iphone camera

It seems as though there are a million and one ways to make an iPhone image look like a Polaroid picture online, so why not take it one step further and make the snap a true Polaroid? In the latest concept from The Impossible Project, the mobile photo lab Impossible Instant Lab, you can transform any digital picture trapped in your iPhone into a physical, Polaroid-style photograph.

Similar to the science of the original Polaroid camera, images in the Impossible Instant Lab are exposed using only the light from the iPhone's display, then processed and developed by in-device chemicals into a physical photo. When used in conjunction with the Instant Lab app and photo base, you'll instantly develop your favorite mobile photos anywhere. Of course, a pack of Polaroid film (fit for the Polaroid 600 and SX 70 cameras, to be precise) is needed to make all this happen, but a purchase of the lab also comes with an Impossible Project film voucher.

An idea that began in the last operating Polaroid factory, the Impossible Project is still in the works on Kickstarter, but is set to unveil in February 2013. You can pre-order a camera now, starting at $189. Watch The Impossible Project's Instant Lab video to see all this instant photo gratification in action.

This site and iPhone app are equal parts entertainment value and useful tool.

Here's how it works: snap a photo with your phone's camera and ask a question. QpixL connects to your Facebook page and Twitter stream, posting the photo and question to all of your friends. They can answer you via Twitter, Facebook, or the QpixL site, and you can opt to receive email notifications anytime someone responds to your question.

Since the service is based on photographs, I think it's perfect to use while shopping. I love taking photos of items I think I want (or even taking a shot from the dressing room to see how it looks) and asking friends their opinion, so this is an easy way to reach a ton of my friends at once.

The iPhone app is free, and available in the App Store.

One of my favorite iPhone features is its camera. It's of impressive quality for a cell phone camera, and has gotten successively better with each generation of iPhone released. Add the plethora of accessories meant to enhance the iPhone's camera and applications to enhance your photos, and my iPhone can produce better photos than my camera. But even with all of the additional bells and whistles, there was one thing I thought my iPhone camera couldn't do: take self-portraits. In fact, I thought the only real way to take a self-portrait was with a mirror, with the back of the iPhone in full view.

Sure, we joke about the famous self-portrait photos that show up all too often as Facebook profile pictures, the telltale extended arm in the photo holding the camera above eye level. But taking a self-portrait with an iPhone seemed nearly impossible; holding the phone in one hand, trying to tap the right place on the screen where the camera button is located, nearly dropping the phone on the ground. (Not that I've, um, tried this or anything).

But the iPhone self-portrait is possible! To find out how, read more