Month: April 2013

How to use iOS 6 camera app to take panorama photos on the iPhone

My friend Irmina recently asked me how I used my iPhone to take panorama images. She had seen me do it last year while we were out in Mercer Park on a photo walk. When Apple released iOS 6 the native Camera app was updated and a new panorama feature was added. The feature is limited to the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 and allows users to take 240-degree panoramic photos using the native iOS Camera app. Using the feature is quite straight forward as I'll show below.

Footbridge near Mercer Road and Quaker Road.

Launch the camera app and tap on the "Options" button.

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Tap the panorama button.

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Frame your scene and slowly start moving across your scene. By default the camera app sweeps from left to right. You can change the director on the weep by tapping the arrow. Note: You must do this before you start taking the panorama. You can also do vertical panoramas by changing the orientation of the iPhone. Vertical panoramas are great for taking photos of trees or buildings.

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The circular camera icon to start taking your panorama. Move slowly and continuously in the direction of the arrow until you've capture the scene you want. If you move too quickly the camera app will display a warning. You want to move at a steady pace to prevent the photos from coming out blurry. You don't have to take a full 240-degree photo. You can stop at any time by pressing the on screen shutter button.

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That's all to making panorama on the iPhone. Have fun enjoying this feature of iOS 6.

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Buy The Cup Sumatra Mandheling

Today, I'm drinking Sumatra Mandheling. I get most of my coffee from Buy the Cup in Rocky Hill. I've seen the place go through at least three owners in the last twelve years. The current owner, Vitaly, has run the place for at least seven years. Over that time he's come to know my whole family and which coffees I prefer. He knows my purchasing habits so well he even reminds me when I've drunk the same thing for too long. He almost always has something interesting to share.

Earthy flavours with sweet chocolate notes.

Roaster: Rockaffe

Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder

I bought a new coffee grinder. I've wanted one for a while. For about ten years. I've been telling myself it's too expensive. I've been buying freshly ground coffee each week from Buy the Cup in Rocky Hill and storing the grounds in an airtight container. It's good quality coffee, but the coffee grounds start to taste a bit flat by the end of the week. But now I can buy freshly roasted beans and grind them myself. I can grind just enough beans to make the amount of coffee I need. I can enjoy fresher coffee than I did before. I can also experiment with different brewing methods -- drip, Chemex -- by varying the grind.

5 April 2013 · Nikon D5100 · AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G

The grinder is a little black device. The catcher is made of borosilicate glass that Bodum uses in their French press pots and coffee cups. This helps reduce the static cling that causes coffee to stick to the inside of the container. The hopper is large for my needs. I only need to grind enough to make four cups of coffee, but the hopper is large enough to grind much more. I can set a timer for the amount of beans I need to grind and choose my grind from fine for espresso to coarse for French Press. I'm enjoying the smell of fresh ground coffee in the morning.