Today Blux Touch, the development team behind the robust and widely popular camera apps Blux Camera and Blux Camera Pro, have released a companion app called Blux Lens.

Blux Lens touts itself as being the “latest thing in mobile photography,” allowing the iPhoneographer to connect the app to Blux Camera remotely via a Wi-Fi connection, then place Blux Lens wherever they wish, controlling it via the Blux Camera App.

Blux Lens works with any version of Blux Camera, iPhone(Pro) and the iPad edition. Blux Lens is priced at $0.99 and available worldwide for iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and iPod Touch 5.

In addition, to celebrate the launch, the developers are offering Blux Camera Pro for Free for the next 3 days.

Blux Touch has also posted
Tutorial video on YouTube:

Mediachance, the developers behind several great apps such as Dynamic Light, AutoPainter, and Segmentix to name a few, has released a new app geared towards artistic HDR image processing effects.

The app, HDR Art, allows users to create faux-HDR images (single image HDR) and apply one of the 50 available artistic presets within the app to further process the image.

The presets range from simple black and white, to high contrast, gritty, toned HDR filters, and these presets can be adjusted with customizable parameters.

In addition, users can also select a “Random” preset, or even save custom presets.

Processed images can be saved to the camera roll, or exported to popular social media outlets such as Facebook or Twitter, or the images can be emailed, copied or printed.

As expected with Mediachance apps, HDR Art is a solid app with a nice feature set, an easy to use, intuitive interface, and a reasonable price point. And for the features and resulting images, I would definitely recommend this app to others who enjoy HDR effects.

Another great aspect of HDR Art’s release is that Mediachance has made Autopainter free to celebrate the launch! So if you don’t have that app and are interested in getting it, now’s the time to download it!

Here’s a test image from the app:

An app that seems to have taken off lately is Quipio. This app, from the team at Every Second Counts, Inc., allows users to create images, or “quips” with text, highlighting specific words as they see fit, and then the app delivers several style/font options for the user to share their quip with.

A neat feature of the app is that it claims to be smart enough to learn which styles the user selects most often, and to generate similar styles as it learns more about the user from the more quips they create.

The app allows users to create their quips using Pre-selected backgrounds, or they can also use images from camera or camera roll, and there is also an image search feature so that users can search for images if they wish to do so.

Users can post their quips to the Quipio community, where other users can show appreciation for the quips by marking them with a “Mmm” (the equivalent to a “Like” in other social media outlets), or they can “1Up” the post, and post a reply to it, such as giving the author feedback for example.

Overall, Quipio is a very interesting app with a great premise. It came out of the gate with a strong V1 release, however they just released V1.1 today, and it includes several great user experience features, as well as general stability enhancements. Here’s a rundown of today’s update:

I feel that the app, coupled with these new updates, is sure to be an even bigger hit within the App Store than it already has been.

Here’s an example quip saved from the App:

Recently Wood Camera, already a pretty full featured app for it’s first release (as you can see from when we first reviewed it here), updated to their 2.0 version, which packed tons of new features, editing options, and functionality improvements, all of which made this already great app into a powerhouse that skyrocketed it into the coveted top spot in the Photo & Video Apps section of the App Store.

Here’s some of the improvements that came with the 2.0 update:

And perhaps the most noticeable addition to Wood Camera in version 2.0 is the addition of 10 new lenses, 11 new textures and 6 new frames to the app’s already excellent libraries, which greatly increase the amount of editing options for users.

To celebrate the release, the developers of Wood Camera, Bright Mango, have dropped the price 50%, so if you don’t already have this app, now’s the perfect time to get it!

Here’s some test images I’ve created with the app:

Fans of Popsicolor rejoice! Popsicolor 2.0 has been released and it’s a huge update to the already great app.

The first thing Popsicolor users will notice upon opening the app is the plentiful new features, which include an updated interface, new colors they can choose from for their creations, and the inclusion of Ink, which is a great new feature that brings out added detail in images.

The Focus section of the app had an overhaul as well, allowing the user to have a much greater amount of control over the focus of the effect on the image.

Lastly, a Gradient section was added, allowing the user to select from 24 different gradient options instead of the single linear gradient that was offered in the old version of the app. I think this is a really unique feature of the app, that will definitely be well received.

The app still allows images to be shared on popular social media outlets, and sent as a postcard. And users can also save images to the camera roll as either JPG or PNG, which I thought was a neat inclusion to the app as well.

Overall, I feel like Tinrocket did an excellent job, as per usual, with the update to Popsicolor, making an already great app into a truly stellar one.

Here’s a result image created with the app:

Look out world, GhostBird Software, the developers behind the popular image editing apps Photoforge and Photoforge2, have recently released their own camera replacement app, and it definitely gives other similar apps a run for their money.

KitCam, Ghostbird’s new Camera app, offers users the advanced exposure and white balance controls that they are used to from other top camera replacement apps, while also integrating live image filtering (that is non-destructive, users can go back after taking the image and adjust their filter/film/lens settings after the fact – which I thought was a really cool feature!)

GhostBird also released an update to PhotoForge2 that allowed direct integration with KitCam.

The App retails for $1.99, and comes equipped with several lenses and films to get the user started shooting, and PhotoForge2 users also get the Menthol film for free automatically. The app also offers a few other lens, film and frame packs for in-app purchase for $1.99 each. This may be the only thing that I’m a little uncomfortable about regarding the app. I’m never a fan of any app add-ons being equal to the price of the app itself, and with Hipstamatic seemingly set the standard of in-app lens and film purchases for $0.99, I feel that the $1.99 price point may be a little steep for KitCam’s add-ons.

Other than that, the app is near flawless. It’s fast, the interface is easy to use and understandable, and the features available with this release are great. Even at the $1.99 price point I feel like it’s worth it for this app.

Here’s some screenshots from the app:

Menthol, the film Photoforge2 users receive complimentary:


Users can select a lens and see a live preview.

The Fancy Lens Pack:

Selecting a film:

The Vintage Film Pack:


Selecting Frames:


Used Frames Pack

Exposure and White Balance settings:


Shooting Mode settings:


Level Setting:


Image Gallery:

Image editing tools built into the app:


After the user is finished editing their image, in addition to saving to camera roll, users can also export images to popular social media outlets such as Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Dropbox, or they can also share images via FTP or email. There is also integration with Photoforge2 and the ability to send the newly created image as a postcard.

And here are some test images I have created using the app:

RiverStone™, a new app from MEA Mobile, is a hefty 90+MB download – but is it worth it?

The app’s premise is based on turning the users photos into abstract pieces using river rocks as a sort of mosaic element. The interface is very similar to MEA Mobile’s Part app, so anyone who has used that app will find RiverStone™ quite simple to use.

First, the user either selects an image from their camera roll or takes an image through the in-app camera.

Then, after a brief animation of falling rocks, the user is greeted to a stylized version of their image, created with several large River Stones.

The user then can break up the river stones as they want, into smaller stones, to bring out more color, detail and contrast from the original image by tapping on the larger stones within the image.

The developers even included breaking rock sound effects that play while the user taps on the river stones as well, which I think was a neat touch. The user can continue to break up the river stones until they are content with the appearance of the image.

When the user is happy with their final result, they have the choice of either saving the image to the camera roll, or sharing the image to Facebook, Twitter, or via Email.

Overall, I think the app is interesting, and has a neat concept, however it does have some pros and cons:

Pros:

Cons:

All-in-all, I think RiverStone™ isn’t that bad for a novelty app, however I don’t know how often I can see myself using it. I think I prefer MEA Mobile’s previous darling app Part over RiverStone™, which in some ways almost feels like a glorified Part with sound effects.

Here are some test images I created using RiverStone™:

Colormania FX is one of the newest apps from Dropico, and offers users a unique way to use creative masking techniques to combine different filters and textures with their images.

When users first open the app, as with all Dropico apps nowadays, they are greeted with a familiar notification dialogue warning, which does let the users opt in to receiving notifications from the app. Next, users can select to edit an image from the camera roll or take an image using the in-app camera.

After the image has been selected or taken, the user then paints in the mask for their image.

They can also zoom in and move around in the image pane by tapping on the image toggle switch.

Once the user is happy with their masking selection, they simply tap “apply,” then the mask they selected is applied to their image and they are taken to a screen where they can navigate through a list of available filters and preview what these filters look like with their image and the mask they set up.

Users can also invert the mask they selected by toggling the “Background” switch on this screen.

After the user finds a filter/mask combination that they are happy with, they can simply tap the “Save” button.

Users can save their images to their camera roll, and they can also share images directly to a variety of different apps social media outlets.

Overall, I found this app to be pleasantly surprising. The masking is relatively sophisticated, the filters and textures are unique and the results achieved with the app are really nice. My main gripe is that the app only allows the import of square format images, so here’s hoping there will be an update to allow additional image proportions with future updates, however after owning several other Dropico apps, I somewhat doubt that will happen as they seem to favor the square format.

Below are several test images created using Colormania FX:

I noticed AltPhoto today in the App Store in the “New” section, and almost passed it by, until I noticed the name of the developers: Alien Skin Software.

This little iOS app from the long running photo editing and plugin company, is not really what I expected, in a good way, for a first release app.

I was expecting a run of the mill filter app, however, Alien Skin has put together some nice features in AltPhoto, including some great filters based on traditional film and alternative photographic processes, lots of realistic borders and frames to go along with them (realistic on the level of RetroCamera and LoMob).

In addition, the app supports full resolution images, whether it be from taking images through the in-app camera (which also supports a square format) or by importing from the user’s camera roll.

I think one of the more impressive features was the app’s user interface. The interface is sophisticated while also being easy to navigate, and I found the app to be pretty intuitive.

After selecting an image from their camera roll (from the last 50 images they’ve shot) or shooting an image within the app, the user can then swipe or pan to the left or right, or up and down to navigate between the different filter/film effects within the app. I found the process similar to that of the Gridditor App, so if you are familiar with using that app, then you will feel right at home using AltPhoto.

If you do not want to use the pan and swipe method of navigating through the app’s effects, you can also tap the film gallery button at the top of the screen, and scroll through the effects that way.

While adding effects to an image, the user can also adjust the default frame/border that is added to the image by tapping on the frame button at the top of the screen, and panning through the frame/border options from there.

You can also adjust the image’s Brightness by tapping on the brightness icon at the top of the screen, then adjusting the slider to the range you prefer.

Once you’ve adjusted the image to your liking, you can save it to the camera roll, by tapping the green “Save to Camera Roll” button at the bottom of the screen.

There are also several sharing options within the app. The user can select to share their newly created image through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, or email. The interface for sharing images is very similar to the latest updates to sharing images through Hipstamatic, which has a clean, elegant sharing interface as well. In addition, users can elect to auto-tag their images with #altphoto when they share them, as well as log into their social networks to share images within the app.

Overall, I think AltPhoto is a great filter/effects app if you want an app that provides realistic film and alternative photographic process looks to your iPhotographs. Much like the software that AlienSkin offers, the app is a good solution for adding analog aesthetics to iPhone images.

Here are a few test images I processed with the app earlier:

Mirrorgram, an app that resulted from a collaboration of The Glitch Mob and StageBloc was released last week and since being a featured app in the App Store has taken off in popularity.

Since the app was so popular for being what seemed in essence to be a simple image reflection app, I wanted to check it out.

At first glance, the app does have a much more well designed user interface than the majority of reflection apps in the Photo and Video category, and this helps with the app’s usability. It’s very easy to understand, and intuitive in nature, and the simplicity in the interface design definitely helps convey that.

One of the most interesting features of the app is the user’s live control over the image reflection. While most reflection/kaleidoscope image apps simply have an algorithm that performs the reflection on the image for the user, Mirrorgram puts the control in the user’s hand, allowing them to pan their finger over the area they would like to mirror on the image, and in real-time, that area is reflected. The effect is really pretty neat, and I haven’t seen any other apps in the App Store that have done anything similar to this, which is why I think the app was unique enough for it to be featured in the App Store.

After the user finds an interesting reflection/angle and takes their image, they can then apply a filter to the image, or if they prefer, they can save or export the image in its normal state.

The app allows users to save images to camera roll, and allows users to export images to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and StageBloc, and users can type in their image caption and whether they would like to apply the “#mirrorgram” hashtag to the image, which I think was a neat inclusion.

Overall, I think that Mirrorgram is a well designed app with an interesting concept, but when I tested it, the app was somewhat buggy and did crash a few times, so hopefully it will be a bit more stable in future updates.

Here’s a final image that I created with the app: