XLCamera
Tony Mei | Jan 6, 2012 Photo & Video
User rating: 
(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
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XLCamera (0.99$) by Maksym Tsanko
Available on iPhone & iPod Touch
According XLCamera, you can enjoy better “pictures at low light with much better quality.” This sets off alarm bells immediately. I’m skeptical of any app that claims to boost your iPhone camera’s picture taking ability. Does XLCamera live up to it’s hype, or does it fall short like dozens of other photo apps?
Let’s look at technique behind XLCamera’s photo enhancement. XLCamera uses two-step process to brighten and enhance dark images. There’s a ‘torch’ function that toggles your camera flash to stay on. An additional a built in slider adjusts images by tweaking with color saturation and hues. The slider doesn’t make images magically brighter, but increase the warmness and blurs the sharp edges associated with flash night-photography.
Tags: $.99, camera, photo editing, photos, Tony Mei
Darkroom Premium
Swain Valasek | May 9, 2009 Photo & Video
User rating: (1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...
I like Darkroom from Stepcase Ltd; been a long-time user of the free version. If memory serves, it was the first app to offer image stabilization using the accelerometer and for that I’ll always be grateful (even though the feature can now be found on other apps). Up for review today however is the Premium version so let’s dig right in. First and foremost, Darkroom strives to be a replacement for the Apple Camera app, an endeavor in which I feel it has succeeded save 1 minor caveat which I’ll get to in a moment. What does Darkroom Premium give you over the default camera app for your dollar?
Tags: $0.99, camera, free, Swain Valasek
Camera Timer
Swain Valasek | Mar 8, 2009 Photo & Video
User rating: 
(10 votes, average: 2.90 out of 5)
(10 votes, average: 2.90 out of 5) Loading ...
If you threw a pebble at the app store, it would bounce off about 10 camera apps before coming to rest. So how does Camera Timer from Nuno Carvalho Entertainment stack up against the glut? Well, it does exactly what it’s namesake implies…and nothing more. This app allows you to specify whether the iPhone will take a picture in 15, 30 or 45 seconds. Optional SFX will let you know when it’s just about to snap. In what is easily my shortest review ever, that’s it, the end.
I have a couple gripes while we’re all here. First a generalization; there are 2 types of camera apps out there if you loosely categorize: those that add value to the native camera app and those that strive to be a replacement for it. Camera Timer has positioned itself as the former when to me it makes much more sense to shoot for the latter. What you get is something in between that I think would be a struggle to find a permanent home for on your iPhone. There’s no stabilization feature using the accelerometer. There’s no autosave option. The camera roll is accessible from the app but the author inexplicably overlays his logo on each one, reducing the viewable image area for no justifiable reason.
When apps exist that do what Camera Timer does plus considerably more and for less jack (such as Darkroom Premium), it’s impossible to recommend this app unless you simply must have an extra icon on your iPhone that serves the singular purpose of timing the camera shutter release.
Version reviewed – 1
Reviewed on – iPhone 3G 8G 2.2.1
Tags: $1.99, camera, camera timer, Swain Valasek
