Technical Camera 1.6 : Keeping the Lowest ISO

November 29, 2019 by

Technical Camera 1.6 introduced a new option, Keep Lowest ISO. But let’s start with a little background information.

Multiple cameras on an iPhone usually have different ISO ranges. For example on the iPhone 11 Pro Max, the ultra wide camera’s ISO range is 21-2010, while the wide camera’s range is 32-3070. The telephoto camera is capable of ISO values identical to the ultra wide.

The difference on the high end of these ranges doesn’t really matter as everything above ISO 400 tends to produce unacceptable results for serious photography, and ISOs above 1600 are pretty much useless.

But the low end is different. You have to use the lowest ISO possible to get the highest image quality. And switching between cameras having a different lowest ISO value in manual ISO mode was a bit of a pain, as you had to adjust the manually set value every time.

This is no longer the case in version 1.6. If you turn the Keep Lowest ISO option on in the menu, the app will automatically set the lowest possible ISO on the camera you switched to, given that you had the lowest ISO set on the camera you’re switching from. Please note that this works only in manual ISO mode. And that’s it. A pretty simple but highly effective feature for those pursuing the highest possible image quality even in mobile photography.

Filed Under: My Apps, Photo Software Tagged With: , , ,

Technical Camera 1.6 : The Ultra Wide Camera

November 2, 2019 by

The most heavily touted feature of the iPhone 11 series is the ultra wide camera. Don’t get me wrong, it is a useful tool, but disappointment is guaranteed if you blindly believe the marketing spiel.

Why? Because the ultra wide camera isn’t a first class citizen on the iPhone. It can’t shoot RAW, doesn’t have optical image stabilization, has no focusing of any kind and has severe distortion that is only partially corrected by iOS. You may wish to read my former post for more details.

It was a real challenge to make this thing live up to the quality demands of Technical Camera and to the high expectations of its users. There are a few aspect we can’t change, because hardware is given. But fortunately, I’m a seasoned expert in the correction of the most annoying of its properties: distortion.

Time to show off…

Technical Camera distortion correction compared

There’s no need to talk a lot about it. Technical Camera can give you a well corrected, almost perfectly rectilinear image, while the built-in camera app – and most others – simply can’t. This is where six and a half years of experience shows. So if you shoot buildings, interiors, or anything else where barrel distortion is a problem, then you will appreciate my app.

The apparent image quality difference which comes through even at this small size is partly attributable to the ability to use manual ISO in Technical Camera. The above image was shot at ISO 200, while Apple’s Camera app used ISO 1250.

Live view in Technical Camera shows you exactly what you get in the final picture, so you can frame your shot precisely. Apple’s camera app captures a little wider (and more distorted) image than its live view shows.

On the positive side, the ultra wide camera provides better image quality than any wide converter accessory lens I’ve ever created a distortion correction profile for. You still get corner smearing, so I do recommend to use a lower resolution image quality setting, such as JPG Quarter HQ with this camera.

Speaking of image quality settings…

If you happen to use an album that has RAW set as the image quality, and subsequently switch to the ultra wide camera, the app will warn you that since that camera can’t shoot RAW, JPG will be used instead. You can also choose to hide this warning. But don’t worry, it can be restored with the Warnings screen in the menu.

OK, but how do you switch to the ultra wide camera? There are two ways. You can use the WIDE icon on the Camera Options screen (which can be displayed by tapping the circle icon in the corner of the main screen). Tap the WIDE icon again to return to the default wide angle camera. Alternatively, you can set up a Smart Function Key with the Toggle Wide Mode function (the exact same way you do with a wide converter accessory lens). The latter method is what I use personally.

Version 1.6 is a free update for existing Technical Camera owners. New users can purchase the app in the App Store.

Filed Under: My Apps, Photo Software Tagged With: , , ,

Tech Camera and Artist’s Viewfinder Updates

October 2, 2019 by

Technical Camera 1.5 and Mark II Artist’s Viewfinder 6.4 are now available on the App Store.

Both apps add support for the new 10.2″ iPad screen size, and resolve a bunch of issues on iOS 13. Artist’s Viewfinder also gains support for a few new cameras.

Technical Camera sports a new feature that didn’t make into the previous version: the exposure simulation warning. Since it belongs to exposure simulation, I’ve described it in that post.

These updates are free for existing users.

Filed Under: My Apps, Photo Software Tagged With: , , , ,

Technical Camera 1.4 : Exposure Simulation

September 18, 2019 by

Technical Camera did support longer exposures (up to a given device’s capabilities, which is usually in the 0.5s-1s range) from day one. And live view frame rate followed the exposure time, resulting in substantial lag when longer exposures were used.

To resolve this issue, version 1.4 introduces exposure simulation.

It works exactly the same way your regular camera’s live view does: we simulate the brightness of longer exposures by increasing ISO instead of dropping the shutter speed. The result is a fluid, high frame rate live view feed under all circumstances.

There’s a limitation, though, that you should be aware of. When light levels drop, simulation may end up showing a darker image when the actual (non-simulated) exposure would also use a very high ISO. Practically this isn’t a big deal, since very high ISOs are unusable on a phone.

Update 10/2/2019: While it’s a version 1.5 feature, the exposure simulation warning should also be mentioned here. It appears when the simulation can no longer show the actual exposure, because it hit the high ISO limit.

In this case an orange dot starts to blink once a second.

Exposure simulation is always on, no way to disable it.

Version 1.4 is a free update for existing Technical Camera owners. New users can purchase the app in the App Store.

Filed Under: My Apps, Photo Software Tagged With: , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »