Tap tap tap, the makers of the popular photography app Camera+ (and our go-to pick) which has sold 12 million copies, are celebrating their four year anniversary today by launching a brand new camera app called MagiCam.
MagiCam is the company’s response to users who want a simple, easy to use app which has the power of Camera+ but without all the options. The app was created to allow users to seamlessly shoot images to share on social networks quickly, without having to worry about setting complex adjustments.
Camera+ co-founder Lisa Bettany tells us their team spent a total of four and a half months to create MagiCam from concept to completion. We asked her if this was a simpler version of Camera+, but she responded they are very different apps, as MagiCam is about being able to make photos “look amazing without all the fussing around with buttons and sliders.”
As for the target market of MagiCam, Bettany says it’s geared towards existing Camera+ users and new users, particularly those that “value speed and ease of use, over time consuming editing control,”—which I now see as a huge benefit after spending a short time with MagiCam.
The moment you launch the app it’s ready to take a photo instantly. One the shutter is pressed, MagiCam automatically enhances your photo with what it thinks will make it look best.
Buttons along the bottom allow you to control your flash, rotate cameras, a big shutter button, shoot square photos (for Instagram) and quick access to their nine live ‘moods’: zen, dramatic, romantic, innocent, melancholy, cheerful, bittersweet, nostalgic and envious.
You can quickly preview how the moods will affect your image and once selected you’ll get that view on the camera screen. Nifty animations zoom the ‘moods’ menu in and out. While in shooting view, your selected ‘mood’ will pulse in the bottom right corner, giving you a handy visual indicator of which one is live. Your previous snaps are shown in square thumbnails just above the shutter icon.
If you don’t want to select a ‘mood’, taking a picture will automatically apply a magic filter so you can quickly upload your finished image. By tapping and holding on your photo, you can see the before (left) and after (right) of the automatic image enhancer, which added more contrast and highlights to my image:
It’s also quick and easy to share a photo with MagiCam to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Message (iMessage/text), plus options to copy, email, ‘open in’ and launch within Camera+.
Below is the MagiCam promo video:
MagiCam looks to address those users who are willing to pay for convenience to quickly snap photos and share them on social networks and more. Sure, the iOS Camera app can perform similar actions such as live filters, one-touch editing, but it’s not as elegant, quick and fun to use; plus it can’t share directly to Instagram or open photos within Camera+.
If you’re a social media crackhead that needs to tweet or Instagram everything and want your photos to be beautified before doing so, MagiCam just might be the app for you. We look forward to testing it more in the field soon.
Click here to download MagiCam—it’s available for $0.99 at launch for a limited time.
