ProCamera
:: PRACTICALReview Update: 07/20/11, Version 3.1.1
It's good to see quality apps not just rest on their laurels but instead continue to improve upon their earlier work. Yet again ProCamera's developers have added some great new features to make it an even more useful app. My favourite of the new features is that of the RapidFire Burst. It promises to offer a DSLR style way of taking photos by enabling users to snap an unlimited number of photos in quick succession (very quick - up to 1/2 second!) by holding their finger on the shutter button. It works as great as it sounds too and makes for an ideal way of capturing some candid shots of fast moving targets such as children or animals.
Other new features are more subtle. Users can now organize bulk social network sharing with the app as well as adjust options such as privacy settings and tagging (geo-tagging included). There's also the ability to add location and compass direction details to photos as the user takes them, which proves particularly useful when trying to direct someone.
Finally, the addition of the QuickFlick album which allows users to flick their photos and videos from left to right in a very original way offers a nice touch.
ProCamera has done it again simply put. A great update.
Review Update: 03/22/11, Version 3.0.1
When I last took a look at ProCamera it was a pretty good app. The problem was it was a little intimidating to get to grips with at first. Plus the zoom only worked effectively up to about halfway. I assumed this was a hardware limitation but it turns out that it's one of many things that ProCamera's developers have improved upon in the latest update.
A lot has been packed into this update. ProCamera is now much easier to use making it instantly vital and a great improvement upon the standard camera app. More importantly, there's been the addition of Pro FX Studio, Pro Cut Studio and Pro Lab. Pro FX Studio enables you to use various filters on your images (some of the filters are viewable in the images below), Pro Cut Studio allows you to crop and rotate images within the app and Pro Lab helps you improve things like white balance and other essential photo editing bits and pieces. Each of these additions is simple to learn.
Small improvements such as the ability to switch geotagging off as well as being able to see instant results when adjusting focus and exposure also make for a great photography app. ProCamera's latest update is a great one and if you've not given it a shot yet, this seems like an ideal time to give it a go.
Developer: Jens Damgen
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 2.95
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4iPhone Integration Overall Rating:
User Interface Overall Rating:
Re-use Value Overall Rating:[rating: overall]
There are a lot of photography apps on the App Store but I'm pretty confident that ProCamera is my new favourite. It offers an awful lot of features in order to enhance the iPhone's camera to the next level.At first it looks a little scary, which is understandable when you consider the wealth of options. A click click of the user manual, though, and all makes perfect sense. It's then apparent just how much you can do with the app. At its simplest, you can set ProCamera to anti-shake, instantly aiding anyone with a shaky hand or who happens to be in a less than ideal location for sudden jolts. Besides this though there are options to set the zoom to full-res zoom, thus enabling the app to offset the camera's hardware. ensuring that using the full zoom produces a better photo than the regular camera app normally does. It's not a magic solution. Using the maximum zoom still isn't as perfect as a 'real' camera but using the zoom to halfway works quite well, certainly more so than using the Camera app.
Expert mode offers the ability to set exposure times and focus which you can lock in separately - a particularly vital feature for wannabe photographers. You can also adjust the white balance and colour temperature thus getting your photo just how you want it. Brightness, contrast and black and white settings can also be set just how you want.
Besides the still photographic tools at your disposal, you can also record video through the app which saves the effort of switching back to the built in camera app just for this one feature.
ProCamera also likes to educate, offering a tips and tricks section which teaches you such useful concepts as the rules of thirds and other bits and pieces that you wouldn't think of normally. Also, as the name suggests, ProCamera includes Geotagging facilities which is certainly handy if you want to keep track of where and when you took your photos.
ProCamera offers a lot for the price. It offers both an excellent app for taking photos and videos, and a good app for editing these images directly. The photography market is competitive on the App Store but this is certainly worth a look.
iPhone Screenshots
(click to enlarge)
