It’s said that the best camera you have is the one that’s with you.
Now that most of us carry smartphones with a built-in camera there’s a good chance that a camera is with you all the time. In fact, these days smartphone cameras have even proven themselves better than most actual Point-And-Shoot cameras. Better not only in picture quality, but in the versatility that is achieved through the use of Apps.
If you own an iPhone and visited the App Store lately, you’ve seen the countless camera Apps available. While each adds clever and fun abilities to your smartphone’s camera, one App in particular I find stands out among the rest.
Camera+ by developer tap tap tap augments your iPhone’s Camera by simply adding the features you will typically find on an actual Point-And-Shoot camera.
It Gives Me Useful Info
Like my DSLR, Camera+ gives me ISO (Sensor sensitivity) and Shutter Speed info through a feature called Live Exposure. Although I can’t manually adjust these values like on my big camera, I can get an idea of how shots may turn out based on this useful information.
It Gets Me In The Shot
Like a real Point-And-Shoot camera it gives me a Self-Timer. I can set a 5, 15, or 30 second delay to give me time to get in the shot with the rest of the group.
It Gives Me A Horizon Level
Like in some fancy compact cameras this App features a horizon line that I can turn on and view on-screen to help me take straighter photos.
The Helpy Features:
It Gives Me A “Half-Press”
The first Helpy feature is the power to control Focus separately from Exposure. With one finger you can pick a focus point while with a second finger set the exposure level. For those of you familiar with the “Half-Press” of the shutter button on your Point-And-Shoot or DSLR, this feature will give you the same level of control over focus and exposure but in a more natural and intuitive way using touch control.
How Anticlimax Can Be A Feature Unto Itself
The Helpiest feature I find is the lack of a fancy shutter animation. There is no artful or dramatic indication that a photo is being taken. This is great – and here’s why:
When you push the button, it takes the photo… That’s it. This makes the image capturing very fast. In fact this “feature” even helps to speed up the camera on older version iPhones like the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS.
If you’re a parent like me, you will find this potentially the most indispensable feature of this App. As you and I know with kids, cute stuff happens. Then poof… It’s over. This App may give your iPhone the edge you need to capture these moments (in focus) before they end.
Camera+ by tap tap tap is $1.99 and available in the iOS App Store.