Instagram Updated With Improved Camera Interface, New Filter, And More

With the camera being the core of the experience, Instagram announced today its biggest upgrade to the Instagram iOS camera since last year improving its function and speed.

The update affects the camera interface as well, which is improved with a quick preview of the most recent photo you took and with an Instagram-themed shutter and shutter-release button. In addition, there is an optional grid guide for live photos, while iPhone 5 owners can enjoy an iPhone 5-specific update: you will have an improved Camera Roll image selector for quick access.

Another important enhancement in the popular photo sharing app (which, BTW, recently closed its doors to Twitter) is a brand-new monochrome filter, with subtle purple tones and translucent, glowing white borders — in other words, Willow.

Fortunately, the Instagram update improves its tilt-shift feature as well, and this version includes a couple interface tweaks, such as a new welcome screen and infinite scrolling for profiles. The photos are now saved into a dedicated album on the iDevice’s Camera Roll.

App Store release notes:

• A new filter! Willow
• Take photos faster with Instagram’s all-new camera
• Improved quality of tilt-shift
• Scroll infinitely on user profiles and other grid views
• Other improvements:
• We added a Foursquare button on location pages that opens the Foursquare app (or Foursquare mobile website) with details about the venue
• Filtered photos are now saved to a separate album called “Instagram” in the camera roll
• New welcome screen design

Instagram [App Store download link]