If you got to this page via a search, you might want to check out
the Photo Tips & Sug­ges­tions for New­bies Page
as this is where I explain a few things.

Click the Photo Tips but­ton above.

The links on this page will take you to a secure page to order from. 

Links to hard­ware will be updated as gear evolves and new prod­ucts becomes avail­able.  This page was updated Nov. 12th, 2011. Though I would have liked to post prices, they change too often for me to keep up with.

My ‘rec­om­men­da­tions’  were made after many, many hours of research­ing other sites and study­ing lots of user testimonials.

It should go with­out say­ing, I did not get to test every­thing I fea­ture here. These are my per­sonal picks and may not suit your own needs.  I strive for a bal­ance between fea­tures, func­tion, reli­a­bil­ity, cost and style. I always try to get the most ‘bang for the buck’.

In the end, you must decide what is right for you. Right?

Apps for iPhone Paparazzi ($2 or less)-

A bet­ter image cap­ture App– Cam­era Plus Pro    App Store Link

This image acqui­si­tion App is way bet­ter than the one that Apple pro­vides.  Anti-shake, Geo Tags and Grid Lines for com­po­si­tion are the key ones.  There are addi­tional func­tions for video cap­ture includ­ing some spe­cial fil­ters and my favorite, Time-Lapse Recording.

Cre­ate multi-image panoramic images– Auto Stitch  App Store Link

This lit­tle App does require you to cap­ture the images in advance, but this means you can cap­ture the best image pos­si­ble and cor­rect it some, before cre­ation the Pano.  Though there is an 18MP limit, it will auto­mat­i­cally stitch up to 20 images at one time.  Not bad.  Remem­ber to set a com­mon  expo­sure for the set so there are no dis­crepen­cies later.

High dynamic range (HDR) tool– True HDR  App Store Link

This app takes two shots in short order and then com­bines them to pro­duce an image with a longer tone range than a sin­gle shot could do.  This is true HDR, not faked from a sin­gle shot.  It works best from a tri­pod or braced in a door­way or some­thing, but Auto Cap­ture will get you by in a pinch.

Advanced image edit­ing tool– Iris Photo Suite   App Store Link

Now that you have that shot, here is a way to improve it.  Adjust­ments include lev­els, color temp (color bias), shadow/highlight con­trol (some­thing I use all the time), sharp­en­ing and noise reduc­tion.  It also includes a col­lec­tion of 72 fil­ters. Woo Hoo!  Last, but not least, the App fea­tures mul­ti­ple lev­els of ‘Undo’.  A really big deal when some­thing goes badly wrong.

Add tex­tural effects to images– Pic Grunger  App Store Link

Wanna add a dirty, messed up look to your shot?  This App fea­tures an ‘FX’ or effects photo wiz­ard to ‘trash’ your image.  There is also a col­lec­tion of tex­tures that can be applied. Fun!

Water­mark your images before post­ing– Impres­sion  App Store Link

I’m dead set against putting any images on the Net with­out some form of water­mark.  This nifty app gives you a way to add your name and any other copy you want, over the top of your image.  Font, size, color of type, trans­parency and posi­tion are all adjustable.  Perfect.

Lenses and Attachments–

Gary Fong Flip-Cage with Tri­pod Adapter for iPhone 4/4S

This goodie cre­ates a ‘roll­bar like cage’ to pro­tect your iPhone from rough han­dling in the field. Serves as a table­top stand as well. It fea­tures a stan­dard 1/4″ 20 thread mount for tri­pod applications.

Gary¤Fong Flip-Cage with Tri­pod Adapter for iPhone 4/4S

Aqua­pac Storm­proof Case for an iPod/iPhone

A water-tight pouch to pro­tect your iPhone, iPod Touch or Android phone when down by the beach or caught out in the rain.  It’s also a good idea to toss a lit­tle silica/desiccant pouch in with the device, to suck up any con­den­sa­tion that might occur.

Aqua­pac Storm­proof Case for an iPod (Orange)

EyeSee360 GoPano Micro

This is cool… Shoot a full, 360 degree panoramic in one shot.  No stitch­ing required!  And you can do it right from your iPhone. It will even allow you to shoot 360 degree Panoramic Movies.  How cool is that?

EyeSee360 GoPano Micro

Long Focal 8x Zoom Opti­cal Tele­photo Extended 30x70mm Lens

This basi­cally turns your iPhone into a sniper scope with record capa­bil­ity.  The device allows for man­u­ally fine tun­ing the focus. It will focus as close as 10 feet and includes mini-tripod.  Very com­pact set. For 3G and 3Gs only.

Super Qual­ity Photo Pack­age for Apple IPhone’s Cam­era — Long Focal 8x Zoom Opti­cal Tele­photo Extended 30x70mm Lens, Black — Mini Tri­pod And Uni­ver­sal Mount Holder — Includes Vel­vet Case and Clean­ing Cloth — Turn your iPhone 3G/3GS into a High-End Cam­era!

Orion SteadyPix Tele­scope Photo Adapter for iPhone (any)

If you have a tele­scope, this adapter will allow you to mount your iPhone to it.  It is adjustable on three axis so it can be used with almost any iPhone.  Works with 1.25″ eye­pieces.  Even works in the day­time too!

Orion SteadyPix Tele­scope Photo Adapter for iPhone

Lensse iHan­dle iPhone 3G 4G PDA holder Steady Cam

An eco­nom­i­cal solu­tion for reduc­ing the jit­ter and shake from hand-held video.  Adjustable to accom­mo­date most iPhones.  Machined from Aluminum.

Lensse iHan­dle iPhone 3G 4G PDA holder Steady Cam

Steadicam Smoothee for iPhone 4

This is the ‘real’McCoy’.. Made by Steady­Cam.  They are the lead­ers in sta­bi­lized, hand­held imag­ing. I own a Steady­Cam Jr. and this qual­i­fies as the ‘Next-Gen’ ver­sion, tai­lored to use with an iPhone.  Wanna do Hol­ly­wood level work?  Then you’ll need this to shoot it.

Steadicam Smoothee for iPhone 4

The Glif: iPhone 4 / 4S Tri­pod Mount & Stand

A sim­ple, but effec­tive way to mount your iPhone to a tri­pod.  Tip: mount the bracket to the tri­pod first, then snap your iPhone into it.  When done, pop the iPhone back out before mov­ing your tri­pod.  A great way to shoot a series of images for stitch­ing into a panorama or using the the 2 shot HDR app.

The Glif: iPhone 4 / 4S Tri­pod Mount & Stand

Notes Regard­ing Suggestions:

Most of my sug­ges­tion links will take you to B & H Photo Video of NYC.

I’ve been order­ing from B&H since the 1980’s. They are very trust­wor­thy and work to resolve any issues. In addi­tion to UPS and FedEx, they will ship USPS where most will not. On top of that, their prices are very com­pet­i­tive. You might find an item a lit­tle cheaper else­where, but is it worth the risk? A few links will take you to Ama­zon for things B&H does not sell like the VadoHD.

Com­mis­sions paid are very small and do not add a sin­gle dime to your order. The price would be the same regard­less of how you got there. Though this site is a ‘labor of love’ it is very time con­sum­ing. I would spend more time on it, if I could make a few bucks in the process.

Please think of me, the next time you con­sider buy­ing a camera.

Thanx, Roberto.