I came across an application the other day that was recommended to one my contacts on Facebook. It’s called ‘CameraBag’ and is from ‘NeverCentre Ltd’. And can be found in iTunes App store. And I have to say, I simply love it...
So what is it? Well, the name is a little bit of a clue - It’s a bag of cameras.
In a nutshell, it will render your photographs taken on the iPhone into one of currently 10 distinctive styles seen from cameras over the last 40 years. It’s exceptionally quick, you can take images from within the application, and the results are pretty much, smack on.
Ever since I downloaded this application, all of my iPhone snaps have either been taken in it - or immediately opened in it and converted, while the feel of the moment was still fresh - before saved, e-mailed or uploading.
Interested? - Read on after the jump...
This is the official ‘blurb’ from the producer of the app - Well, most of it. You can read the rest in the store.
CameraBag Lite: Retro
CameraBag Lite: Retro includes three of our most popular filters--1962, 1974, and 1983 (called "Instant" in the full version of CameraBag) in one 99 cent app. Available now from the Apple App Store.
After years of making quality 3D modeling software, we at Nevercenter are branching out to our friends in 2D! Dramatically and easily enhance photos from your built-in iPhone camera or iPhone/iPod Touch photo library using CameraBag's advanced filters that emulate several different camera and film styles, giving your photos an old-school, cinematic appeal. Photography is all about mood, and using the right camera can turn a throwaway photo into an all-time favorite.
CameraBag is simple and intuitive, with a minimal interface. Just take a new photo or choose one from your library, swipe between camera styles, and save any you like. If you want more control, an options panel is available for camera behavior, image size, cropping and border effects, and more.
The cameras included in CameraBag:
-"Helga" - A square-format toy camera feel with washed-out highlights and old-school vignetting.
-"1974" - This is your father's camera. Faded, tinted, and hip.
-"Lolo" - Shoot from the hip and take life as it comes with vibrant, colorful shots.
-"Cinema" - Dramatic, moody, wide-screen stills from the movie of your life.
-"1962" - Dynamic black and whites from the photojournalists of a bygone era.
-"Mono" - Smooth gradation from black to white.
-"Infrared" - Simulation of the popular landscape photography technique.
And here is a Flickr group stream of images taken with the application...
Sadly, as with all iphone applications, you can’t download a trial version to see if it is actually something that you do actually want. Thankfully, the majority of the applications are priced at such a point that this isn’t necessarily a big deal. But it’s always incredibly annoying to pay good money on something that is quite frankly, crap.
This is not one of those applications! Hopefully there are enough images n this post for you to be able to make up your own mind before taking the plunge - or should it be splash?
Yes, I would like to see some more visual effects stylized for other cameras and film combinations; yes, I would like to be able to reposition the shot of for composition where the application changes the aspect ratio of the original shot; and lastly, if it had the ability to time the shots for when hand movement is at its minimum, that would just help to round the application off.
In summary, CameraBag is a lovely application which can take your iPhone snaps to a whole new artistic - retro level before you save or share them. I personally love it and highly recommend taking a peek at it if you would like a little bit more from your iPhone pics than you are currently getting.
Given one of the things I would like to see in the application, is the timing of a shots, especially in low light conditions, to be at the point where there is minimum movement before taking the shot. There is another nice application that you can download called Steady Cam, is free and will do this for you. Then simply load the images into CameraBag and then apply your effect. Slightly more long winded, but very effective.
It's so nice to have you do all of the research for us. It makes our decision making so much easier!! Thanks.
Posted by: MBT Sandals | July 16, 2011 at 01:11 PM