ProCamera: Five tips for sharper iPhone photos

Start your downloads. After over a week of false starts and hitting refresh in HipstaMart a jillion times, Hipstamatic 262 is finally out now. Included in the update is the long-awaited new Silver Lake HipstaPak, available as an in-app purchase of $0.99. As expected, the Silver Lake HipstaPak includes the new Abbie Mabel Lens and Dixie Film.

The 262 update is light on new features. The main one is the new HipstaPak. I’ve had a chance to shoot a little bit around the house this evening. The Silver lake HipstaPak is definitely one of the better paks. Along with the the excellent Tintype SnapPak, the Haus of Hipstamatic are on a roll.

According to the descriptions, The Abbie Mabel Lens is “inspired by the Wonderful Abigail Spencer, (the) lens adds beautiful light to any situation. The lens washes the image in very warm, yellow tones — almost like one of the “cross process” filters found in some analog photo apps but not as washed out. It’s much better than a sepia.

Hipstamatic Silver Lake. Dixie Film with Jane Lens.

The Dixie Film is described “a light and feathery edge licks the edge of your print like a flame when you use this hip film.” I might have used a different noun in place of the second edge, but no one asked.

The Dixie Film is especially nice. It doesn’t really alter the colors of the image. The frame has subtle rough edges reminiscent of old, hand-developed prints. The edges randomly shift with each exposure. The film randomly adds some great light leaks to the image. In some exposures they are subtle, in others pretty pronounced. The film also adds a touch of noise as well as dust and dirt to the image. The Dixie film is an excellent addition to a Hipstamatic camera bag.

There is no new case which is too bad, really. The artwork for the Silver Lake pak would have made a groovy Hipsta camera skin.

I think this is one of the nicer HipstaPaks and for $0.99 you won’t be disappointed.

The 262 update is available in the App Store now, but the Silver Lake HipstaPak may not be available on all iPhones right this second. Right now, servers are being pounded. We’ve got several iPhones in the house and so far the new pak is only showing up in one. Keep checking back.

This time, it’s really all in the App Store and it’s official. Go! Grab! Now!

According to Life In LoFi reader Allan Bedford, RetroPak Three will be available this weekend at a discounted price. No confirmation as to whether the final release of RP3 will have the sought-after Hornbecker lens and the two AO films from the Always On FreePak.

If you don’t already have Hipstamatic, Hipstamatic is $1.99 and comes nicely equipped with several standard HipstaPaks. Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation), iPad 2 Wi-Fi, iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G, iPad (3rd generation), iPad Wi-Fi + 4G, iPad (4th generation), iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (4th generation), iPad mini and iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular. Requires iOS 5.0 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

=M=

Hipstmatic Silver lake detail. Dixie Film showing frame edge, noise and “dirt.”

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UPDATE 01: The Abbie Lens has been renamed by Hipstamatic to the Mabel Lens. =M=

Marty Yawnick

Marty is a self-employed graphic designer in the Fort Worth/Dallas Metroplex. He is an avid Rangers baseball, Chicago Cubs, Packers and Highbury Arsenal fan. In addition to capturing random moments with whatever camera is close by (usually his iPhone), his other interests include coffee, film, music, and traveling in seats 5E and 5F with his fiancé.