iOS 5: Removal of (next/last) Arrows in Photos.app

I've been meaning to rant about this ;) and a mashable article induced a comment from me. As such:
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Holy smoke! As an artist/photographer, the loss of the little next/last arrows in Photos.app  (with iOS 5) has caused me *no* end of grief.

When I edit images I do all kinds of subtle color and value tweaks, so my Camera Roll has dozens and dozens and dozens of  s l i g h t l y  different versions of the same image. The only way to accurately compare and judge the differences is by a/b'ing them...with those arrows. Swiping is utterly useless for that. I have tried--repeatedly--and just can't fathom why Apple's removal of the arrows somehow constitutes an improvement/streamlining/savings.      

I use two apps as workarounds, but both have their shortcomings: Yi Zhu's "Ultimate (Photo) Albums" has the bleeding arrows (woo-hoo!), yet takes awhile updating new additions to the Camera Roll since you have to return to the main menu, and any screen grabs taken within it (to, say, compare non-adjacent images) require a re-start of the app. Linkus' "Photo Manager Pro" sports the arrows and full EXIF data...but requires manual image  importing. Of course, neither app can delete photos due to Apple's iOS strictures.   

So...all that hassle, for what? I have no idea. Apple's ease of use and simplicity policy is all fine and dandy--until it becomes needless dumbing-down. Maybe Apple never heard that a whole new genre was created based on their product: iPhoneography. :|

Link: mashable.com article: "15+ Improvements iOS 5 Brings to Your iPhone 4 Camera"

Hipstamatic: How to Avoid Crashes

In general, Hipsta is pretty stable. Does it crash once in a while? Yup. So does every single app on my iPhone, on occasion.


But...here are some things I've noticed:

• NEVER, EVER go into "Recent Prints" in Hipsta when there are images in your processing queue (the little number in the yellow box on the lower left side of the camera back). Doing so invites an almost 100% sure crash. When it takes a dirt nap, it takes your unprocessed queue with it, so...goodbye images. If you have to see what's coming out--do it in your main "Camera Roll".

• Try to let the films, lenses, and flashes appear and/or make clicks as you thumb through them. I can't say I always do that, but it has hung on me several times when I was too fast.

• Deleting multiple images from your "Recent Prints" does work...but it's  s  l  o  w.  Once you've confirmed the delete, let it finish; if you minimize-exit out of Hipsta and come back, you'll see the "Wiping Lens" message, which means it just booted fresh off a Death. 25 deletes takes awhile, and I recently nixed upwards of 400, which took over 5 min. Be patient.

• Once I had Hipsta completely lock up me, and nothing I did made it work until...I deleted the app and re-installed it. Worked perfectly, and never happened again. If you have to do this, you can re-download all your "Mine"Hipstapaks free of charge. You'll be rolling again.



(p.s. FWIW: I'm not getting into the whole business of family albums and sharing, as its initial wackiness and horrific architecture/user process has turned me off til I get the urge to go through it all...calmly.)