QuickAdvice: Retro Camera Plus - Take Cool Retro Photos For Free
Retro Camera Plus (Free) by Urbian, Inc. is the perfect way to explore the world of retro photography without spending a dime. Surely you’ve heard of app store darling Hipstamatic. Well, now you can check out Retro Camera Plus, which is similar, except that it’s free. Some might call it a knock-off, but I see it as a different app entirely, since each of the effects are different. In fact, I believe they complement each other quite nicely - it would not be a waste of space to own both.
There are a lot of apps that allow you to add filters after the fact to create a retro look, many of which we have reviewed here. But Retro Camera Plus, like Hipstamatic, requires you to let go of some control and take a leap of faith -- you select the “camera” you want, and just shoot. The results are unpredictable and interesting.
Start by choosing a “camera”. I’ll use the Xolaroid 2000 as an example. This is obviously modeled after a Polaroid camera, from San Francisco circa 1972. Tap “about this camera” to read about what to expect from this one. You get a sample image and a menu of attributes: Colour, Film, Development, and Use Cases. This is where you’ll find that the color saturation for this camera is high and cross-processed with a blue/green cast. The film will have minor, glossy scratches and have an instant frame. The development is high contrast. All of the cameras have the option for Black and White that you can switch on and off. And this camera is best suited for candid and abstract shots. For detailed information on each of these attributes for each camera see the photo gallery below.
Five “cameras” are included in this app: The Barbl (Leipzig, 1951), The Little Orange Box (USSR 1976), Xolaroid (San Francisco, 1972), The Pinhole (DIY in the 80’s somewhere), and The Fudge Can (1961, Granby, Quebuec). I had a lot of fun shooting with this little gem, and I think you will, too. I shot each of the sample photos of the same subject, at the same time, in the same place, with the same lighting (I tried to get him to hold still, but that wasn’t happening). You can see each photo is quite unique.
After shooting, your photos will be hung from tiny clothes pins on a clothesline gallery. Tap each photo either Share or Delete it. When you tap Share, you’ll have the option to share via Facebook, Twitter, Electronic Mail (this is retro - email isn’t a term yet!), or Save to Camera Roll.
As you can see from my screenshots, the UI is aesthetically quite lovely, only slightly marred by the small ads required to allow this app to be free. If you like the toy/retro/analog camera trend, you’ll definitely want to add this one to your collection. You have nothing to lose by giving it a shot.
