Technical Camera 1.4 : Optical Image Stabilization

September 18, 2019 by

The latest update to Technical Camera is now available on the App Store. Version 1.4 fully supports iOS 13, so anybody upgrading tomorrow to Apple’s newest operating system will be able to continue to use the app. This includes support for Dark Mode in the menu.

But there are two other prominent features in this version, one of which is the ability to utilize optical image stabilizers found in newer iPhone cameras.

We’ve added a new Optical Only option to the Image Stabilization preference. Honestly, I was never a big fan of Apple’s digital image stabilization (used when Auto is selected), so that’s why we have this option now.

Optical stabilization is available at any shutter speed, as well as when shooting RAW. I routinely shoot one second long exposures handheld at ISO 25 with the wide angle camera on my iPhone XS Max, and the results are pretty good.

Auto stabilization has also been updated. By default it tries to use the digital/optical combined stabilization you are familiar with. But in cases where digital stabilization is not available (such as in case of RAW captures or at shutter speeds longer than 1/20s) it will switch to optical only stabilization. Well, if the currently selected camera supports it.

Starting with this version, manually set ISO and shutter speed values are retained when you exit and relaunch the app. So you can now set ISO 25 and optical only stabilization to have the highest quality RAW captures, and forget about it. Only increasing ISO when needed. This elevates image quality by a huge margin compared to higher ISO captures, and is exactly what I do.

The update is free for existing Technical Camera owners. New users can purchase the app in the App Store.

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Artist’s Viewfinder 6.2 Released

July 22, 2019 by

Version 6.2 of the Mark II Artist’s Viewfinder is now available on the App Store. This is mainly a camera database update, with adding support for the default copyright template (a feature now available in all our apps).

With the default copyright template, you just have to type in your name into the Artist Name field, and the app will generate a copyright info template for you. The format is described in my post that introduced the feature for the first time.

Other that this, the usual slew of newly released cameras were added to the database. Plus the Real Lenses feature now includes ALPA’s just released Switar cine optics and all Hasselblad X and H mount lenses. For the complete list of new stuff I’d recommend to check out the release notes.

The Viewfinder Handbook was also updated, and the PDF is now a 25% smaller download thanks to my move from Adobe InDesign to Affinity Publisher.

This update is free for existing users. New users can purchase the app in the App Store.

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ShutterCount Mobile 3.5 : File Mode

December 4, 2018 by

Version 3.5 of ShutterCount Mobile (including the Pro edition) brings File Mode to the iOS app.

File Mode is designed to be used with cameras that store the shutter counter in image files, that is almost all Nikon and Pentax models.

While on the Mac it is pretty easy to bring images into the app, it’s a bit tricky on iOS: you have to import them into Photos first. Basically you have two options to do it.

The first is to connect the camera (or a card reader) directly to your iPhone or iPad, and let iOS to import the image into Photos. On this year’s USB-C equipped iPads its straightforward, but on devices with a Lightning connector you’ll need Apple’s Lightning to USB Camera Adapter.

The second option is to import the image into Photos on your desktop computer and let it sync through your iCloud Photo Library to the phone.

Either RAW (NEF/PEF/DNG) or JPG format photos will do it, but I recommend small size JPGs, as the app only needs the metadata from the image, not the pixels.

Other options, such as sending the image through iMessage or via email might strip the metadata portion, in which case the app will tell you that shutter count information is missing from the file.

Once the image is in Photos, open ShutterCount and tap Connect. Tap Open Photo… and the app will let you select the image from your photo library.

If the image is present locally on your device, which is usually the case, especially if you just imported it, the reading will be done immediately.

But if for some reason the photo is in the cloud (because you imported it into the desktop Photos, or if iOS migrated it to the cloud due to low available space on your device), it needs to be downloaded.

For JPGs, Photos will handle the downloading. But for RAW files, Photos will only download the preview JPG, and strip all the metadata we need. In this case ShutterCount will download the complete file for you.

Once the download completed, the app will do the reading.

ShutterCount 3.5 is a free update for existing owners. New users can purchase it in the App Store. Also available is a Pro edition containing all optional extras, such as the Plus Pack with graphing and forecasting features.

File Mode on iOS requires iOS 12 or later and supports the exact same cameras it does on a Mac. For the complete list, please refer to our Tech Specs page.

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Technical Camera 1.1 Released

October 23, 2018 by

Version 1.1 of Technical Camera is now available on the App Store. This is a device support update, bringing optimized screen layout for the whole iPhone X series, including the new XS Max/XR screen size.

We’ve also fixed a few bugs, and added two wide converter profiles as discussed in the release notes.

This is a free update for existing Technical Camera owners. New users can purchase the app in the App Store.

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