Without trying to blame someone or something, I've been thinking, those mistakes I did can be avoided if the app have a better design. Let's take a look on ProCamera's.

You see that the video button is side-by-side with shutter button. It appear that I did accidentaly tap on video button.

Another mistake I did was I found out what my photos are saved in low quality (640 x 480; 0.3MP) This thing I haven't found the answer. Turns out after rechecking my photos, not all of my images saved in low quality. Some of them are saved in full resolution. Weird.

I was used Camera+ as my primary camera replacement app for my iPhone, but then I need a full screen shutter, which Camera+ does not have that feature. Two main reasons I use ProCamera because it has all the feature I need for shoot from the hip:

• Volume Shutter. Different than Camera+ or even iPhone's default camera app, ProCamera allow you to use either volume up or volume down to trigger the shutter. It has been proved useful for me because most of the time I always mistaken the volume buttons.
• Full Screen Trigger. This is the one thing that Camera+ doesn't have. For me who always take a shot from the hip, this feature is really handy so I don't need to worry to missed the shutter button, which on some app it is appear quite small. Although the full screen trigger on ProCamera triggering on tap, not on release, but I think it's one of pros rather than cons because it's instantly trigger the shutter soon we tap on the screen we don't loose a moment. Well, it is my opinion at this time, I'm still considering this thing tho.

These two features on ProCamera liberate me to choose which trigger I can reach when I put my iPhone on front my tummy or on the side of my hip.

Then I reviewed all the camera apps I bought, some of them like Camera+, Qbro, King Camera, Camera Plus, Nofinder, all ended up the same, nothing have all the features I need. ProCamera seems has all the things I need but then just a little video button ruin everything.

I found this article which pointed the same issue with me. Although the writer pointed out that ProCamera does not fit with street photography style. At the end of post, the writer wrote that she probably will going back to iPhone's default camera app for street photography, which that what I also thinking right now.

So, with acknowledge that not every app fit with everyone's need, please kindly share to me, is there any perfect iPhone camera replacement app for street photography out there? Please mention your pick with reason so I know why it is good for you.

So the story begin today after I went out for photowalk. Using ProCamera and Olloclip wide lens attached to my iPhone 4, I took a lot of candid shot, a shot-from-the-hip-street-photography-style. I rarely look through my camera roll along the walk. Reviewing always happen later after I finish the session.

Then after got home and look through my camera roll, the disaster appear. Some of the shot I took appear to be video and after reviewing all the shots, I found out that all of my shots are saved in low resolution!

I know it must be my mistake. Not the app. But learning from what happened today, I make some notes. Hopefully it will be useful for everyone to not follow my mistake.

1. Re-check the image quality setting on your app before you start shoot. As I remembered, I always set the image quality to original in any apps just after I bought it. Since then I never change the image quality setting on my app. But sometimes shit happen and we always make sure everything set perfectly.
2. Sometime, it is better you take a peek to your camera roll after a couple of shots. Just to make make sure everything went well and it is better to short review your shots on the spot so you can fix the mistake for next shot by learning from your last shots.

Shit happens and the most important thing we learn from mistake and try to not repeat the same mistake in the future. Move on!

Update #2 (4/6.2011): IG user @mahadewa pointed out a new app called Squaready to do conversion from 3:4 photo (or any size) to square format and make it ready to put on your instagram. The app is free but with ad.

Update #1: Some users on Instagram has pointed Photoshake to do conversion. It worked flawlessly and so easy. Photoshake is definitely making this conversion from 3:4 to square format become effortless, and you can do this conversion within one app. Take a note that Photoshake is paid app. For free solution you still can do my method below.

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I've been looking for any tricks on the internet to post 3:4 photo (iPhone's regular photo size) to Instagram. The bad news is Instagram only accept square format. When we try to resize 3:4 image format (vertical) on Instagram, it won't work and nothing we can do to get full 3:4 size

I know square format (1:1) is getting hype nowadays but sometimes we need more space to tell the story on our photos, which 3:4 format can provide that. No one posted about it (yet?) neither Google doesn't help that much, and amazingly, not single app on app store can provide this solution (at least by what I've searched within Indonesia's app store). I believe there are a lot of Instagramers looking a solution for this problem. Well, I did found one solution on one app. I hope this help any frustrated Instagramers out there who can't post their 3:4 photo to Instagram :)

1. Download app called "Montage" (review on iphoneography.com) on iTunes' app store (I prefer the lite version, which is free and still working for this resizing thing).

2. Open Montage, load your 3:4 (or 4:3) photo into it.

3. You can also pick the background color. Pick white if you want to flawlessly manipulating your 3:4 photo, since Instagram using white background on its iPhone app. But you can pick any colors you want for the background.

4. Touch 'add' and now you can see your photo placed on white surrounding.

5. Now (this is my prefered way) turn your iPhone into landscape mode then pinch you photo to resize it fit with the iPhone's height screen size.

6. At this point you might see your picture is not align right. Don't worry :) Find the rotate button, the one on the center of menu bar at the bottom of the app. Touch that and voila! it magically aligned!

7. Save your photo, but you'll find that you need to rotate your photo because it look flip to the side right now,

8. The last step is load your photo to any apps you have to rotate the photo (i.e: Photoshop Express).

9. Open Instagram and load your photo and now your 3:4 photo is posted on Instagram.

"Montage" is the only app that I found on app store that can solve this 3:4 to square format on Instagram. So if you had solved this problem with another apps or different method then please kindly share your method.

The steps above looks complicated when you read it, but if you try it, it won't look that complicated. Just try it, and good luck. See you on Instagram!

Follow my Instagram: @rizalrenaldi

There are at least two pages of photography apps on my iPhone 4 right now. I had decided to put all of my photography apps out of folder, simply because I want direct access to all my apps whenever I need them.

Lately I have a plan to print my selected photos and compile them into a book. Because most of the time I used Instagram to share my picture taken from my iPhone, I just realized that Instagram shrunk my image size into 612 x 612 pixels, which I think it's too small to get printed. I specifically pointed out on square size (1:1), which is the size that Instagram used. On most of the apps we can easily pick exact number of the resolution or the size we want on its setting, but on some other app they don't mention it cleary.

So I try some self research on some apps I owned to check if they shrunk the image too. If it is, then how many pixels they shrunk it. I took the same image with the same angle and lighting and no effect applied except for some apps that applied effect automatically like Hipstamatic and Instagram.

As you can see on the full size comparison coloumn, almost all app has same full resolution image size, except for Pudding Camera (because it has different kinds of camera on the apps). On the square size coloumn, with exception on Diptic because it merges few images into one image, there are 3 apps that has the biggest resolution image: Camera+, Qbro and Pro Camera.

Since lately I only use Camera+ from taking a picture until post processing and then post it on Instagram without using any Instagram's effect, then it's proofed to be the best workflow to produce 'print-ready' images.

As long as I can remembered, I never listed the things that I've equipped with. So, now I try to make a list of daily use things from gadget and all the things that acompany me all day long (I will update this page if I got a new one).

• Macbook Pro 15" 2.8Ghz
• Mighty Mouse wireless
• iPhone 3G 16GB
• Western Digital MyBook Essential 1TB external hardisk USB interface
• LaCie Key Thumbdrive 8GB
• Canon Powershot G10
• Sennheiser PX200 portable headphone
• dbE PR15 (earphone)
• dBE PA20 (headphone amp)
• Case Logic hardisk case (for my WD 1TB hardisk)
• Crumpler Part and Parcel Gun Black + (custom equipped with) Crumpler Thirsty (M) Gun Black

Wishlist:

• Audio Technica M50 (headphone)
• Western Digital MyBook Studio 1TB/2TB external hardisk FW/USB interface
• Western Digital My Passport Studio 500GB 2.5" external hardisk FW interface

from: http://drawn.ca/2009/11/19/flairs-truckers-delight/