Camera

Camera Preset+ updated for Windows Phone 8 with Live Tile support

Apps

By George Ponder, Friday, May 24, 2013 at 1:30 pm

Camera Preset+ is a nifty Windows Phone 8 photography app that lets you create custom preset settings for your camera. The app was recently updated to version 1.3 which adds Live Tile support to let you pin presets to your Start Screen.

This option can really come in handy by letting you jump right into the application with the settings you need. Live Tiles for presets can be customized with a descriptive title and custom color.

They may not be "official" but these Instagram apps are just peachy

Apps

By George Ponder, Friday, May 24, 2013 at 8:49 am

Windows Phone Central App Roundup: Instagram Apps

Instagram is a unique social network that relies more on your photographs than your words. It's a tremendously popular service that, for whatever reason, has steered clear of an "official" Windows Phone app.

But have no fear, there are some creative minds out there and several "unofficial" Instagram apps have popped up in the Windows Store. In the beginning, most were simply viewers to let Windows Phone users look at but not touch the Instagram community.

We now have two fairly decent Instagram clients that not only let you look at the Instagram community but also upload images as well. While the number of apps are still on the thin side, we decided to roundup a few that stand out.

Latest Verizon ad showcases the Nokia Lumia 928's camera in low light

Windows Phone News

By George Ponder, Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 10:41 am

There's very little arguement that the Nokia Lumia 92x series of Windows Phones performs extremely well in low light conditions. The latest Verizon commercial, #takebetterphotos, highlights the Lumia 928's camera's low light abilities.

Touted as the "best low light smartphone camera around" the thirty second ad illustrates how well the 928's camera performs when lighting is at a minimum. Similar to the Lumia 920, the Lumia 928's benefits from the optical stabilization and Nokia's Pureview technology to improve photos captured in those dimly lit situations.

The Nokia Lumia 928 is an exclusive to the Verizon network and is currently running $99.99 after contractual discounts.

Source: VerizonWireless; Thanks, pbroy, for the tip!

Microsoft wants consumers to control the camera by voice, according to filed patent

Windows Phone News

By Rich Edmonds, Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 9:24 pm

It has been revealed that Microsoft has delved into voice-controlled camera technology. The US Patent & Trademark Office has published a patent application filed by the company, which would introduce speech commands for camera operation on a smartphone. Just when you thought the handsfree approach couldn't go any more... well... handsfree.

Intellicam brings first automatic facial recognition system to Windows Phone 8

Apps

By George Ponder, Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 8:49 am

Intellicam is a Windows Phone 8 camera app that might come in handy if you find yourself missing shots because of challenging subjects or have your hands full.

Intellicam utilizes facial recognition and voice commands to activate the shutter. No need to reach for the shutter button or tap the screen. Just wait for someone to face the camera or say the trigger word ("cheese" by default).

It's an innovative concept and while Intellicam may not appeal to everyone it can be a handy, hands free option for your camera.

Camera360 passes the 100 million user mark

By George Ponder, Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 8:02 am

We knew that Camera360 was a popular Windows Phone photography app but apparently it has become the first mobile photography app to pass 100 million global users.

Granted Windows Phone can't take claim to all these users with Camera360 being available over on iOS and Android devices. But still, 100 million is impressive.

Refocus app brings Lytro-like effect to Windows Phone 8, impresses us

Apps

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 at 3:18 pm

Refocus is one of the cooler Windows Phone 8 camera apps we've run across. The camera app operates very similar to the Lytro Cameras or the Pelican Imaging that Nokia is investing in that allows you to choose the focal point after you capture the image.

Refocus lets you shoot now and focus later by capturing a RFI image file (SPEFO Stellar Spectra Analysis file) that can be manipulated to shift the focus point. When you get things just right, the image file is saved in .JPEG format. While we are a little shaky on the science behind Refocus, it's an awesome camera app that is a must have for all the Shutterbugs in the crowd (or anyone else who likes to take photos for that matter).

Camera Preset+ for Windows Phone 8 updated, EXIF reader and more added

Apps

By George Ponder, Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 at 4:20 pm

Camera Preset + is a nifty Windows Phone 8 photography app that lets you build preset camera settings for quick and easy access. The app was recently updated to version 1.2 that adds a few features and deals with some minor bugs.

Camera Preset + now has an alternative skin for the on-screen controls, a deep zoom feature in full resolution, and you can view the EXIF information from photos captured with Camera Preset +.

Fotor for Windows Phone 8, a simple yet effective photo editor

Apps

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 at 10:19 am

Looking for a simple photo editor for your Windows Phone 8 device? You will want to take a gander at Fotor.

Fotor is a nicely laid out photo editor that will let you edit new images or pull the older photos out of your Pictures Hub to edit. The tools range from cropping, exposure, to special effects. The best part of it all... Fotor is a free Windows Phone 8 app.

Camera Preset+, preset settings for your Windows Phone 8 camera

Apps

By George Ponder, Thursday, Apr 18, 2013 at 9:29 am

Camera Preset+ is a Windows Phone 8 photography app that allows you to save your camera settings in a preset tile for easy access.

You can create a series or group of settings within each preset, just in case you're not sure what settings will do the trick. The user interface takes a little getting used to but if you're looking for a quick and easy way to switch your camera settings for particular situations, Camera Preset+ is worth a try.

PhotoWeather Pro, photos and weather rolled into one

Apps

By George Ponder, Thursday, Apr 4, 2013 at 9:00 am

PhotoWeather Pro is a Windows Phone photography app that lets you create, more or less, picture postcards with a weather/location information overlay. The weather information is based on your current location and can be added to photographs in several shapes, forms and fashion.

PhotoWeather Pro also includes a basic photo editor to help you fine tune your photos before saving. PhotoWeather Pro isn't too shabby of a photography app for your Windows Phone 8 or 7.x device but will likely be held back due to the lack of a trial.

Camera360 for Windows Phone 8 hits the Store shelves

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Apr 2, 2013 at 1:53 pm

Camera360 for Windows Phone 8 has landed in the Windows Phone Store. Camera360 is a popular photography app over on the Android and iOS platforms that presents a unique user interface that applies various filters and effects to your images. The interface takes a little time to get used to but after a few minutes, it's rather nice.

Tapping into a "less is more" concept, Camera360 has a central dial, a creative compass, that lets you scan through the various shooting themes and then side swipe the screen to choose the effects for each theme. You also have several frames to choose from and a photo diary to review your photos by date taken.

Put yourself in the picture with Dual Cam Photo for Windows Phone 8

Apps

By George Ponder, Friday, Mar 22, 2013 at 6:07 pm

Dual Cam Photo is an interesting camera app for our Windows Phone 8 devices. The app lets you toggle between front and rear cameras at the swipe of a finger and once you take a photo with one camera, a few seconds later the other camera snaps a pic.

Dual Cam Photo will then crop and combine the two images in side-by-side fashion. It's not an every day type camera app but it may come in handy for those situations where you want to interject a self portrait into the mix.

SteadyCam for Windows Phone 8, helps you keep a steady hand

Apps

By George Ponder, Thursday, Mar 21, 2013 at 5:47 pm

While the Nokia Lumia 920 has optical stabilization to minimize the impact of camera movements, other Windows Phones lack such features. SteadyCam is a Windows Phone 8 app that hopes to help make up for things by only taking a photo when there is no movement detected from your Windows Phone.

The interface is really no-nonsense in that all you have is the viewfinder. You take your photo as you would otherwise by using the hardware camera button (sorry, no screen touch shutter support). If the app senses any movement in your Windows Phone a message window will pop up telling you hold things still.

Clever Camera, a more basic Windows Phone 8 camera alternative

Apps

By George Ponder, Wednesday, Mar 13, 2013 at 5:38 pm

While Windows Phone 8 has some feature rich camera apps, Clever Camera is a scaled back option for those looking for alternative to the native camera app. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Clever Camera covers the basics, gives you a little more control, throws in a few editing options and has a really nice layout.

BW Camera, Windows Phone photography where color is optional

Apps

By George Ponder, Saturday, Mar 9, 2013 at 9:33 am

BW Camera is a Windows Phone app designed to take black and white images. It's a rather nice photography app that allows you to capture images from default settings or tweak the relative amounts of red, green and blue channels to match your own tastes.

Black and White photography has always been an interest and BW Camera does a good job of capturing gray scale images. There's still some ironing out to do but BW Camera is a nice addition to the Windows Phone photography library of apps.

ProShot for Windows Phone 8 updated, adds an intervalometer to the mix

Apps

By George Ponder, Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 at 10:36 am

ProShot is a feature rich camera app for your Windows Phone 8 device for those wanting a little more control over their camera. The app was recently updated to version 2.3 that tweaks the app's overall performance and adds a self timer and intervalometer feature.

What's a intervalometer you ask? Simply put, a time lapse setting. ProShot now can capture time lapse images using delays that range from 3 seconds to 5 minutes. The self-timer feature has options for delays ranging from 1 second to 10 seconds and an option to capture a three shot burst.

Filter your photos with SophieLens Pro for Windows Phone 8

Apps

By George Ponder, Thursday, Feb 7, 2013 at 8:44 am

SophieLens Pro is a photo editing app for your Windows Phone 8 device that lets you apply a wide range of filters to your photos.

SophieLens Pro is a fairly straight forward photography app that launches straight to a camera app that previews the selected filter in the view finder. The filter style is noted in the bottom left corner of the view finder and two button controls sit on the right edge of the view finder that controls the flash and changes the filter.

ProShot for Windows Phone 8 updated, adds burst mode and more

Apps

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Feb 5, 2013 at 1:33 pm

ProShot is an app for your Windows Phone 8 device that delivers a ton of features to your camera. The app was recently updated to version 2.2 that piles a few more features into the mix, including a new look.

Most notable is the addition of a burst mode that allows you to capture images at five frames per second. The burst mode interface is a little on the cumbersome side but after a while it becomes second nature.

Which is the better Windows Phone 8 HDR app? HDR Camera or HDR Photo Camera

Apps

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Jan 15, 2013 at 8:46 am

We've taken a look at the two Windows Phone 8 HDR camera apps, HDR Camera and HDR Photo Camera. They both were updated recently and without a trial version for either, we set out to see which was the better HDR app between the two.

Both are designed to merge three images of a subject at varying exposures, merge the three images into one and offer a higher dynamic color range with the final product. This comes close to being a true HDR process and goes beyond simply applying an effects filter to an image for the HDR effect.