Belkin LiveAction Camera Grip ($49.99)

The Camera Grip is a simple slide-on accessory that basically makes the iPhone a little more usable as a traditional camera by adding a more grippy, larger hand-hold for iPhone 4/4S and iPod touch owners, as well as dedicated photo and video shutter buttons. There’s also a standard 1/4-inch tripod adapter in the bottom of the grip, and a dock connector that allow the hardware shutter buttons to communicate to Belkin’s LiveAction camera app.

Cleverly designed with a spring-loaded bracket to hold iPhones snugly, even when they’re in a protective case or skin, the Camera Grip definitely succeeds at its goal of making it easier to hold your iOS device like a camera and snap photos. But it comes with some limitations that might seriously disappoint mobile photographers. The shutter buttons only work in the LiveAction app, for instance, which means you won’t be able to use Apple’s own camera app, Camera+ or the photo taking part of Instagram.

Also, while it’s nice that the Camera Grip doesn’t require any batteries and is relatively small, it adds a significant amount of bulk to the iPhone or iPod touch, and also isn’t so small as to be able to be stowed comfortably in a pocket. In short, it adds a lot of the downsides of a point-and-shoot while offering few advantages, especially now that iOS 5 supports using the volume up button as a hardware shutter. The tripod mount is nice, but other accessories, like the Glif, do the job cheaper and with a smaller footprint.

Belkin LiveAction Camera Remote ($49.99)

The Remote, on the other hand, offers a pretty unique set of features for iPhone photographers, and in a package that’s remarkably well-designed for mobile-minded users. It features a Bluetooth-powered remote shutter control unit, with a clever support stand that fits neatly into the remote unit for easy storage. The two-part design manages to still be small enough that it doesn’t feel cumbersome in the front pocket of a pair of jeans.

Again, the Remote works only with the Belkin LiveAction app, but in this case that’s not as much of an issue, since you’ll be using the remote in cases where you’re taking a self-portrait, night shot or some other situation where speed isn’t key, but properly setting up the shot is.

Since the Remote uses Bluetooth, it also doesn’t necessarily require line-of-sight, as do many IR-based DSLR camera remotes. That makes it very handy, since you can keep the remote itself out of shots when taking pictures you also happen to be in.

Remote capabilities definitely expand the scope of the iPhone’s potential as a camera significantly; combined with things like the Olloclip, for instance, you can take pretty excellent macro photos without worrying about shutter shake. Also, there’s a dedicated video shutter button, so switching from a distance between still and moving picture recording is a breeze.

One last thing I liked about the Belkin LiveAction Remote: it works as a play/pause remote for music playback on your iPhone or iPod touch when the LiveAction camera app isn’t active. Comes in handy when you’ve got your iPhone docked in your home stereo.

Both getting and missing the point

The LiveAction accessories are then a mixed bag. On the one hand, the Camera Grip seems to miss much of what makes mobile photography fun; it adds bulk, reduces portability and offers little additional functionality in return. The Camera Remote, on the other hand, is exactly what iPhone photographers are looking for: a product that addresses a functionality gap without affecting the iPhone’s general mobility or necessitating a camera bag. Your needs may vary, but for my money, the LiveAction remote paired with a Glif, GorillaMobile and Olloclip is hard to beat in terms of a mobile photography kit that covers all the bases.

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For our second edition of the series (which is a bit late thanks to last week’s U.S. Thanksgiving holiday), we’ll be looking at gear and software to make your iPhone the best camera it can be. Apple already helped out quite a bit by improving camera-related hardware with the iPhone 4S, and software with iOS 5, but these add-ons will definitely up your game.

Best iPhone tripod mount: The Glif. iPhone photography is a challenge at night, and if you want to snap shots of yourself that don’t look like Myspace profile pics, it can be tricky. The Glif is an elegant solution to this problem that has no moving parts, works exactly as advertised, and takes up virtually no space in your kit bag. Plus, Studio Neat, which created the Glif, now also offers two accessories that make your Glif keychain-compatible, and also keep a tighter grip on the iPhone should you be using the device in acrobatic circumstances. If you’ve got an iPhone 4 or 4S, the $20 Glif or $30 combo pack including all its accessories is a great deal.

Best iPhone camera app: Camera+. This app manages to keep upping its game, staying ahead of the redundancy Apple’s improvements to its own software have inflicted upon other third-party software. Camera+ consistently adds new filters and features, and its ability to stabilize shots and use the iPhone 4 and 4S LED flash as a fill light are amazingly useful. Camera+ is $0.99 on sale in the App Store now.

Best remote monitor solution: Camera for iPad. This is an old app designed for use with the iPad before the iPad 2 gained a camera of its own, and lets you remotely control an iPhone’s camera from your device. It’s still really useful if you’re trying to take studio shots with the iPhone however, since you can use it as a remote viewfinder while doing self-portraits or adjusting lighting, for instance. $0.99 in the App Store.

Most anticipated accessory: Belkin LiveAction remote. Belkin has a series of accessories coming out under the LiveAction brand, but the remote shutter control is easily the best. It works over Bluetooth and will let you snap photos from a distance, meaning less camera shake, and easier shots with you in them. It also lets you switch from photo to video mode with a dedicated on-device button. Coming in mid-December, for $49.99.

Best add-on for DSLR video/photographers: iPhone Hot Shoe Holder. If you don’t take photos that often with your iPhone, but you do use your DSLR for snapping pics and shooting video, this iPhone hot shoe adapter can be a welcome companion. Like the Glif, it’s a simple, one-piece design that hugs your iPhone and lets it slide in the hot shoe on top of your camera used for flashes and other accessories. You can then use it to display teleprompter text when shooting video, or use it in tandem with a light meter app. It’s $25 for one in either black or clear plastic.

That’s our list, but feel free to argue our picks or chime in with your own suggestions in the comments.

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The iCam is a simple case for the iPhone 5 (yes, iPhone 5), as conceptualized by Italy’s ADR Studio. The studio used a mock-up it had created for the iPhone 5, featuring a larger edge-to-edge screen and oval home button, as the base device for the iCam add-on, but it’s not hard to imagine it working with the iPhone 4 either.

Basically, it provides a slim case you snap the iPhone into to gain access to an interchangeable lens system, as well as a front-facing small display for self-portrait shots, and a built-in pico projector to show off your slideshows. It also adds hardware controls and a preset wheel like you’ll find on most digital cameras these days, and looks terrific in aluminum. ADR posits that such a device could be made by Apple itself, and the quality of the design definitely lives up to that company’s standards.

It looks great, is actually thick enough that you might be able to believe that it could basically contain much of a 10.1-megapixel compact system camera’s guts, minus those parts the iPhone itself handles, and would really go a long way toward making the iPhone an acceptable semi-pro DSLR replacement, unlike some currently available best-fit solutions that likely won’t satisfy many. But, as mentioned, it’s a concept, so for now it remains a tantalizing, beautiful dream.

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Alyssa & Hannah (iPhone 4)

They were excited about Siri and all the possibilities that come with talking to your iPhone to have it do things for you. But when I talked to these two early birds, they were most genuinely enthusiastic about the camera. Hannah was convinced that the better camera alone was worth the cost to upgrade from her 3GS. I suspect that many others are just like Hannah, and rely on the iPhone as their primary camera for taking snapshots of their lives. But just how much better is the new camera? While I’m sure that more thorough testing will come in over the following weeks, here’s a quick comparison of the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S.

I took these two pictures just before the store opened with the Colorado sunrise behind me.

Aspen Grove Apple Store (iPhone 4)

iPhone 4S Campers (iPhone 4)

The first thing you’ll notice when you first try the camera app is that it is faster. Not a lot faster, but enough to notice. Everything is just a little snappier. But the real treat is the actual image itself. The image below was taken about an hour after the above pictures outside the store. The early morning light is quite a bit better than the sunrise light, and you can click-through to see the detail in the new pics.

Aspen Grove Apple Store (iPhone 4S)

iPhone 4S Line (iPhone 4S)

The new camera sensor is a respectable 8 megapixels (up from 5MP in the iPhone 4) and video capture has graduated to 1080p (up from 720p). The new larger f/2.4 aperture lens makes an immediate difference as well. Low-light and indoor lighting performance is significantly improved. Below are two indoor shots with limited light coming through the closed blinds. The iPhone 4S shot has better exposure, even if the low-light still poses some difficulty for the camera.

Teddy Bear (iPhone 4)

Teddy Bear (iPhone 4S)

Outdoor lighting shows much more consistent exposure between the two models, but the improved resolution of the iPhone 4S is an obvious advantage.

This shot of the planter has shadows and some strong highlights. Both images were taken at the same time with the same light, but you can see that the iPhone 4S has improved shadow detail. The red push seems more subdued as well.

Planter (iPhone 4)

Panter (iPhone 4S)

This image of the pepper from my salsa garden was taken with the HDR setting in indirect light. Here the difference is less stark, but the increase in resolution is nice, especially if you wanted to crop the image down.

Pepper (iPhone 4)

Pepper (iPhone 4S)

Here’s some other outdoor shots to show off the differences. Pay particular attention to shadow detail and the red push in the marigold pictures. I believe the iPhone 4S pictures would be easy to pick out even without the captions.

Flower (iPhone 4)

Flower (iPhone 4S)

Marigold (iPhone 4)

Marigold (iPhone 4S)

Flower Bed (iPhone 4)

Flower Bed (iPhone 4S)

The iPhone 4S camera is a great upgrade for anyone, even those coming from an iPhone 4. The new f/2.4 lens makes both low-light and high-contrast exposure photos a bit better, and the higher resolution is great. I think Hannah will love using the iPhone 4S as her every day camera, as will anyone else that don’t carry a separate point-and-shoot. What are your thoughts on the image-taking abilities of the new iPhone 4S?

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Taking photos

You’ll encounter the biggest change when you go to take a photo. You can now use your volume up button to take a photo, making it a more natural and steady experience. You can also put an overlay grid on the screen to make sure your photo is straight (yes, I know, my sample isn’t straight).

With iOS 5, you can now access the camera app directly from the lock screen. This is a fantastic time-saver. Previously, in the couple of seconds it took to unlock the iPhone and launch the Camera app, the moment had often passed. Now, I’ve dramatically increased the number of photos of my cat that actually come out well.

Editing photos

All edits take place in the Photos app. To edit a photo, choose it from the Camera Roll, and press Edit in the upper right-hand corner. The rudimentary editing tools (rotate, auto enhance, red-eye, and crop) will appear on the bottom.

Rotating photos is a little weird. The tool on the far left will rotate the photo in 90-degree increments. However, if you want to rotate the image any other degree, you need to go into the Crop tool and rotate it using a two-finger twist. To me, it seems like all the rotate tools should be in one area.

Most of the pictures you’re likely to take with your iPhone are in sub-optimal conditions. A bar, outside in direct sunlight, outside at night, etc. Auto enhance is iOS’s best guess as to what the photo should look like if the conditions were better. In my limited tests, it works well enough, though it’s not nearly as good as using a tool like Aperture, but for something you want to quickly enhance before you post it on Twitter, it’s fine.

Left is before auto enhance; right is after

Final thoughts

I’m happy with the Camera and Photos enhancements. While I don’t tend to post many photos on Facebook or Twitter, now that Twitter is integrated into OS, I might start using it more. Giving a photo a quick edit or auto enhance before I post will be nice. The ability to access the camera from the lock screen and using the volume button to capture images are the most significant changes, and should please any mobile photog.

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Camera. The best part of the new Camera app is you can access it right from the lock screen. A close second is the ability to use the top volume button as a shutter. These should help you take quicker and better pictures. Not having to unlock your phone and tap the Camera could be the difference to taking a funny picture of your kid, or taking a picture of where your kid used to be. Using the volume button should reduce camera shake from haphazardly stabbing the on-screen button to capture an image.

You can also show a grid while taking your photo to help you take a straight image, and lock in the exposure and focus. I’m really looking forward to the exposure lock to take photos like this on my iPhone. My iPhone isn’t my best camera, but it’s the camera I always have with me, and I’m looking forward to these improvements.

Cards. I found Cards to be a curious lead-off for the iOS portion, as well as a head-scratcher for its inclusion at all. Cards is a free download, has 21 different designs for letterpress cards, and it will cost you $2.99 to have them mailed in the U.S. or $4.99 anywhere else. While I’m cynical about this service’s chances at success, I think it’s a great way to easily send travel postcards with a custom note right from your iPhone, especially when paired with the new Camera app.

Find my Friends. My first reaction to Find My Friends was a sarcastic, “So, now you can tell if your husband really is where he says he is.” The reality is, I could have used this feature a couple of weeks ago. A contractor was having trouble finding my house and I couldn’t help him based on his description of his surroundings. If we both had iPhones and Find My Friends, it would have really helped out. Apple has given Disneyland as place where it could come in handy, and that’s a good example. Apple also seems to have kept privacy in mind by allowing you to go off the grid and decide whom you will share your location with using simple touch-based controls.

All three of these apps will be available Oct. 12 when iOS 5 and iCloud launch.

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1. Know and accept the camera’s limits

I love minor league baseball. Whenever I go see my local club, I’ve gotten into the habit of sending out a photo of my view to friends. The iPhone is great at this, general photos of the ballpark. However, the iPhone is not going to capture a close-up of the slide into second. Unless you’re the second baseman.

While the iPhone has gotten much better at low-light photography, it’s still not all that great so make sure you’ve got good light on your subject. I also recommend keeping the flash off all the time (not on auto) and manually turning it on when you think you need it.

That said, sometimes the only way to capture a memory is to take the darn photo anyway, regardless of quality. Don’t let subpar conditions get you down.

2. Keep the camera steady

Lock your elbows to your body. Hold the iPhone with both hands about 12 inches from your face. I usually twist my hips slightly, bend my knees a little and put my weight slightly on my back leg. Making sure the camera doesn’t jiggle is key to a good photo. Take the photo with your thumb; don’t stab at it with your finger. This will be slightly easier in iOS 5 when you can use the volume buttons to snap a picture. If possible, rest your elbows on a firm object like a railing.

Speaking of railings, a good accessory to have is the Gorilla Mobile for iPhone. This flexible tripod is great to wrap around railings, plop on car hoods, your buddy’s head or just about any object. If you’re using an app that supports self-timers, you can use this to get in the photo, too.

I also recommend getting the Apple bumper case to help you get a grip. A naked iPhone is damn slippery. Ignoring this advice myself, I almost subjected my iPhone to a fall from a roof taking a picture when it jumped from my hand.

3. Get their heads together

The iPhone is great for taking candid shots. The problem is, most people aren’t good at having their pictures taken. When taking pictures of a happy couple, make sure their heads are touching. If you don’t it’ll look there’s a space between their heads you can drive a truck through. If you’re taking pictures of an unhappy couple, make sure you goad them and really get them going. You’ll get a much better picture when they’re swinging at each other.

Basically, just do your best to get your subjects closer together than you think you need to in any situation.

4. Your feet are the best zoom

You know that slider that lets you set the zoom level on your iPhone? Forget it exists. If you need to get closer to your target, walk. Ok, if you’re at the ball park you’ll need to stop at the railing. The digital zoom is a zoom of last resort. Because it’s a digital zoom and not an optical zoom, you’re going to get some pixelation. Like I said earlier, if you’re trying to capture a quick memory, work with what you’ve got and don’t sweat it. But if you have an extra couple of seconds, just put one foot in front of the other until you’re close enough.

5. Free yourself of the default camera app

The stock camera app is great for zomg the cat is doing some cute and I need to take a picture right, right NOW. I have no hate for the default app; it occupies the place of honor in my upper left-hand corner. It’s not, however, always the best tool for the job. There are three apps I recommend to help you take better pictures.

1. Camera + ($1.99) If you’re at all serious about taking better iPhone pictures, I can’t recommend Camera + enough. It has a grid for framing your shots, a timer, and the ability to stabilize and take burst shots. There are also a slew of filters you can apply after you’ve snapped your shot. Depending on your viewpoint, the fact that images are stored in Camera+’s own lightroom-style sandbox until you export is either good or bad. Bad if you keep forgetting to export it. Good if you’re a congressman still getting the hang of Twitter, and want yet another chance to review your shots before sending them anywhere.
2. Synthcam (free) I first heard about this from Andy Ihnatko when it was his pick on MacBreak Weekly. It’s an interesting idea: instead of using the high-resolution still camera, Synthcam uses the lower-resolution video camera to take a long-exposure shot (you can choose how long). It then determines what moved during the exposure and what didn’t, and performs some kind of magic to make a crisp image of the static components. What this does is give you the ability to take pictures in low light without a lot of noise. I haven’t tested it much, but for free you can’t go wrong.
3. just.SelfTimer (free) If you read the title of this app and thought it would be a self-timer camera app… well, you’d be correct. This app isn’t going to necessarily help you take better pictures, but it will help make sure you’re in more of them. The app will take a picture on 3, 5, or 10 second countdown. One benefit to using an app like this is when you hand your iPhone to someone to take a picture of you. Instead of explaining where to press (and have them jiggle the camera), you can set the timer, hand it to them, and strike your pose.

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The aluminum case itself features a tripod mount and hooks for a pro camera strap, so you can wear it around your neck and take night shots like a true pro. Just think of how jealous your Instagram followers will be when you snap some quality wildlife pics with your $3,000 telephoto lens. You might doubt the ability of the iPhone 4′s 5-megapixel camera to deliver the goods, even with your expensive SLR lens collection attached, but the Photojojo demo pics are actually pretty impressive.

As with previous prototypes, this solution runs up against the fact that you can’t replicate an internal mirror system with the iPhone’s built-in camera. However, it should be better than just your iPhone 4 acting on its own, especially when you’re trying to use digital zoom to capture a far-away subject. You could probably also shoot some pretty cool HD video with this lens adapter.

As of this writing, the check-out process is down but a fix is in the works, according to a Photojojo.com service rep. Maybe it couldn’t keep up with overwhelming demand for the iPhone 4 SLR mount. Anyone thinking about a purchase? I have a bag full of seldom used Canon-mount lenses that suggest it might be worth considering.

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LTE support likely in 2012

If the history of the iPhone tells us anything, it’s that Apple prioritizes splashy tech feature additions according to consumer demand. 3G connectivity wasn’t a priority for the iPhone until 3G access became widely available in the U.S., and recent evidence suggests that a whole whack of customers still aren’t really that concerned about connection speed. LTE may have a lot of exciting potential, but a study by market research firm Morpace found that for the most part, it’s still not having a huge impact on the buying decisions of smartphone shoppers.

That said, Verizon’s anticipated coverage map for the end of 2011 actually quite closely resembles the state of AT&T’s 3G coverage as of 2008, when the iPhone 3G was introduced. At least in terms of potential reach, Apple’s track record would then indicate that we’ll see 4G support arrive in 2012.

NFC still likely a couple of years out

While Google is being aggressive with its near-field communication (NFC) rollout, complete with a new Wallet product that will let users pay for real-world goods with NFC-equipped devices, Apple has yet to make any indication that it will move into that space. Like LTE, NFC will likely have to prove itself as a desirable asset for consumers before Apple gets its feet wet. It’ll let Google do the hard work of evangelizing, working out the kinks and winning over user acceptance for a technology that could set off alarm bells for security-conscious consumers, and then swoop in with a more refined product that delivers exactly what users find appealing about NFC, without any of the growing pains. I think this tech is still at least a year or two away from finding its feet, so don’t expect NFC in the iPhone’s immediate future.

The only camera you need

Apple’s progress with the iPhone’s camera has been remarkable. It went from being what seemed like mostly an afterthought, to a selling feature that helped propel the iPhone to the top of Flickr’s most popular cameras list . Now that the iPhone camera will be able to automatically populate galleries across devices in iOS 5, and can be used quickly and with a hardware shutter button, it should become an even better replacement for traditional point-and-shoots. I think Apple is now fully aware that having the best camera available on a smartphone is a definite selling feature, even if it took a few years to figure that out. Expect to see solid software additions and hardware updates in models to come, especially when it comes to low-light photography, where major improvements would give Apple the biggest advantage over its smartphone competitors.

An entertainment center

The iPhone is already an entertainment hub, but Apple has shown it can become even more of one. AirPlay is a key technology for Apple and for iOS, and I don’t think it’s even fully formed as of yet. The iPad 2′s AirPlay HD Mirroring comes close to showing off the true extent of what AirPlay is capable of, but given freer rein, developers could eventually leverage the technology to make interactive two-screen wireless viewing activities a reality. While they may start out as iPad-exclusive experiences, I have no doubt that Apple will eventually leverage faster processors and more computing power in future iPhone iterations to make it a great addition to any home entertainment center, too. Look for that to start in earnest with an A5-based iPhone that should arrive in fall.

What else do you think is in store for the cornerstone of Apple’s mobile business?

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The iPhone camera has come a long way. In the early days, many complained about the quality of the camera. It started off with just a 2 megapixel sensor, and with a barebones stable of features. The iPhone 3G didn’t even update the camera’s megapixel count, though it does appear to have ushered in some slight improvements in picture quality. Finally, with the 3GS, we got a spec bump to a 3.2 megapixel sensor, but the real advantage with that generation was that it brought in touch-to-focus controls. The camera also seemed to just generally take better photos, in all but low-light situations, and it gained the ability to take videos (without jailbreak).

When Apple revealed the iPhone 4, it was clear that the camera was one big area of improvement. It gained a 5 megapixel sensor (which was also larger, and its the size and megapixel count combined that create better images), and one which is backside-illuminated, allowing for better performance in low-light situations, as did the new LED flash. Reviews of the photos taken by the iPhone 4 were almost unanimously positive, with many being quite free with the superlatives. The iPhone 4 also introduced HD video, and a front-facing camera for greater flexibility with video calling and other applications, like checking your tie just prior to a job interview.

But Apple is also clearly dedicated to improving iPhone camera software, mot just the hardware. iOS 4.1 introduced high dynamic range (HDR) photos built-in to the photo app, which takes three photos in rapid succession with three different levels of exposure, and then combines them to prevent photos from looking washed out. And, as mentioned above, iOS 5 brings many new software features, including quick access to the Camera app from the home screen, which shows Apple is aware that photography is a priority for many iPhone users. The new grid feature for framing shots, white balance correction and editing and enhancement abilities bring the iPhone even closer to feature parity with consumer point-and-shoots, without even the need for any additional app downloads.

The next iPhone is rumored to be getting an 8 megapixel camera, and possibly dual LED flashes, which should make it even less necessary for people to carry around another camera, unless they’re looking for DSLR-level quality. The iPhone 4 has already replaced point-and-shoots for many, apparently, since it officially became the most popular camera on Flickr on June 21, and was probably unofficially atop that list for much longer thanks to photos shared to Flickr through apps like Instagram.

The iPhone’s success is the result of how all of its parts work together, providing an overall user experience that can’t yet be matched by competitors. But the camera, with its steady stream of value-adding improvements designed to improve the once-dismal experience of using a camera phone, may be one of its biggest, and least talked about strengths in the ongoing battle for smartphone supremacy.

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Welcome to another instalment of Tips and Tricks, the series of articles aiming to teach you something you didn’t know about your Apple products. Let’s continue by looking at iPhoto, and some ways of speeding up your workflow.

Quickly Change the Thumbnail for Events and Faces

When you first open either the Events view or the Faces view, you are presented with a series of thumbnails, called the Key Photo, for each event or person. You can change which photo is the Key Photo by viewing the Event or the photo series for a person, right-clicking the photo you want to use and choosing Make Key Photo. There is also a quicker way; without clicking, move your mouse over the current thumbnail in the Events or Faces view. As you move around, you’ll see all the photos in the event. When you see the one you want to use as the Key Photo, just hit the spacebar. When you move your mouse away, you’ll see that photo has been set as the Key Photo.

Rotate a Photo in the Opposite Direction

In the Edit view, there is a button which rotates a photo and does so in a counterclockwise direction by default. There is a setting in iPhoto’s preferences to make the icon rotate a photo clockwise instead, but you can also swap the direction on the fly. To temporarily switch the direction of the rotation, hold the Option key before you click Rotate. The icon of the button will change to let you know what’s happening, and your photo will be rotated the opposite way.

Unmount a Connected Device

Since iPhoto can import photos directly from a device, there is a list in the iPhoto sidebar of all the devices you have connected. It’s possible to unmount these devices from within iPhoto, rather than ejecting them from the Finder. To do so, right-click the device’s name and choose Unmount. This has the same effect as unmounting from Finder. You can also drag the device’s name to the Trash item in the Recent list of iPhoto’s sidebar. As you drag the name, the Trash icon will change into an eject symbol with the label Unmount. Just drop the device’s name onto the Unmount item and it’ll be ejected for you.

Confirm or Reject Multiple Faces Matches at Once

Often, iPhoto will recognize faces in newly imported photos and ask you to confirm that it guessed the identify of those faces correctly. When you open the ‘Confirm Faces’ view, it can get tedious clicking each one in turn. If there are a lot of photos which are all correct (or all incorrect), you can, instead of clicking the photos individually, drag a selection over all of them. This will mark all the photos you selected as confirmed, and if you do the same again, they’ll all be marked as rejected.

Assign Keywords Without Typing

Keywords are iPhoto’s equivalent to tags, and are useful when searching for specific photos in your library. Normally to add keywords, you select one or more photos, then type the keywords into the Keywords section of the Info panel. However, it’s possible to add keywords using just the mouse and keyboard shortcuts. Under the Window menu is an option to Manage My Keywords. If you choose this option, a window will open with a list of all the keywords you have used in your library. If you now select some photos, you can then click on a keyword in this list to add it to the photos without typing.

If you have a keyword you use a lot, you can also assign it a keyboard shortcut. In the Manage My Keywords window, click Edit Keywords. You can now select a word from the list and click Shortcut. You can’t use shortcut modifiers such as Command or Option, but you can use single letters or short sequences of characters. Now you can apply this keyword to photos by selecting them and typing the shortcut. You don’t even need to have the Info panel open.

I hope you’ve learned something new, and as always, leave your own additional tips in the comments!

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Last week, Cisco made waves by announcing the closure of its recently-acquired Flip mobile video camera brand. The Flip brought cheap, portable, decent-quality, HD video recording to the masses and rode the wave of YouTube and online self-video publishing to become a popular portable device. But then smartphones, including the iPhone 4, gained similar-quality, HD video recording capabilities, and the Flip was no longer the hot commodity it once was.

The iPhone topped Flickr’s list of user cameras in 2009 following the release of the iPhone 3GS, and that was back when the best iPhone camera boasted only a 3.2-megapixel resolution. The iPhone 4 has a 5-megapixel sensor, but leaving aside tech specs, many agree that it performs better (on paper) than some of the more powerful cameras found on Android and other devices. The iPhone’s camera is another example of Apple’s philosophy that user experience trumps a hardware capabilities arms race every time.

This time, though, the data specifies the iPhone 4, not Apple’s entire line of iPhone devices, which speaks to the popularity of Apple’s latest smartphone. It’s also significant that this time around, Flickr-released data shows point-and-shoot cameras are steadily declining in popularity. The takeaway is that smartphones are nearing the tipping point in terms of camera quality when it comes to the needs of most average users (professional and prosumer DSLRs continue to do well), and the iPhone 4 is leading that charge. Phones provide a much more convenient on-hand camera experience than do dedicated devices, and the trade-offs in terms of quality and feature are becoming less significant all the time.

Android devices, despite the growing market share of Google’s OS, aren’t appearing in the top rankings for a couple of reasons. First, Android’s market share is far more spread out across a variety of devices, whereas new iPhone users have only a couple of choices when it comes to handsets. Second, Apple’s camera is still celebrated as being among the best available for mobile devices, despite its relatively low megapixel count.

Based on this data, and on general usage observations, I’d say the iPhone is about one or two updates away from rendering point-and-shoot cameras all but obsolete for most consumers. It’s true that really good analog zoom will likely remain out of reach for smartphones, but consumers who really want those features will increasingly gravitate towards the prosumer end of the DSLR spectrum, while everyone else will be well served with their mobiles. Expect a lot of disruption still to come from Apple in this area.

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It appears as if the analyst are convinced that convergence is king, and smartphones are the future. Looking at Apple, it appears as if this trend is being realized as their once miraculous army of hundreds of millions of iPods has quickly transitioned into their now better equipped army of one-hundred million iPhones. With internet connectivity, GPS, camera, video, music and voice, it certainly is the very model of convergence. But the developer in me sees the very concrete issue of battery life becoming more of a concern with each and every feature being added into apps. Making every app in the App Store socially-connected and location-aware is making getting through the day without reaching for my external backup battery iPhone charger more and more difficult.

So while analysts continue to convince investors that standalone, single purpose consumer electronic devices are not the way to go, I can’t help but think that this will only add to the number of additional chargers I will need to carry around on my technology utility belt. If I will have to carry around an additional piece of tech anyway, why not have it serve a dedicated purpose? Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I still carry around my GPS Data Logger, iPod nano, Flip Video Camera, iPhone 4 and JustMobile Gum charger. Perhaps if Cisco made its Flip video camera a smartphone charger as well, it would have a place in this future dominated by convergence.

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In the blog post, tap tap tap founder John Casasanta noted that Camera+ took only three months to reach the 2 million sales mark, after it took more than double that time to reach the 1 million mark. If sales continue at their current pace, Camera+ is only 1.5 months away from the 3 million mark, but of course, Casasanta is quick to point out that that’s far from a prediction you can hang your hat on:

[W]ith the volatility of the App Store, our fortune could change in a heartbeat. The one thing you learn to count on as an iPhone app developer is not to count on future sales based on past performance.

App Store volatility aside, it looks like Camera+ enjoys very consistent numbers when it comes to user-initiated software updates. Casasanta found that more than half of its install base updated the app within six days of the update’s release. That indicates that users are keeping the software on their device, and also that iOS users are being diligent about updates, which is good news for developers who want to make sure experience is as uniform as possible across users.

Casasanta also revealed very specific figures regarding in-app purchases made through Camera+ in his blog post. Camera+’s in-app analog photgraphy effects pack has sold 98,169 copies since its introduction, which resulted in around $70,000 in revenue over a 4.5 month period. It’s not insignificant, but it also pales in comparison to the revenue generated by overall sales of the Camera+ app itself.

I asked Casasanta whether this reduced return meant that he would consider abandoning in-app sales in the future in order to focus on new product development, which in theory should be more profitable. In his email response, he outlined tap tap tap’s unique development model, and explained how it allows them to focus on both without really feeling the heat in terms of resource shortages.

Most of tap tap tap’s projects are done as revenue shares, Casasanta explains, which means that the people who work on them own a piece of the revenue generated by the product in perpetuity. This means chasing funding and pleasing investors is less of an issue for the studio, and it can instead focus on having many projects in the pipeline at once with very low overhead. Casasanta revealed that tap tap tap “currently [has] about 15 projects in the works,” and he argues that “each will likely turn out far better than they would’ve if we just hired a bunch of contractors to create them because the people involved have a big sense of ownership in their respective projects.”

Even with the company’s revenue sharing approach, Casasanta says that balancing time resources put towards the development of in-app content vs. that spent on new features can be a tricky process. Clarity, for example, was originally considered as a candidate for in-app purchase, but the team decided to include it for free. Casasanta explains how tap tap tap decides what becomes a paid feature, and what becomes a free update:

The general guideline for us regarding whether to charge for a feature or not is… if it’s something that mostly everyone can make use of, include it for free, and if it’s a more “vertical” feature, it opens the door to in-app purchase. The word-of-mouth that comes with including a big feature for free likely more than makes up for any additional income that would come in from charging for it.

In the end, Casasanta thinks that apps that depend on generating revenue exclusively from selling photo effects through in-app purchases are unlikely to succeed. Yet in other domains, such as social gaming, in-app purchasing is clearly a winner. This data from tap tap tap provides a good example of how freemium is far from a panacea when it comes to making money in the App Store, and also that securing external funding isn’t a prerequisite to making a great app.

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A good camera app these days should not only take pictures, but allow the photographer to immediately edit and share them. Trying seven camera apps for the iPhone, I found all but one capable of taking decent pictures. That’s not too surprising, since all of them use the same hardware, but software still makes the difference. Most apps had more photo-capturing functionality than Apple’s Camera app, but not all had video. All apps but Camera had editing tools, and most had more sharing options than Apple’s own offering, but the best camera app is built around capturing, editing, and sharing as a unified process.

Apple Camera (Free)

Capture: HDR
Edit: None
Share: Email, MobileMe, MMS

Camera from Apple compares poorly to other photo apps in terms of features, with the big exception of HDR. High dynamic range photography automatically combines exposure levels from three captured images. In the above photo, Camera bested other apps in overcoming high contrast from outside the window, and consistently produced decent photos without the need for editing. That’s good, because Camera has no editing options, and almost no sharing options, only MobileMe’s Gallery. That makes Camera best only for the editing-adverse who share only through MobileMe.

Adobe Photoshop Express (Free)

Capture: No video
Edit: Editing tools, filters, effects, and borders
Share: Facebook, TwitPic, Photoshop.com, but no email

Adobe Photoshop Express is the most popular camera app in the App Store, possibly because of the associated name, probably because it’s free. Image capturing is similar to Camera, minus video capturing. Editing is minimalistic, but capable, with four menu icons providing well-chosen, basic options, as well as multiple undo. There are also filters, effects, and borders, though fewer than in other apps. Sharing follows editing, but the options are less impressive. There’s no email, and clearly Adobe is pushing their own photo-sharing service. Besides the price, the simple, easy-to-use photo editing is what’s best about Adobe Photoshop Express.

Best Camera ($2.99)

Capture: No video
Edit: Filters, cropping, but no manual editing
Share: Email, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, thebestcamera.com

Best Camera redefined the photo app concept in 2009, and still best represents the new photography workflow. Each picture taken is immediately previewed, and if not discarded and retaken, moved on to editing. Editing and effect icons are selected from a sliding dock, and any change can be undone. Having said that, what can be done is constrained, including a predetermined cropping size and only a single border. Sharing is accessed from editing, and can be done with multiple services simultaneously, including thebestcamera.com, which is a kind of MobileMe Gallery for Best Camera users. While the guided workflow is great, Best Camera badly needs updating with either more filters and effects, or some manual control over editing.

Camera Genius ($0.99)

Capture: Big button, anti-shake, burst mode, timer
Edit: Many adjustment options, effects, filters, borders, crop presets
Share: Email, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Picasa, MobileMe (Pictures folder), Tumblr

With its many editing and sharing features, Camera Genius should be the best camera app, but it’s not, at least not for me. I found image quality poorer than in the other apps, with focus and exposure being the main issues. Moving through the workflow requires a lot of bouncing back and forth between capturing, editing, and sharing. I did like the selection of filters and effects. Camera Genius also supports batch uploads and has the most sharing options for photos, and $0.99 makes it the least-expensive paid app.

Camera Plus Pro ($1.99)

Capture: Big button, anti-shake, burst mode, timer, video filters, time lapse
Edit: Lots of adjustment options, filters, and effects, video trim
Share: Wi-Fi, FTP, email, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Picasa, YouTube

Even more than Camera Genius, Camera Plus Pro offers a multitude of tweaking options, and in my opinion, it also takes better pictures. It’s also the only camera app that includes capture, editing, and sharing options for video. Again, like Camera Genius, the workflow could be better. It feels like separate programs, though within those “programs,” editing tools are well-organized. Batch uploading to photo sites is nice, as is sharing over Wi-Fi via a web browser. Unfortunately, the workflow suffers again as Camera Plus Pro keeps its own photo library, requiring manual syncing with Apple’s own Photo Library on the iPhone.

Camera+ ($1.99)

Capture: Focus and exposure control, anti-shake, burst mode, timer, continuous flash, no video
Edit: Many adjustment options, filters, effects and borders, no multiple undos
Share: Email, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter

Camera+ uses a two-finger tap for accessing focus and exposure controls separately during image capture, but personally I found the feature more trouble than the it was worth. Like Camera Plus Pro, Camera+ requires manually saving photos to the iPhone library, and it’s not particularly quick about it. Camera+ does offer many adjustment options and filters, including ones available as in-app purchases, but not multiple undos during editing. Having said all that, the workflow is geared toward moving from photo taking to editing to sharing, yet the interface still felt very awkward to me.

ProCamera ($2.99)

Capture: Focus and exposure control, anti-shake, timer
Edit: Many filters and effects, partial multiple undos
Share: Email

I especially liked the way the all elements of the capture interface adjusted to the iPhone’s orientation, and the general interface of the app is a great example of good, thoughtful use of icons and sliding bars as tools. ProCamera also allows for separate focus and exposure control, but again, I found it slowed me down. Editing also slowed me down, divided into three sections, required, a lot of back and forth, and multiple undos only apply to filters. However, the biggest problem is sharing, as there isn’t any beyond basic email.

The Best Camera App

Chase Jarvis is probably best know among mobile phone photographers for his trademarked observation that “the best camera is the one that’s with you.” With camera apps, that means you can have them all, and that’s what I recommend. Try each app that meets your minimum requirements, and keep the one that works best for you. However, in terms of capturing, editing, and sharing as a total package, Best Camera remains the best camera app, even if it’s the one that’s also most in need of updating.

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