Camera
There is no option to review the built in camera.app, so i just used “Camera” instead…but this review is on the stock camera app.
It’s the built in camera app, & at the end of the day, it may be the most reliable. I have everything from Camera+, Awesome Camera & Procam, to Zitrr Camera & KitCam(oh yeah, & Hipstamatic). All are great camera apps, but i find myself using my stock camera app more than any of these(perhaps because its the easiest/fastest to get to from the home screen. Its simple, it takes high-quality photo & 1080p video. There are better apps for HDR, but i see no reason for an additional Panoramic app, this gets the job done fine. Focus & exposure are locked together, which is probably the biggest downside of the Camera.app…but it loads in a snap & rarely crashes. You’ll miss the shot waiting for a couple of these to open/load…Im looking at you Zitrr. I prefer to use this take pictures, & edit them in other apps.
Blux Camera Pro
I downloaded Blux Cam a while back but didn’t really like it much, so i deleted it. However, in my pursuit of the end-all photo app, Blux ended up back on my radar. I don’t know if there was an update, or if I just had had too many brownies 😉 the day I first tried it, but the 2nd time around I like it so much it has since replaced the stock camera app on my home screen.
I like the UI, though sometimes the on screen displays get in the way. I love the filters, but hate that i cannot apply them to photos from my library. Still even with these minor shortcomings, i absolutely love Blux…heres why. PEAR technology! PEAR is an “Intelligent Photographic Assistant”, that basically takes your location & analyzes current weather conditions(in realtime) to recommend filter settings for your photo. I don’t always agree with the recommendations, but i have learned to trust them & my photos have been turning out AMAZING since i’ve started using it. One of the other things i like about this app is the fact that it snaps in full screen. Now, there are no photo apps that will save the pic to your camera roll in full screen(iP5), but Blux will display them inside of the apps own library in full screen. From there u could take a screen-shot of the pic & it will be saved to your camera roll in full screen. You should always keep the original too at least until u export/save it elsewhere, as the “full screen-shot” will be a very small pic outside of your phone. (i REALLY like viewing photos full screen on the iP5…in case u couldn’t tell) BTW, Blux Cam is currently on sale for $.99
Blux Movie
1080p!!! Probably the highest quality video capture i’ve seen on the iPhone. Amazing filters, Awesome UI (even better than Blux Cam),..theres a lot to love about this app. One of my favorite features though, has to be the Music & Mic mode. This allows you to use music from your phones iTunes library in realtime as you record. This may be more useful to my fellow musicians out there. When you hit “record” the selected song starts playing simultaneously with the recording…this makes (music)video editing MUCH easier because every video you import will already be synced with the song. This app has replaced both FilMic & Cinepro on my phone.
Download
Filterstorm
Phenomenal Cosmic (editing) Power…itttty bitttty living space!!!
Im neither a professional photographer or graphic designer…hell, i can barely use PhotoShop at all. With that said, i imagine Filterstorm is an editors dream for enhancing photos on the fly. The only downside to this extremely powerful app, is that it may be too powerful for casual users. The tutorial should help get u over the learning curve, but u wont really get the hang of it until u dive in & mess up a few flicks. Masking, Layering, Curves, Cloning, Blurring, Adding text & much more…Filterstorm really does it ALL!
Color Thief
An original photography app that u just have to see to believe & use to appreciate.
Apply the color/tone from one image to another. Sounds boring, i know. Just try it out though…u can thank me later 😉
Download
Retromatic 2.0
Retromatic lets u turn your photos into “retro-style posters” & is really another one of those apps u have to use to appreciate. It has a very unique set of filters that once u start playing around with, you’ll be creating little masterpieces in no time. U can search “Retromatic” on instagram for some inspiration & ideas.
Download
mobli
Ok, so u can’t make a list like this without including Instagram…well guess what, i just did!
Mobli is like Instagram on steroids. U can upload pics of any ratio, not just square & take/upload video with no time limit or restriction. It lays photos out beautifully on your profile page. There is also DM(direct messaging) to go along with the likes, comments, & friending one would expect from pretty much any photo sharing app these days. I like Instagram…i love Mobli! The problem is, all of my friends(& yours) are already on Instagram. : /
Download
PicPlayPost
So u know how there are thousands of frame/collage apps in the App Store?..well PicPlayPost is easily my favorite. Not only can u add photos to frames, but u can also add video & music. If u have been using any photo framing apps & are yet to try it with video, u are going to LOVE this. While there are a few apps out there that do the same thing, i believe PPP was the first & it just works well. This is a very fun app, & if u like it as much as i do, u might also wanna check out “Video in Video”…made by the same developers(Flambe Studios).
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