PhotoCard

[Steven Draper]

Thanks Michael for posting this - I think it will find it's way onto my iphone very soon! Good to know that this site is often one of the first, if not the first place also about how to use our photography, in addition to sharing and fine tuning our photographic knowledge.

[ysengrain]

About Bill's Photocard, you should take care to this "Photocard" name, because there is another Photocard iApp made by Yucha Zou at http://web.me.com/ultrazhou/iWeb/iPhone%20.../PhotoCard.html

I guess (I didn't try it) the look and feel of this iApp different

[francois]

About Bill's Photocard, you should take care to this "Photocard" name, because there is another Photocard iApp made by Yucha Zou at http://web.me.com/ultrazhou/iWeb/iPhone%20.../PhotoCard.html

I guess (I didn't try it) the look and feel of this iApp different

You're right. Actually, there's at least three PhotoCard applications on the App Store.
The one that Michael reviewd is Bill Atkinson PhotoCard, the other two are named PhotoCard.

[ysengrain]

You're right. Actually, there's at least three PhotoCard applications on the App Store.
The one that Michael reviewd is Bill Atkinson PhotoCard, the other two are named PhotoCard.

Hi, Francois, are you the Francois "Cuk" from Switzerland I know rather well ?

[eleanorbrown]

Bill's Photocard is great!  Have it on my iPhone and it's easy and fun to use.  Recommend it highly! Eleanor

[DaFu]

Let me echo Eleanor, here. PhotoCard is great fun and is beautifully designed. I can't wait to see what the printed card looks like when it arrives in a day or two but the email version is quite fine thank-you-very-much!

Dave

[francois]

Hi, Francois, are you the Francois "Cuk" from Switzerland I know rather well ?

Nope, it's not me and I don't know Francois "Cuk" from Switzerland …
 

[mwr]

I'm not as thrilled by this app as others seem to be. For email cards from iPhone-taken photos, OK, but that's only if you like crappy iPhone photos. Email photo cards from your real-camera photos uploaded to the iPhone? Sure, but why bother to do all that (computer, iPhone, iTunes, etc.)? Why not just send the photo and message via regular email on your computer?

U.S. Postal Mail cards? I admit I'm waiting for my first one (a test) to arrive so I haven't seen them yet, but I don't see how a 960 pixel wide image will produce a high quality 8.25 inches wide print (116 pixels per inch). I'll be sure to post here when I receive the test postcard (containing a landscape image from my Canon XSi).

[DaFu]

I'm not as thrilled by this app as others seem to be. For email cards from iPhone-taken photos, OK, but that's only if you like crappy iPhone photos.

I see your point but I'll expand why I like this so you can better see mine.

--The interface is pleasing in the way truly good interface design can be. Look at the other postcard apps on both iPhone and PCs and you'll feel the difference.

--It's fast. I can take a picture, think my aunt Bertha would like it and in a couple of taps send her a real live postcard. Compare that to purchasing a card at a kiosk, getting a stamp, stuffing them in your jacket and writing the note back at the hotel room.

--This is a little OT but I've come to the conclusion that the iPhone 3GS camera is lovely. Not only can you selectively focus and exposure adjust the image with a tap, but there is something about the color balance they've chosen that is really nice.

--Finally, at $5 for the app and 2$ for a custom printed card who can truly complain?  

Dave

[mwr]

DaFu, I certainly agree with you about the quality of the design. It's great. Now, my surprise is how good the paper postcard image is. My test card with a landscape image from my Canon XSi arrived today and the only people who would notice anything less than top image quality would be picky photographers like myself. At a glance and then at a closer look it's just fine. It's only when I'm really getting critical can I tell it's from a lower res file, and I would never guess it's from a file that provided only 116 pixels per inch. Whatever uprez process they have really works well.

But I still see it as really useful or desirable only with photos taken with the iPhone itself; so muss, no fuss, it just works, albeit with crappy iPhone photos.