Instagram

[Black Pearl]

I love my iPhone 4 as a camera, there is something about the lack of technicalities that seems to make me shoot in a different way. I've tried to emulate this with my Nikon but my stuff, though composition and absolute quality wise, is better I still don't get the freedom of shot I can do with the phone. Compact cameras have the same effect, where I tend to just shoot away almost without thinking about it.

Anyway, enough of the psychoanalysis this is a photography forum. One of the best apps I have on the iPhone is called Instagram, its a kind of social network for photographs where you shoot a picture (in a square format which I still have a hankering to from my film days) add a filter effect and post it into a stream. You then follow other users while they in turn can follow you giving you a fascinating snap-shot of the world at any one moment - odd what some people get up to and even odder that they then photograph it and share.

I realise these won't be to everyones tastes and they are just grabbed at random from the hundreds of shots I've taken to give you a flavour of what the app is about and I hope illustrate what I was muttering about above.

[Skitalez]

I have found it very interesting, new and varied! It is pleasant to me, but in such type - all together, as a ?poster?. Each photo separately is not looked for me. To look all set was pleasantly and interestingly! To me in general like soft and pale tone. Unfortunately, such colors are inapplicable to the majority of a photo. In this case you have made gooooooooooooood

[Antonio Correia]

Very interesting Robin

I'm in. With iPhone 3GS

[Shadowman]

Very nice, are there any adjustments (such as contrast, sharpness) that can be applied to the photos or to the camera prior to taking the shot?

[Antonio Correia]

[Shadowman]

Those are very good Antonio, very vibrant. What is the maximum resolution you can achieve with your phone?

[Black Pearl]

Shadowman: You can't set anything before you take a picture with the iPhone (not that I've found anyway) but you can alter it in any way you like afterwards - there's even a Photoshop app. These though are just taken within the Instagram app and have nothing other than one of the default filters applied. The iPhone 3G/3GS has a 3 meg camera which is a bit limited but the iPhone 4 camera has a 5meg backside illuminated sensor, spot focus/spot metering built in HDR (it takes three shots and combines them....very well actually) and it shoots 720 HD video. I've had it up against loads of compact cameras at work and it trounces the sub £100 ones even holding its own against some of the big named more expensive stuff.

António Correia: Excellent stuff.

[Shadowman]

Shadowman: You can't set anything before you take a picture with the iPhone (not that I've found anyway) but you can alter it in any way you like afterwards - there's even a Photoshop app. These though are just taken within the Instagram app and have nothing other than one of the default filters applied. The iPhone 3G/3GS has a 3 meg camera which is a bit limited but the iPhone 4 camera has a 5meg backside illuminated sensor, spot focus/spot metering built in HDR (it takes three shots and combines them....very well actually) and it shoots 720 HD video. I've had it up against loads of compact cameras at work and it trounces the sub £100 ones even holding its own against some of the big named more expensive stuff.

António Correia: Excellent stuff.

Robin,

Thanks for the information. I've seen a few camera phones where about all you can change is resolution and perhaps contrast. For a quick grab shot they take pretty good photographs. I remember a few months ago being in a hotel in Georgia just as a big storm was rolling in and having nothing more than a camera phone with me, so they do come in handy in a pinch.

[Antonio Correia]

@ John and Robin

I made the shots with the iPhone 3GS and imported them in LR where I worked a bit on them the way they looked better to me.

And if they are vibrant is because I pushed Brightness, Contrast and Vibrance

[GeorgeM]

I especially like #s 1 and 7.

[GeorgeM]

Nice!

[ilovelucydog]

I love Instagram! I am an iPhoto Instagram junkie... it's just plain fun. (please ignore the stacks of pictures and boxes behind my head... still unpacking... sigh.)

[Shadowman]

Love the eyes.

[ilovelucydog]

Love the eyes.

Thank you, John.

[ilovelucydog]

Maybe I'll just sell my DSLR. Instagram is just fun.