Life in LoFi: iPhoneography

Apple iPhone 4 camera vs. ClearCam. Click to enlarge.

.

ClearCam
Version 1.5.5
Price: $1.99

Bottom Line: ClearCam definitely delivers on its claims of sharper, clearer larger images.

ClearCam by Occipital is a camera app that promises clearer, sharper and sometimes larger images from any iPhone. It claims to eliminate the blur without “missing the moment”. It does so without waiting for an anti-shake setting to kick in. It claims to take clearer, sharper pictures with twice the resolution in enhanced mode.

ClearCam makes a lot of big claims. Does it deliver on them? The answer is a resounding yes. ClearCam produces simply amazing photos rich in clarity and detail. There is nothing else like it in the App Store.

Read the rest of this entry →

Camera Prime, a new camera replacement app from Testut Tech, is FREE right now in the App Store. It’s a pretty full featured camera replacement, and this is a full version, not a feature-limited “lite” version. It’s not ad-supported, either. At first glance, it’s a decent camera replacement.

This is an introductory offer, so grab the app now before it goes up to it’s regular price.

Read the rest of this entry →

The 1.4 update for retro camera app lo-mob has been released. lo-mob is one of the premier retro filter apps available and it does an amazing job of recreating classic camera output and lo-fi photographic styles.

We previewed the version 1.4 update a few weeks ago, and this new release holds even a few more surprises.

Read the rest of this entry →

[UPDATED 8.31.10 @ 18:00]

We’ve got more on the Perfectly Clear 2.0 update, including a fix of sorts.

The Perfectly Clear 2.0 update is in the app store now, but use caution in updating to this version of the app at this time. It’s not as unstable as I initially feared, but it still needs a lot more coddling than an iPhone app should require in order to work. 

This release  seems to be less stable than previous versions and crashes on saving with older iPhones. If you have an iPhone 2G or 3G, I recommend not updating the app and sticking with the older version for now.

The crashes are confirmed on a 2G, 3G, and iPhone 4. The bottom line is that unlike previous versions which were pretty rock solid, the 2.0 version can be buggy on any iPhone.

Click past the jump to read more, to find out how to reduce or eliminate problems on an iPhone 4, and to find a link to instructions on how to get your previous working version back in case you already updated the app.

Read the rest of this entry →

Percolator
Version 1.0
Price: $0.99

Bottom Line: Easy to use, Percolator is a fun, modernist app that produces unique colorful effects.

–

Many excellent iPhone photo apps simulate the look of retro and vintage analog photography. Percolator is a new photo app from Tinrocket that takes a different direction and makes your iPhone photos look like a mosaic comprised of circles. It’s a very Modernist app like colorShadow, PhotoTropedelic, and Chromocam Dots — producing an image that could only be easily created by a computer (or very meticulously hand-drawn). I doubt modernist apps like Percolator will change the direction of iPhoneography, but it’s a very pleasant diversion.

Read the rest of this entry →

Venerable image editor Photogene for iPhone got another update today to version 2.61 — a minor update which removes one of my major complaints about the last update. Photogene no longer requires you to enable location services to view or edit photos.

Photogene is still iOS 4 only and I suspect that’s permanent.

To “celebrate” the new version, Photogene is now on sale for just $0.99 — that’s a 50% discount. This price drop is good until September 1, 2010.

Two updates in. I wonder when the App Store will start displaying Photogene’s new icon….

App Store link: Photogene

=M=

~~~~

.

[Updated 8/29/10]

InstantCam is a new instant camera-style app that’s actually licensed by the Polaroid® holding company. I thought this would be a cool app — a fake Polaroid® app that’s licensed by Polaroid®. But there are many reasons to stay away from this app at the moment.

Read the rest of this entry →

.

[UPDATED 8/27/10 4:19 PM]

Nearly everyone with an iPhone has used the camera to take snapshots — pictures of family, friends and moments to capture and share. Far fewer — but a growing and diverse number — have created art  for show, gallery or exhibition. But how many would consider using an iPhone for commercial work? How many of you already have?

Read the rest of this entry →