Instant Camera – add cool real-time effects to your camera photos
by Paul Wilks
May 14, 2012 1:09 PM –
Install
Instant Camera is a neat little camera application that adds dazzling filters to your camera view in real-time. Similar perhaps to apps like Paper Camera, Instant Camera is great for giving your photos an original look. It’s easy to use, free and comes with 54 different filters.
Price: Free
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- 54 filters!
- Easy to use!
- Cool swiping controls to change filters!
Cons
- Doesn’t work on some devices, such as my HTC One X.
- Perhaps lacks a few options.
Features:
Instant Camera is a cool camera alternative that provides a slew of filters and effects to your pictures. Unlike many apps- such as Pix and Pixlr-o-matic, the app does this in real-time, so you can see exactly what your pics will look like. Initially it reminded me of Paper Camera but it differs on three accounts. Firstly, Paper Camera is an app you pay for, Instant Camera is free. Secondly, there are far more filters in Instant Camera and the swipe-to-change feature there is really cool. Third, Paper Camera does have a more polished feel to it in terms of app design. It has this ‘paper’ thematic which just looks cool and you know immediately you’re using a quality application. Instant Camera is great, and it’s awesome that it is also free, but it perhaps lacks the ‘finish’ you get with other similar apps.
The app is incredibly easy to use with bold buttons for taking a picture and switching to a mode which presents a number of the filters for selection. The other way of changing a filter is to sweep your finger from side to side or up and down; left and right alters the edge mode (this, I found, was the overall look of the effect/filter) while up and down affects the colour- which lets you more finely tune the edge mode to your own preferences. Once you have the effect/filter you want, simply press the large camera button to take the shot. From here it is then easy to save or share your picture.
The beautiful thing about Instant Camera is the simplicity and original way of altering effects. Pictures I took had only a 800×480 resolution, however, and I wished there was an option to increase or decrease this. The app didn’t work properly on my HTC One X so there might be an issue there, although the camera on the HTC Desire HD (also 8MP) worked fine. Despite these issues I was very impressed with Instant Camera and, for a free app without any advertising, I would recommend it to anyone.
Watch on Mobile
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Instant Camera – Variety of filters
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Instant Camera – In-shot view
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Instant Camera – Typical shot
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Instant Camera – Picture taken, share and save options
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Instant Camera – Swiping in different directions changes filter
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Instant Camera – Share options
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Instant Camera – Filter options
Usefulness:
As a cool little app to use when you want a particular look to a photograph, Instant Camera is very useful. With 54 different filters/effects it’s just a matter of trying them out and getting used to the controls (left-to-right, up-and-down).
Ease of Use:
These controls are great and make the app very intuitive and fun to use. The large buttons for taking pictures, saving and sharing make for a very user-friendly experience which is certainly ideal for beginners. I would have liked to see a few more options for advanced users, but this isn’t a big issue really.
Frequently Used:
I think apps like Instant Camera operate a supporting role to your main camera application. If you want a specific look within a picture and want to compare effects in real time, this is ideal. I certainly do not think it replaces any application you might already use, but is a nice addition to those you already have on your Android device. Whether you prefer apps like Paper Camera or Pixlr-o-matic is another thing altogether but with 54 effects, Instant Camera is great to have as well.
Interface:
The interface is very simple which should certainly appeal to beginners and people just wanting to take an effected picture quickly. I sincerely wish there were more settings and options available for more advanced users, but the app still works very well.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
camera,
effects,
Instant Camera,
Paper Camera,
photography,
photos
Categorised in: Photography
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