With 150,000 downloads of Foap’s iPhone app, and more than 1.6 million images uploaded today, the process was lagging. And that sort of defeated the point of a simple iOS app that turned anyone into a paid photographer. The standards for approval were too opaque to some Foap users. And though 910,000 images have been approved for sale, founders David Los and Alexandra Bylund are now turning the approval job over to its community.

Now all Foap users will be able to review any photo submitted. Once an image gets at least five ratings it will be approved or rejected by the community if the average score is at least 2.5 out of 5 points.

The originally cumbersome approval process wasn’t the only revelation, however. Once proving that their model was working, they wanted to expand the people selling images into Foap beyond their 55,000 active users. The amateur iPhoneographer demographic is huge —  there are far more iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 users in the world than had already joined Foap. But the founders also wanted to keep it iPhone only. So the founding pair decided to create a greater incentive for Foap’s army of iPhoneographers to get their friends to join the community too: by offering commission.

Every photo license on Foap costs $10. For every one sold, the photographer gets $5, while Foap keeps $5. But now, if you invite a friend, you get 10 percent of each of their photos that are sold. Your newly invited friend the photographer still gets their $5, though — your 10 percent “commission” comes out of Foap’s take.

But the idea is not to just add anyone who can wield an iPhone camera. It’s to invite people who are actually good photographers. And that in turn is yet another way to improve the quality of images available on Foap — images that are purchased by media and travel companies typically for stock use.

In addition to these feature improvements, on Tuesday Foap will announce it has closed a $500,000 round of funding from Jade Global Investments, based in Seoul. That’s on top of the $250,000 in total funding the startup has from angel investors and a grant from the Swedish government.

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Purple haze, all through my lens

iPhone 5

When I posted my original review of the camera, I noticed a purple glow in the top left hand corner of the above image. Since there was a blue diode on the speaker and the metal on the desk lamp was blue, I assumed that the purple glow was a trick of light caused by any reflections off the blue materials.

I was wrong.

Instead, the purple haze is a now well-known issue caused by several factors. The most common causes seem to be when shooting into bright daylight or having the light source be just off frame. This report by DP Review gives the best technical analysis of the issue I’ve seen.

Conducting tests, again

Since my initial analysis about the purple haze being caused by an odd light reflection was incorrect, I decided to test out this problem under better control. Previously, I had just tried to get the camera angle as correct as I could. For these tests, I held both iPhones on a stand that was in a consistent spot on my desk (and marked where on my desk it went so I could make sure it didn’t move). Due to the size difference between the two iPhones, the camera angle isn’t exact, but it’s as close as I could get it.

Now, instead of just testing how the iPhone 5 camera handles low-light situations, I was also trying to replicate the purple haze problem.

Test #1: A messy, well-lit desk:

This is shot with my blue desk lamp as the sole light source. My monitor and halogen lamp were switched off.

A messy, well-lit desk shot with an iPhone 5

A messy, well-lit desk shot with the iPhone 4S

Not much of a difference, huh? That’s to be expected since at this point it’s not a low-light shot, but a decently lit shot. I think the overall image quality of the iPhone 5 camera is better — mainly around the speaker grill — but I don’t see a big difference.

Test #2: A messy, not-so-well-lit desk:

For this shot, the blue desk lamp was off, the monitor was off. However, I angled the head of the halogen lamp so it shined directly against the wall, indirectly lighting the desk.

A messy, not-so-well-lit desk shot with the iPhone 5

A messy, not-so-well-lit desk shot with an iPhone 4S

For the record: the lighting between these two shots is exactly the same and with no flash. And lookie there, the iPhone 5 shot has some purple in it. What I find interesting is that the main light source is off frame and lighting the scene indirectly by reflecting the light off the wall and it still generated a purple tint. However, in every shot on the DP review, there was some blue in the source material or lighting, I did a follow-up test with just the iPhone 5 camera. In this case, the only light on was the halogen lamp lighting my work laptop off frame. In this case, there’s nothing blue in the scene and I wanted to see how the shot would come out.

No purple.

So, what does all this really mean?

So far from my tests the purple haze is caused by off-frame lighting, the color blue is present, and the low-light sensor has kicked in. Naturally, you may experience this issue under different conditions. Unfortunately, it’s been raining for two days here so I couldn’t test this under daylight conditions. After spending more time testing and researching this, I still fail to get worked up over it.  Yes, in certain conditions you may get a purple haze to your photographs. If this is something that would bother you — and that’s not sarcastic; shooting in those conditions might be standard for you — then the iPhone 5 camera is not the camera for you. That’s OK. There are plenty of cameras out there that will suit your needs.

However, if your aim is to get a usable capture in low-light situations, the iPhone 5 camera is better than the iPhone 4S. Most of the pictures I take with my iPhone are to remember an event by; not create a tack-sharp image.

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Initial camera impressions

At first, I was a tad disappointed with the camera in the iPhone 5.  Each iPhone’s camera has been significantly better than its predecessor’s. My general experience has been that for most day-to-day uses where the image has some decent lighting, you’re not going to notice a gigantic difference between the iPhone 4s and iPhone 5 cameras. I think that’s because the iPhone 4s camera was so good, that’s it’s like the Spinal Tap version of cameras: How much better can it be? None more better.

Instead of the camera lens, where Apple can make more significant improvements is in the software. According to Apple, the iPhone 5 has faster photo capture, better low-light performance, and improved noise reduction. My initial test backs those claims up. I noticed a huge difference in low light captures between the iPhone 4s and the iPhone 5. Below are two images of the junk pile on my desk:

iPhone 4s

iPhone 5

There are a few obvious points here. The first is that I really need to tidy up my desk. The second is the the iPhone 5 photo really is a lot better than the iPhone 4s. I’ve tried to line the two shots up as close I could (and for the pixel peepers, the controls for my headset have moved between shots).

With the iPhone 4s camera you can vaguely see an iPhone 5 box and my EarPod case. With the iPhone 5, the overall image quality is lot better. There are only two light sources with this capture: a Luxo-style lamp behind the iPhone 5 case, and a 27-inch monitor slightly off-camera. The iPhone 4s picture also has a lot of noise, which gives it some unwanted grain. The iPhone 5 camera, again, is much sharper. For giggles, I also took a panorama with the iPhone 5 in the same conditions.

The screen

Aside from the size, the iPhone 5 screen covers the full spectrum of sRGB. Apple has also eliminated one of the layers in the screen composition, moving the pixels closer to the edge. While overall the screen has better blacks and more saturation, it’s a subtle, subjective difference.

As a photographer, the overall screen quality between the two phones isn’t a big selling point. That’s because for the most part, I rarely show someone a photo on my iPhone. Usually, I’m posting it on Flickr, or sending it directly to someone. Where it will, however, come in handy is how it affects my overall workflow.

My iPhone 5 workflow

I tend to shoot a lot of low-light images — bands, for the most part — and the iPhone 5 will come in handy for that. While I doubt an iPhone camera will ever replace my DSLR as my main photo for these shoots, the iPhone 5 camera will increase the images I capture and immediately post to Facebook.

The screen, though, I think will have the biggest impact to how I handle shots taken on my iPhone. Since iPhoto for iOS takes advantage of the larger screen, I won’t feel as cramped when I edit the image. iPhoto is great for taking a photo, performing some minor edits like cropping and white balance adjustment, and then posting directly to Facebook.

One personal challenge I’m taking on this year is to enter a photo taken and edited solely on my iPhone 5 in one of the competitions my camera club runs. I continue to be amazed at what the iPhone 5 and iPhoto can do, and want to shake myself free of the mentality that I need to use my DSLR to create a competition-ready image. I’d be surprised if the technology hasn’t gotten to the point where an image taken and edited on an iPhone won’t at least score well. I’m a firm believer that the real magic of photography happens with the person taking the photo; not the camera he or she uses.

Final Frame

The iPhone 5, and the Camera app, is the best iPhone camera yet. But, that’s what we expect these days, isn’t it? While you may not notice a difference in the majority of your shots, if you deal with less-than-ideal lighting and don’t want to use a flash (an example that comes to mind is shooting someone blowing out the candles on a cake) the iPhone 5 camera will blow you away.

That said, previous iPhone cameras I’ve felt were worth the upgrade alone, but this camera upgrade feels more situational and subjective. I expect this is likely to be the case going forward. There’s only so many dramatic improvements you can make in a camera designed to fit into a slim body.  The biggest software improvement I want is an app — either from Apple or someone else — that shoots true RAW images. This would allow for better post-processing edits in software like Lightroom and Aperture. Unfortunately, the closest app I’ve seen, 645 PRO, still doesn’t take full RAW images.

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….whilst this new Touch may not offer a physical zoom lens like a traditional point and shoot digital compact camera (neither does the iPhone), with such a vast array of photo taking, editing and sharing apps, I think this new Touch will appeal to many people both young and old, who are looking for a point and shoot camera that does more than just take photos; and should give the new breed of Android based cameras a run for their money.

I have argued in the past that iPhoneography works because it is conveninent. It also works because iPhones (or the new Android phones) have built-in connectivity and also access to apps, whether for editing or sharing. I have a pocket-sized Lumix but I rarely use it — for special occasions, I have a higher-end Lumix GF-1 with a few lenses and lately I have been trying out the Sony Nex5n, which is a really wonderful camera.

However, it is the iPhone 4S that is my point-and-shoot camera. It is also the no. 1 camera used by folks who upload photos to Flickr. (Mark Crump said in a guest post for us that he uses the iPhone for advanced photography. Check out his tips.) The new iPod Touch further opens up the market. Evans’ post made me wonder if this will only accelerate the demise of the standalone point-and-shoot digital cameras, and instead we will see the camera business become bifurcated into two segments: smartphone cameras and higher-end cameras such as the new digital-mirror marvels. Thoughts?

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The emergence of the iPhone as a preferred camera

Once the iPhone 4s came out with its great camera, and because of my own general laziness, I don’t bring my “real” camera out anymore unless I specifically need it. I feel the most important part of any photography workflow is to capture the moment first, and a technically correct photo second. Obviously, if you’re shooting an event professionally you’ll want both. For most of us, though, if we are skilled at photographic composition we can take a perfectly fine photo with the iPhone most of the time. And Apple is set to improve the sharing capabilities drastically — in iOS 6, which will be available to the public this fall, I can take a photo and have it posted to Facebook almost immediately thanks to the deep integration with the social network.

The iPhone as a camera also really impresses me. Below are two iPhone photos I snapped that I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out. I was surprised for two reasons: For the shot of the kid, I was able to snap a credible photo, edit it, and post to Facebook all from my iPhone in about two minutes. For the shot of The Wall, I was amazed at how well a photo taken at night, from about 300 feet, came out on a cell phone camera.

Neal Vitullo and the Vipers, Warwick City Hall

Roger Waters, Fenway Pahk.

Post-processing

There are two post-processing tools I use: Lightroom 4.0 and Aperture 3.3. Each is a great program, and you’d be well-served with either. I like Lightroom’s workflow a little better, and the fact that unlike Aperture, my photos aren’t contained in a single database. Aperture, however, allows me to also sync my photos directly to iOS, and take advantage of Photo Stream. Because I float between the two editors, I also keep a clean copy of my master images in a separate folder.

Plug Ins:

There are two Topaz Labs plug-ins I love: Denoise, and B&W Effects. Denoise is indispensable for reducing noise from high-ISO pictures. My DSLR images of rock bands tend to be in the 32000-64000 ISO range, which generates a ton of noise.  Denoise allows me to drastically reduce, if not eliminate, the noise.

I’m color blind, so I tend to convert my images to black and white since I might not be able to tell if the photo is a little extra blue. I also grew up shooting black and white (even developing photos by hand in our bathroom with my dad), so for me, B&W holds a lot of nostalgia. B&W Effects by Topaz has a wide range of presets that allows me to get close to the image I want. It also has eight Collections that encompass a broad smattering of styles.

iOS and Sharing

I sync almost all of my photos to my iPad. Usually, it’s to show them off if someone wants to see my work. Or, I’m showing the pictures of a family event with the participants. One feature for sharing I absolutely adore is Photo Journals in iPhoto for iOS. I can group the photos I want into a Journal, then share them via iCloud and just mail off a link to the Journal. I was hoping that this feature would make it to OS X iPhoto when Mountain Lion shipped, but, alas, it didn’t. In fact, for most post-processing, I find that iOS iPhoto does a remarkable job with light adjustments and cropping.

Another valuable I keep in my camera bag is the Camera Connection kit. Often after a shoot with my DSLR, I’ll import the photos from my SD card into my iPad and quickly determine the keepers on the larger screen.

Final Frame

It’s amazing at how quickly technology has altered the photography field. It seems like just yesterday I was hanging strips of negatives up to dry. If you had told me even a year ago that more than 60 percent of the photos I take would never touch my Mac, I’d have laughed. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings.

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For me, that convenience comes wrapped inside the iPhone 4S. For others, it might be a Samsung Galaxy. But in the end it is the convenience that makes all the difference.

Let me explain!

I have a Lumix GF-1 on loan from a friend, but frankly, my rowing machine gets more use than that camera.

Why? I am just one of those weird people who likes taking photos with my iPhone 4S, which is with me all the time (except when I am sleeping). I don’t need to carry any extra chargers or different cables. These days with iCloud and PhotoStream, I don’t even need to back up photos constantly. In other words, it is damn convenient. But mostly I like the iPhone as a camera because it is just there, ready to go into action, when the right moment strikes.

Sure it doesn’t have the greatest lens and has shortcomings. I like its constraints, and I like its simplicity. And I like the fact that the photo is not a snapshot, but instead it is a networked moment, meant to be shared.

What photos mean today is changing

The iPhone 4S actually fits how I like to take photos and why I take photos. For me, photos are not creating art. Instead, for me photos are social experiences, moments (a phrase often used by both Path co-founder Dave Morin and Kodak) to be shared with others who matter to me. Most people take hundreds of photos and then find the perfect one.

I do the exact opposite. I find the perfect moment and take a picture of that. Think of it this way — the frame (or the moment) unfolds in front of my eyes, my brain captures it and then I whip out the iPhone to digitally record that moment in my brain. That moment has context and emotion attached to it, and that is something I like to share with others.

Sharing is the important part. Recently, when I went to India, I found some old photos from my college. I uploaded the scan of those photos to Facebook and tagged a bunch of my classmates. And a wonderful discussion — a trip down memory lane — followed. It was less about the photo and more about the shared context.

Camera+ apps + network = New photography

In many ways I think of taking photos much like how I write and take notes. In the past, I would typically take notes and capture the mood, decor and location and feelings attached to something I was doing. If I was traveling overseas, I would create a travel journal. Airline tickets, restaurant receipts, stubs of museum visits and random drawings would find their way into my notebook.

Now, my photos are those notes or “moments.” Apps such as Camera+, Photogene and Snapseed that come with different filters help evoke context and emotion. (For instance, my photo of Connaught Place, a British-era shopping area was filtered to evoke that vintage feeling of the past and yet it was contemporary.) The GPS sensor helps provide the location context, which is also important.

What iPhone (and other camera phones) and photo apps (filters and editing) and networks (Path, Instagram, Facebook) are creating is a new kind of photography. Some call it iPhoneography and that’s fine by me. I am just happy snapping photos. Gotta go take some photos of Seattle!

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