QuadCamera-Multi Shot Cam

Toy cameras are simple inexpensive film box cameras made of plastic, often including the lens. Many were originally developed as novelties or prizes, however became popular even among professional photographers due to the strange and unique optical effects they often produce. Prototype toy cameras were mass produced, such as the Diana and LOMO LC-A; in fact, the term Lomography is now essentially synonymous with toy camera photography.

In his series of toy camera apps for the iPhone, Takayuki Fukatsu has implemented many of these whimsical effects for the digital age. QuadCamera is described as a multi-shot-camera app for the iPhone. It takes a series of 4 or 8 photos in succession and saves them as a single photo arranged in a grid, similar to the LOMO ActionSampler camera which actually has four lenses.

Upon launching QuadCamera the user is presented with an active camera screen. A tap in the lower right hand corner brings up the settings pane. Here you can adjust the time between photos (0.10 to 3 seconds), grid size and layouts, and color effects. Your images are automatically saved to the camera roll for review and upload at a later time. That's pretty much all you need to get started experimenting with your photography skills. I've been amused and amazed at the results I've gotten.

But that's not all. A companion application called QuadAnimator can be downloaded from the Art&Mobile website. This nifty addition is a flash extension for QuadCamera that animates your stills. This alone makes QuadCamera worth the $2 cost---no SLR required!

In summary, QuadCamera is a sweet little app that adds fun and creative effects to the often flat and ordinary iPhone pics and is especially great for capturing action sequences. I have found it to be stable and easy to use. Upcoming are two more effect settings and a price increase, so get it while the price is right.