Version 3.0
Full iPhone 5 support:
New iPhone 5 optimised interface with much improved controls
Supports iPhone 5 High ISO mode (boosts ISO from 800 to 3200)
New Burst mode (available in settings)
TIFF and HQ JPEG support for higher photo quality (available in settings)
More responsive: Exposure time is limited to 1/3s for faster handling and less blur (you can disable this in the settings if you prefer the full 1 second exposure time)
Photo sharing: Share via email, twitter or facebook
Photo printing
Easily open photos in your favourite editing app
Full iOS 6 support
Many fixes and improvements
Nightcap has a simple interface, with a thin tool bar at one end and a large camera bar at the other, and the camera view in the middle. The camera view has two features:
This is the focus area. To move it, just tap where you want it to go. The camera will automatically adjust exposure and focus for the object inside this area. The color indicates current focus: Green means the camera is focused, Red means it's currently refocusing, White means focus is locked.
These numbers indicate exposure and ISO. Exposure is the shutter speed - in this case 1/20th of a second. ISO indicates the sensitivity of the camera - the camera increases ISO automatically in low light to increase brightness, but at high levels this produces grainy images.
The large button in the centre takes a photo when tapped. It actually triggers when you lift your finger, so for more control you can hold your finder down and release when you're ready.
The Exp button locks exposure (image brightness). A lock symbol appears when it's locked. Tap again to unlock.
The Foc button locks camera focus.
From left to right:
Flash. Tap to change Flash mode (flash equiped device required!)- Off (no flash), On (always use flash) or Auto (use flash automatically).
Opens the Photo Review screen. A thumbnail of the last photo will appear once you've taken one.
Opens the settings screen. Tap again to close.
Tap to lock whitebalance, tap again to unlock. Whitebalance determines how warm or cool the colours appear in the image, and is continuously monitored while not locked.
High ISO mode. When enabled, the camera will use much higher ISO when it needs to. This produces a brigher image, but can cause gainy photos. Only available on certain devices. Tap to toggle.
Switch Camera button. Tap to switch between Front and Rear cameras (not available on devices with only 1 camera).
'Help' opens this screen, 'Rate App' takes you to the app store to rate or review NightCap (please do!), 'Follow' will follow @interealtime on Twitter (twitter must be set up for this to work). If you have any issues with the app or any suggestions or feature requests please get in touch!
Turns the 3x3 grid overlay on or off in the camera view. The grid is useful to aid composition.
Geo-tagging simply means attaching your location to the photo. This allows you to see the place it was taken on a map later. Turn it off if you don't want people to know where the photo was taken.
Select the image quality NightCap should save at. JPEG is standard quality, HQ JPEG is very high quality but productes much bigger files, and TIFF saves lossless, perfect quality files. Please note that TIFF files are MUCH bigger, and take longer to save.
NightCap is initially limited to 1/3s maximum exposure - this makes the camera more responsive and helps avoid camera shake as well as problems with long exposure times on older devices.
If you have a newer device (iPhone 4S or later) and want the full 1s maximum exposure time, turn this on.
Manual exposure lets you set the exposure (or shutter speed) manually. It works best in low light.
Please note that the iPhone camera control system will automatically override this setting if the image is over-exposed. If you want to over-expose, you must first point the camera at a dark area (or cover the lens). Once the camera has returned to manual exposure (check the on-screen exposure indicator), lock exposure.
The manual exposure control. Slide to the right for longer exposures, left for shorter. The available range of exposure times will depend on the device and camera.
Enables self timer mode. Self timer adds a delay between pressing the shutter button and the photo being taken. Use it to avoid vibration when taking long exposure shots, or if you want to appear in your own photo.
This sets the duration of the self timer.
Burst mode takes a number of photos rather than just the one. You can turn set the number of photos to take and the interval between photos with the sliders.
The number of photos can be set between 2 and 9. Slide it all the way to the right for 'Endless' - this takes photos until you tap the shutter button again.
The Interval is the time between shots. It can be set from 2-60 seconds.
This lets you review your photos. Pinch to zoom in and out, and swipe left or right to view more photos (or use the on-screen buttons).
Tap the Share button at the top right for photo sharing options - you can share via email, twitter or facebook. You can also print photos or open them directly in other apps.
Tap Done to return to the camera.
NightCap respects your privacy, and does not share your location or personal information.
iOS 5
Under iOS 5, NightCap requires Location Services access. This is because photos in your library can contain location information. As NightCap saves photos to the library and can also view photos, iOS requires location access before allowing access to the photo library. Your actual location is used only for geo-tagging, and only if you enable it.
If you've denied access to Location Services for Nightcap the app can't take photos. You'll need to allow Location Services access. To do so:
1. Close NightCap
2. Open the Settings app
3. Open the Location Services section
4. Scroll down to NightCap and set the switch to On
iOS 6
Under iOS 6 Location Services access is not required unless you enable Geo-Tagging. NightCap does require Photos access to save and view photos.
If you've disabled Photos access, please enable it:
1. Close NightCap
2. Open the Settings app
3. Open the Privacy section, and then Photos
4. Scroll down to NightCap and set the switch to On