Instagram’s new Sierra filter and Lux tool
Instagram 2.1 was just released today. After a slew of minor updates, this new update adds a few great new features to this popular app. In this update, Instagram gets Lux, its version of “Clarity.” There’s also a new filter in here. Oh, and the interface gets prettified.
Click past the jump for more pics and info. >>>
Instagram 2.1’s new interface
This is a very good Instagram update. Lux is probably the biggest new feature added to Instagram since its implementation of tiltshift many updates ago. Bascially, Lux adds a little iPhone-HDR to photos. It bumps the color saturation a little. It increases the contrast. And, it helps balance the dynamic range of the image that increases the details in the darker areas but not at the expense of the brighter areas. With one button, Lux adds pop to Instagram pics. Although more apps are now adding a similar tool, for Instagram to have it built in is still pretty bitchin’!
The new Sierra filter won’t appease lovers of the deleted Gotham and Poprocket filters. Sierra adds aging and fading to the image and I think a little bit of noise as well. There’s also an age-discolored frame that can be toggled off and on.
Instagram’s new interface is pretty sweet. The icons have been bolded and modernized. They’re also a little different which communicates the functions a little more clearly. It’s very iconic which is great given the global success of the app. Now that Instagram has this new interface, the rash of copycat clones in the App Store will look even more like last year’s Instagram.
Instagram is free. Still no ads in the app — yay! And, it still works on any iPhone ever made.
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Raw image (left) and with Lux applied (right)
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