Camera Awesome
Developer: Smug Mug.Price: Free (incremental in app purchases or $9.99 "Everything!" unlock).
View in iTunes here.
Camera Awesome came out around the beginning of March this year. The app was released by the popular image hosting site SmugMug. This kind of came out of nowhere and generated a lot of well deserved buzz upon it's release. Camera Awesome, much like King Camera, is free to try, however, CA features various in app unlocks ranging from $0.99, $3.99 and the $9.99 "Everything!" unlock. Unlike King Camera however, there is no resolution limit or water marking on images taken with the free (or base) version.
Let's take a look at Camera Awesome in more detail shall we?
Main Interface
I just wanted to quickly point out that you wouldn't want to shoot pictures like this. I have the option panels expanded to demonstrate what is in them, but typically you would select a function and then close the panel to allow you to see the viewfinder.
1. Settings: The usual's, turn geotagging on / off, toggle sounds, backup to Camera Roll etc.
2. Composition: Allows you to toggle different composition overlays including (2.1) Horizon enables an on screen level, Thirds enables a 3x3, Golden on screen "golden ratio" guide, other options are TriSec and Square (not pictured - further right).
3. fx: Allows you to enable a filter before you snap the photo, though this will not show up in the live viewfinder and you could always select the filter later.
4. Share: Allows you to select networks to share the shot to. Again this can be done after taking the picture as well so I mostly ignore this section.
5 / 6. Focus / Exposure: Allows you to manually chose an area for focus and exposure. Single taping the live viewfinder will group both of them together, two finger taping with separate the options. Also a text label clearly indicates which is which and then gets hidden a second later. The symbols in the middle are fairly self descriptive as well, but the text labels are useful for someone less familiar with photography. You can also lock the focus or exposure by taping in the middle of either one.
7. Photo Editor: I don't know what Camera Awesome calls this section exactly, it's not labeled, but it is similar to Camera Roll or Photodesk in King Camera. Here you can view the photos you've previously taken and modify them. I'll get into it more in the next session.
8 / 8.1: Shutter Options: Show hide the shutter options, including:
- Single Shot: Dissable any modifiers and return to normal single shot mode.
- Anti Shake: Shutter will not release until the device is steady.
- Big Button: Turns the viewfinder into a shutter release. Great for taking pictures at odd angles.
- Slow Burst: Captures full resolution images in a slow burst (succession).
- Fast Burst (low res): Captures images using a faster burst speed, but only at lower resolutions.
- Timer (not pictured): An adjustable timer counts down before automatically triggering the shutter.
- Interval (not pictured): Takes a picture at a set interval (customizable from one to sixty seconds).
9. Shutter: Takes the picture.
10. Shooting Mode: Toggle between still images or video.
11. Flash (hidden by top menu): Allows you to set the flash on, off, auto or continuous.
12. Camera selector: Allows you to toggled between the rear and front facing camera's.
You can also enable digital zoom by using the "pinch to zoom" gesture.
As you can see Camera Awesome has most of the great features that King Camera (mentioned in pt.1) and Camera+ has (below). My only real complaint is that I find the interface clunky compared to King Camera's "strip" running down the left side, which can be easily hidden by swiping left.
Photo Editing
You have a sweet picture but it's all normal and present day looking. That's no fun, it needs to be hip and retro right? No worries, Camera Awesome allows you to tweak your pictures. It has a really nice Awesomize feature that essentially applies color and level ballancing to your photo. Generally making it look better with no effor on your part. Camera Awesome has a laundry list of filters including some free ones that are really good. Let's have a closer look.
1. Apply: Allows you to turn the Awesomizer on / off and adjust how much awesome is applied.
2. Awesomize: This is a one press make my picture look Awesome button. You can also adjust what areas to adjust and by how much manually. These include Sharpness, Temperature, Vibrance and Contrast. The real good news however is that Awesomize works quite well at its default, so usually you either turn it on or leave it off. Rarely will you have to customize it.
3. Transofrm: This will allow you to crop or rotate your picture.
4. fx Presets: A preset combination of Filters, Textures and Frames. You have nine free one's to chose from and then you can unlock additional sets of nine for $0.99, all the presets for $3.99 or all Presets, Fitlers, Textures and Frames for $9.99.
5. Filters: Sort of like fx Presets but without Textures and Frames. Same business model though (nine free and then sectional in app purchases to unlock the rest).
6. Textures: Scratches, grain, weathering etc. All the essentials for giving your pictures that retro feel.
7. Frames (not pictured): Add film photo like frams to your digital prints.
Here's where I find King Camera really wins over the other apps I'm looking at due to the Promatik. Camera Awesome offers some nice premade filters and effects options, but you do not get nearly as much control over the final image as you can with King Camera. Also, to get access to all the presets, filters, textures and frames you would have to pay $9.99 (or more if you bought them seperatelly). That drives the total cost of Camera Awesome five times higher than King Camera (ten times higher if you wait for it to drop to $0.99).
2. Awesomize: This is a one press make my picture look Awesome button. You can also adjust what areas to adjust and by how much manually. These include Sharpness, Temperature, Vibrance and Contrast. The real good news however is that Awesomize works quite well at its default, so usually you either turn it on or leave it off. Rarely will you have to customize it.
3. Transofrm: This will allow you to crop or rotate your picture.
4. fx Presets: A preset combination of Filters, Textures and Frames. You have nine free one's to chose from and then you can unlock additional sets of nine for $0.99, all the presets for $3.99 or all Presets, Fitlers, Textures and Frames for $9.99.
5. Filters: Sort of like fx Presets but without Textures and Frames. Same business model though (nine free and then sectional in app purchases to unlock the rest).
6. Textures: Scratches, grain, weathering etc. All the essentials for giving your pictures that retro feel.
7. Frames (not pictured): Add film photo like frams to your digital prints.
Here's where I find King Camera really wins over the other apps I'm looking at due to the Promatik. Camera Awesome offers some nice premade filters and effects options, but you do not get nearly as much control over the final image as you can with King Camera. Also, to get access to all the presets, filters, textures and frames you would have to pay $9.99 (or more if you bought them seperatelly). That drives the total cost of Camera Awesome five times higher than King Camera (ten times higher if you wait for it to drop to $0.99).
Free Vs. Paid
So is it worth unlocking all the features of Camera Awesome? Depends. There are only nine of each effect unlocked, but to be honest, that's probably enough for most people. You can preview all the other effects (albeit in a small thumbnail view) before deciding to unlock them. If I was going to use Camera Awesome as my main photo application I honestly would go for the $9.99 unlock so I would have the most amount of options possible for customizing my picture. It definitely gets points for no watermarking or down sampling on the free version though.
Sharing
So you wanna get social with your masterpieces? Camera Awesome has you covered. You can share your creations with:
- SmugMug (obviously)
- Flickr
- Picasa
- Photobucket
Conclusion
Camera Awesome is just that, awesome. I think it's an extremely solid app. It offers great control during the photo taking process and decent post processing features. I think anyone interested in these types of apps should try it out, though I do feel that $9.99 is too much for a collection of preset effects. It also lacks a few features that King Camera offers. Most notably being the Promatik and the ability to create time lapse's. Athough you could use the interval shutter option to take timed pictures and then piece them into a video later, this is more time consuming than King Camera's automatic version. I did find the interface a bit more cumbersome with the options expanded.
Pros
- Free to try.
- Lots of shooting modes
- Seperate focus and exposure points.
- Awesomize works well
Cons
- Small learning curve.
- Price can be high if you want all effects.
- Offers less control in post processing than King Camera.
Gallery:
Camera+
Developer: Inventive, Inc.
Price: $1.99
View in iTunes here.
The original Volume (+) to take a picture app. Comparing Camera+ with King Camera and Camera Awesome gives it another unfortunate distinction of being the only one that doesn't offer a free version. If you want to use Camera+ you have to buy it. Is it worth it? Let's take a look.
Main Interface:
1. Camera selector: Toggle between the front facing and rear facing camera.
2. Zoom Slider: Up to 6x's digital zoom.
3. Menu: All the usual options. The option to turn on a 3x3 grid is in here, as opposed to having its own button on the main interface.
4 / 5. Focus / Exposure: Like the other applications we've looked at, you can set focus and exposure independently.
6. Flash: Off, auto, on or continuous.
7. Lock: Allows you to lock focus, exposure and white balance.
8. Shooting Modes: Essentially these are the shutter modifiers. You can set the shutter to Normal, Stabilizer (anti shake), Timer and Burst. Again, standard when compared to the other applications we've talked about. Notably missing is a big button mode, which is useful if you want to try and take pictures at weird angles.
9. Shutter: Captures the picture.
10. Lightbox: Camera+'s version of Camera Roll. Allows you to process a photo after it's taken.
As you can see Camera+ is very similar to the other apps we've looked at so far, only with fewer options. Next up we'll have a look at Lightbox.
Lightbox
1. Scenes: Sort of like Awesomize in Camera Awesome (or Intensifier in King Camera). This will allow you to make your picture look better by selecting a preset filter. Unlike the other applications though, this is divided into 16 different preset that are similar to the shooting modes on most point and click digital camera's. Options range from Cloudy to Concert to Food.
2.Adjust: Allows you to flip and rotate the image.
3. Crops: Allows you to crop the image. Several options are available including Golden, 4x6, 8x10 and of course free form.
4. FX Effects: A bit redundant of a name, no? This is where you can filter images. Included categories are Color, Retro and Special. You can unlock an I *heart* Analog pack for a $0.99 in app purchase.
5. Borders: Allows you to add borders to your image.
Once again, you can't fully customize your picture in the way King Camera's Promatik offers. You do have all the basics and the included filters are decent, but this is still fairly lackluster by comparison.
As always' feel free to comment. Let me know what Camera apps you like, tell me why I'm wrong or point out anything I've left out.
Part three comparing Instagram to Hipstamatic coming soon-ish.
3. Crops: Allows you to crop the image. Several options are available including Golden, 4x6, 8x10 and of course free form.
4. FX Effects: A bit redundant of a name, no? This is where you can filter images. Included categories are Color, Retro and Special. You can unlock an I *heart* Analog pack for a $0.99 in app purchase.
5. Borders: Allows you to add borders to your image.
Once again, you can't fully customize your picture in the way King Camera's Promatik offers. You do have all the basics and the included filters are decent, but this is still fairly lackluster by comparison.
Free Vs. Paid
Unfortunately there is no free version.Sharing:
The usuals are present. Twitter, facebook, flickr, Email, Message however, there is an interesting option: Create Web Link. This will upload your picture to the Camera+ servers and provide a share-able link to said image.Conclusion
Camera+ is a solid iOS camera app and it was arguably the pioneer of a lot of the features I love in apps like King Camera and Camera Awesome. Unfortunately those other apps do everything that it can do, they can do it better, and they can do more. The one exception being the ability to use Volume (+) to take pictures. It's worth mentioning that King Camera had added that feature but was forced to remove it by Apple, so it's unclear if that will return or if Apple is revoking developers ability to use that function. Without a free version to test I would recommend skipping Camera+ entirely. Try out King Camera or Camera Awesome instead.Pros
- Pioneer (for what it's worth).
- Volume (+) to trigger shutter.
- Separate focus and exposure settings / locking.
- Smallest learning curve of the mentioned apps.
Cons
- No free trial version.
- Lackluster when compared to other similar apps.
- Lacks the manual processing offered by King Camera's Promatik.
Gallery:
Overall Conclusion
Out of all the applications I've looked at so far I feel that King Camera is the best, but only if you are willing to buy it. The free version lowers the resolution of exported pictures and watermarks you're images. Camera Awesome has the best free version, though the lack of a Promatik type feature and the cost of unlocking the full app being $9.99 knocks it down to second place of the three. That leaves Camera+. I don't want it to sound like I'm saying C+ is not a good app. It is a very good application, it pioneered a lot of the features these apps offer (Lightbox, separate focus / exposure) it's just that it has been surpassed. I feel that a free trial version would help it out some, but again, at the $1.99 price point, King Camera offers the best value to features ratio.As always' feel free to comment. Let me know what Camera apps you like, tell me why I'm wrong or point out anything I've left out.
Part three comparing Instagram to Hipstamatic coming soon-ish.
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