. How did I achieve the picture above?

Let me walk you through the steps to achieve the final image — links to each app is at the end of this post. Let’s go: First shot (square 1) was with Hipstamatic, I then opened that photo in ToonPAINT (square 2) and adjusted the gray and blacks and saved the image without painting in the colors. Next step, open the saved image in Blender (square 3) and mix the original photo with the one from ToonPAINT. Last step (square 4), apply filters and other stuff like borders and adjusting the colors in PhotoToaster. That’s it! It might sound a bit confusing but when you are used to the process it takes about a minute or two to go through the whole workflow.

The Hipstamatic shot was taken with the following settings:

Lens: Robo Glitter
Film: Cano Cafenol
Flash: Off.

Links:
Hipstamatic | ToonPAINT | Blender | PhotoToaster

]]> http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/photography-freedom-2/feed 0 Back to Hipstamatic http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/back-to-hipstamatic http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/back-to-hipstamatic#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:52:39 +0000 Fred http://fredstuff.com/blog/?p=8941 I’ve gone back to Hipstamatic for the iPhone. It kind of got a second chance when I got the new iPhone. I’ve paid for all the HipstaPaks so I might as well use them. I felt that I needed a separate place to post the Hipstamatic photos so I started a Tumblr blog called Fredstuff’s Photos, it’s like a dumping ground for my iPhone photography that’s not a 100 percent suited for this blog or my Flickr account.

I upload straight from Hipstamatic or the Tumblr app (for the occasional video upload). It’s really easy getting totally lost in all the lenses and film that’s available in Hipstamatic, use this; The Hipstamatic Combination Chart by Mark Bruce to see what all the combinations look like. Really useful.

Links:
Fredstuff’s Photos @ Tumblr
Hipstamatic
Tumblr App
The Hipstamatic Combination Chart

]]> http://fredstuff.com/blog/pictures/back-to-hipstamatic/feed 0 I Got The iPhone 4S http://fredstuff.com/blog/editorial/i-got-the-iphone-4s http://fredstuff.com/blog/editorial/i-got-the-iphone-4s#comments Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:50:21 +0000 Fred http://fredstuff.com/blog/?p=7976
Yes box. I got it yesterday after having it pre-booked for a few days. October 28:th was the release day here in Sweden. My previous phone was a iPhone 3GS, it had a jailbreak on it so I was kind of nervous about the transition of data from the old phone to the new one. I did one last sync with the 3GS and updated iTunes to the latest version, then hooked up the 4S and did a restore from backup. That part went well — except for the part where the new phone imported over 600 pictures from one of my iPhoto albums. Because of that I learned how to quickly remove several photos from the camera roll. I got the tip from this blog post. I was stuck for a while after that; I didn’t know you had to activate the new SIM card. While I was on hold with the phone company I found out you could do it over the net. An hour later the card was activated.


One of the first shots I took with it was out the bedroom window.

Then came the dreadful task of organizing all the apps (186 to be exact) into the correct folders and screens — it took a while. After that I realized that I couldn’t get it to connect to my home Wi-Fi network. That was strange since my 3GS worked just fine. Solution; I entered the MAC address for the 4S into the modem/router. Didn’t work at first and I was about to give up. I then restarted the modem and the 4S was connected via Wi-Fi. Success!

The unit feels snappy compared to the 3GS. Internet speed is good too as you can see from the Speed Test app screenshot (first 3G then Wi-Fi). I can’t provide you with a test video today. Well, I could — but I haven’t filmed anything worth posting. Yet. I’m looking forward to using this device, the camera is great and it just feels so much faster.

]]> http://fredstuff.com/blog/editorial/i-got-the-iphone-4s/feed 0 Piwigo – Open Source Photo Gallery http://fredstuff.com/blog/useful-sites/piwigo-open-source-photo-gallery http://fredstuff.com/blog/useful-sites/piwigo-open-source-photo-gallery#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:58:32 +0000 Fred http://fredstuff.com/blog/?p=7851 I needed a simple way of uploading and hosting “less important” pictures somewhere on the net. I use Flickr for better shots and my latest Flickr uploads are also automagically posted in the sidebar. Fancy stuff indeed. But what about those pics that you take on a whim AND you want to see them almost at once? Well, I found out about Piwigo. I actually found the iPhone app first and the web site second. I’ll let them speak for themselves for a while:

Piwigo is a photo gallery software for the web that comes with powerful features to publish and manage your collection of pictures. Started in 2002, the project is now supported by an active community of users and developers. It supports numerous galleries of all sizes all over the world, from an individual ten-photos party to the images stock of an agency. This scalability is supported by smart browsing capabilities based on categories, tags and chronological search. Various extensions make Piwigo even more scalable and customizable to suit your own needs and desires. Piwigo is both web and photo standard compliant. And, icing on the cake, it is free and opensource.

I went ahead and downloaded the archive and installed the Piwigo software on my server — it went pretty smooth, just follow the instructions. Then I downloaded the iPhone app and got them to play nice together (just sign in). Oh, and the app and the gallery are both free. Here’s a screenshot of the iPhone interface:

And here’s a screenshot of the actual gallery online:

Setting up the self hosted gallery is not super simple, mind you — but if you are used to operate your own self hosted WordPress blog and you have web space to spare I’d say go ahead and try it out. It’s a simple way of getting to your own pics in a clean, fast way.

UPDATE: Pierrick Le Gall (the founder of Piwigo) contacted me to let us know that there are two WordPress plugins for Piwigo; PiwigoMedia — allows media from a Piwigo gallery to be inserted into WordPress posts. PiwigoPress — a sidebar widget that displays thumbnails from a Piwigo gallery. Pierrick also pointed out that my comment function here @ Fredstuff was broken. It should be up and running now. Let the commenting commence!


Links:
Piwigo.org | Piwigo for iPhone @ The App Store

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