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Filed under: Photo, Utilities, iPhone

Learn to take better photos with Nikon's iPhone app

Nikon App for the iPhone. Via CNET.Nikon, never satisfied with merely standing still, have brought out a lovely new iPhone app that acts as an always-there photography guide. If you're an amateur, semi-pro, or even a professional wondering how certain effects or styles are pulled off -- this app would make a great addition to your iPhone's arsenal.

This new app, Learn And Explore, allows you to hunt for professional examples to show you what's possible in a given situation. There are guides that will show you how to take photos in tricky conditions -- indors, outdoors, low-light, long-exposure -- it's al lhere.

They're promising continuos updates and access to their Nikon World magazine through the app.

No reason this would only be of use to a Nikon user either -- though if there's any kind of Nikon branding on the software, I'm not sure a Canon user would be seen dead with it...

[via CNET]

Filed under: Photo, Utilities, Hardware, Macintosh, Productivity, Apple, Freeware, iPhone

Cameras makes managing multiple cameras a snap on your Mac

Cameras

Since almost all phones can now take photos, many people have both a phone and a regular camera (or four) that they manage with their Mac. By default, you can choose whether to automatically open iPhoto when a camera is connected, but what if you want to do different things depending on which camera you connect? A new application by Flexibits has just been released to deal with this problem.

Cameras installs as a preferences pane, and allows you to very specifically choose what you would like to do with each camera. By default it is set to "Ask what to do" each time a new camera is plugged in, at which point you can choose to open a specific application, do nothing at all, or leave the option to ask what to do each time.

This functionality seems so dead-simple and obvious that I'd be surprised if Apple doesn't adopt it at some point in the future. For the time being, if you have more than one camera and you want to handle each one in different ways, Cameras is your free magic bullet.

[via our close personal friends at TUAW]

Filed under: Fun, Utilities, E-mail, iPhone

Email n' Walk lets you email and spy with your iPhone

Email n' Walk is one of the most innovative uses of the iPhone's camera I've seen in quite a while. It lets you compose a normal email, but the text fields are overlaid on top of the view from your iPhone's camera. Finally, a solution to embarrassing accidents where you walk into a signpost while typing on your phone -- not that I would know about that from experience, or anything.

Email n' Walk can also be used to spy on suspicious characters while looking like you're nondescriptly writing a message. Fortunately, though, it's really meant for your safety, not for stalking. You can't take or save photos from it. Email n' Walk also doesn't replace the built-in Mail app on the iPhone. When you save your message, it pops open Mail so you can address and send it.

You can pick up Email n' Walk for 99 cents in the App Store.

[via Lifehacker]

Filed under: Photo, Macintosh, How-Tos, iPhone

How-To: Take iPhone or iPod Touch screenshots!

If you've been following the new iTunes app store, you might be wondering how all those screenshots got there. Some people seem to think you need to run an iPhone simulator or install an app to create them, but there's actually a built-in way to do it right on your phone or pod. We thought this would be a good time to go over it.

Step 1: Briefly hold down the power button on the top of your device. While it's down, press the ... uhh, well, the only other button these things have. The one on the front. And that's all! Your screen should flash momentarily, and your screenshot should be saved in a new folder under Photos.

Appropriately, it's called Saved Photos. When you want to get your photos from your iPhone/iPod to your Mac, without having to mess around with syncing in iTunes, you can just pop open Image Capture -- it comes standard with OS X -- and pick the ones you want.

Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, Internet, Web services

Stock photography care of Lucky Oliver

buy and sell stock photography with lucky oliver

Are you a digital photographer? Like to bring your camera wherever you go and snap like crazy? Why not enter the world of buying and selling your stock photos?

Lucky Oliver is a community of photographers, designers and artists who all buy and sell stock photos. The images and illustrations in Lucky Oliver are high enough quality for both web and print work, and are pretty affordable and starting at only $1.00. For people interested in submitting images to the image portfolio, there is a photographer's guide on what type of images the team is looking to sell. Photographers have to prove themselves to get started in the system by submitting their three best photos. When they are in the system though, royalties can be range from $0.30 to over $12.50 per use.

No more stealing images from Google for projects, this is an affordable way to get the job done without breaking the bank on high priced stock photos.

Filed under: Palm

Palm updates Treo 680 software to address power issue

Treo 680So you've got a snazzy Treo 680, but every time you whip it out to make a call or snap a photo, you realize that the battery's dead.

Turns out there was a bug that allowed the camera to draw power from the battery even when the unit was in standby. Palm's issued a software patch for the problem. The fix is recommended for all Treo 680 users, but will not work with any other Treo models.

You have to download the update to your computer, and you can either install it using Palm HotSync, or by copying the file to a memory card and installing it directly on your device.

Filed under: Internet, Photo, Video, Windows Mobile

Use your PDA or Smartphone as a webcam

WebCamera PlusEver wish you had a little webcam that you could stick in your pocket to use for video conferences, web chats and spying purposes at a moment's notice? No? Yeah, umm... me neither.

But if you've got a Windows Mobile PDA or Smartphone with an integrated camera, all you need is some software from Ateksoft and $15, and you've got an instant webcam.

WebCameraPlus works through any internet connection, USB Activesync, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, 3G, or LAN. It's reportedly compatible with most "modern" Windows Mobile device. I assume that means WM2003 and up.

The software works with Skype, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Virtual Dub and other programs designed to take advantage of web cams. You can also use the software to grab screenshots from your PDA and transfer them to your PC.

Filed under: Photo, Security, Video, Windows, Open Source

How to use your webcam as a motion-detecting security system

Webcam securityWorried about unsavory individuals lurking around your office or home and jacking your computer gear? Have no fear! With the help of your Windows PC, webcam, some free software, and this handy tutorial from Simplehelp, you can set up a reasonably sophisticated DIY security system. The core of the tutorial is Dorgem, an open source utility that captures images from your webcam and can save images based on "storage events," e.g. every 30 seconds or every time it detects motion. Since having photos of your intruder on your computer isn't very useful after the computer is gone, Dorgem has the ability to send the files to an external server via FTP or HTTP, or hand the files off to another program. The tutorial also covers more advanced techniques, like setting up multiple webcams and hiding your webcam from sight.

Filed under: Internet, Video

Flixn lets you easily put video anywhere

flixn videoWant an easy way to record video from your webcam and post it on your blog or website? Flixn is a simple online solution to achieve this. Simply connect your webcam, press record, grab a snippet of code, and post it anywhere you like.

When you plug your webcam in, Flixn.com will recognize it and instantly let you being recording. The playback mode lets you check out your video, and record again if you are not satisfied. When you are satisfied with your video, you grab your code. Flixn has build special code options for use on MySpace, Blogger, eBay, LiveJournal, TypePad, and Friendster. You can also choose the URL option, which is a direct link to your video on Flixn's servers. You can't get much simpler than that.

Filed under: Internet, Photo, Windows

Google Picasa updates and moves out of beta

google picasa

On Wednesday, Google pushed its digital photo application Picasa out of beta, with many new updates. The Picasa Build 32.91 updates include:
  • Sharing photos online though Picasa web albums
  • Choose how folders are displayed in Picasa, though a nested folder view, or date view.
  • Importing photos into an existing folder.
  • Choose between four presentation views for screensavers.
  • Tell Picasa where you shot each photo, and geotagging ads some nice integration with Google Earth. KMZ files can be exported and shared with others.
  • Thumbnails appear larger and clearer.
  • RAW formats and more camera models are supported.
  • Caption editing has been updated.
  • Starred photos get organized into a special album.
  • Buttons can be configured to the user's specifications.
Google has also added a Tools > Experimental menu where users can test out features that Google is working to develop. Sorry, but Picasa is currently only available for PC and Linux downloads at the moment.

I love Picasa, and use it daily to organize, view and store my digital photos. Over the past few months I have been experimenting with the Picasa Web feature, and I have to say, it's a great tool to use to send digital pictures to family and friends for viewing anywhere, and display them in a nice online gallery.

Filed under: Business, Photo, E-mail

ScanR: Scan documents with your camera phone

ScanRScanR is an interesting service that lets you turn your camera phone into a "scanner." Basically you snap a shot of a document or whiteboard with your 1MP-or-better camera phone and e-mail it to ScanR, whereupon they'll send you a cleaned up, tagged version of the image as a PDF or a fax. The examples on the ScanR web site are pretty impressive, and if the fax option works well it might save businesspeople a lot of trips to Kinko's. ScanR is (currently) free to use.

[Via TechCrunch]

Filed under: Fun, Kids, Photo, Video, Macintosh, Freeware

'Crazy Mirror' makes your iSight (more) fun



Remember those silly mirrors that you used to find inside those goofy fun-house carnival rides? The ones that gave you the figure of Grimace or a stretched-out face?  Now, you can re-live those carnival mirror glory days with Crazy Mirror, the latest piece of Mac freeware from Tatsuo Unemi.  The program boasts a number of distortion effects to make you look, well--crazy!  You can record Quicktimes of your craziness, as well.  If you have kids, they'll eat this up. And it's a universal binary, so it will run great on your new Intel-based Mac.

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