UPDATE: Obviously a lot has changed since I wrote this a couple years ago. One, is you can now link to profiles. Here's mine.
As I've written here before, I've never been big on the iPhone photography apps out there. But I'll have to admit Instagram has made me change my mind. It's a fun photography app that not only has all the ultra-hip retro filters the kids seem to like these days but it adds a social component. It's like a photo based Twitter. I've never been one of those people who like to take out their camera/cameraphone everywhere and snap pictures, but with Instagram I find myself doing it a lot more often (much to the dismay of certain people around me).
There are still a lot of limitations to the app... most glaringly the fact that all the photos are low resolution at 612x612 pixles. So good luck making a print if you happen to really like one of your Instagram shots. Also, you can only view user's profiles and pictures on the iPhone app itself. You can share a link to an individual image but you would only be able to see that single image. I'm hoping these are things they will fix in the future.
But to be clear... I still think we are all going overboard with these faux-retro images. For my money (and unfortunately, it does cost a lot of money) I still prefer the real thing. And I do get a bit annoyed when I really like a shot and have to live with the fact that I wasn't able to take it with a "real" camera. Somehow I think I'll have to learn to live with that since carrying an iPhone is a lot easier than a Mamiya RZ67.
If you want to find me on Instagram, my username is jeffsinger (see... I can't even link to my profile).
Here are some of the Instagram shots I've taken so far:
