Camera+ Review: The most Powerful $1.99 Photo App you’ll Find

App Name:	Camera+
Platforms:	iPhone
Publisher(s):	Tap Tap Tap
Version Reviewed:	2.4
Genre(s):	Photography
Release Date:	November 16, 2011
Price:	$0.99, 50% OFF! (Was $1.99)
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There are seemingly countless apps out there that take advantage of the powerful cameras our iPhones have, and we’ve reviewed many of the good ones. Some are worth the asking price, while others couldn’t pay me enough to use.

Camera+ is one such app I tell my newly minted iPhone-owning friends about, and it would appear I’m not the only one, as it’s been downloaded over 6 million times.

But if you’re anything like me, you need to be fairly convinced that an app is worth the purchase, especially if there’s an equivalent app already built in (in this case, the iPhone’s camera app). Why do I need a different app? What could be in this app that makes it worth my hard earned money? Simply put, Camera + has features that the camera app that came on your phone doesn’t have, and then some you never thought you needed.

The reason I find myself using Camera+ most is that it gives me a 3×3 grid to help better compose and align shots. I have an OCD personality type when it comes to symmetry and alignment, and this feature tends to be my lifeblood. With this app, you can also set the focus and exposure points independently by using two fingers, which is a huge advantage over the iPhone’s built-in app. If you have shaky hands when it comes to taking photos, like I do, the app’s stabilization feature is another nice touch.

With Camera+, you have 15 different lighting scenes you can choose from to suit whatever look and feel you’re trying to achieve. You can crop, rotate, and flip your photo, apply one of 27 effects (9 extra available through an in-app purchase) like HDR, Toy Camera and Sepia, and utilize the 6x digital zoom.  There are also 18 different borders you can apply to your masterpiece to give it that gallery feel. While some of the filters and effects may not apply as seamlessly and easily as the ones you might find in Instagram, the customization and adaptability you’re afforded with Camera+ gives it a slight edge, in my book.

One of the things I most like about Camera+, aside from its hefty editing features, is the ability to take timed photo shots. You’re given the option for a 5 second, 15 second, or 30 second timer to suit whatever it is you’re trying to capture. I can’t tell you how much I loath holding the phone up for a self-photo moment, as it makes me feel like a teenage girl creating a Facebook album.

As you want with any camera app, Camera+ gives you the ability to upload from your photo library in addition to shooting from within the app itself. As default, you edit the photos in the Camera+ Lightbox and save only those snaps you approve of into your camera roll, but there are options to save all into the standard camera roll, or even in both. This gives me the chance to check out what kind of creativity I can muster with a shot I made long ago, or even with another app, but only now realized a different possibility with.

As far as sharing goes, most of the usual suspects are there: Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr.

As for what’s not so good about Camera+? It’s really hard to find fault with the app. If I have to find one, I’d say that a lot of the effects can look a little artificial, but this is generally true of any kind of excessive use of photo effects, and each effect can at least be decreased.

Overall, it’s difficult to state why you SHOULDN’T at least try Camera+ out. It may not have as many features as Snapseed (Read Review), another great photo-editing app, but at half the price, it definitely makes up for that in the bargain department. If you ask me, $1.99 is more than fair.

Our score: 5 out of 5.

About the Author

Jared Murray is a freelance writer currently living in Phoenix, Arizona; which is way warmer than his home state of Indiana. Way. Follow him on Twitter: @jared_84

 

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