Hipstamatic - a lens and film app which offers lots of creative possibilities

This porcelain and mixed media little mermaid is featured in great detail for her closeup.

Hipstamatic is my second most used camera app. It allows for creative shots and a great variety of effects. Unlike KitCam, the shots are all in the pre-filming and processing. You can't change shots after they have been taken. While the app requires experimentation to discover what it can do, the results can be stunning.

The app offers a variety of lenses, films, flashes and virtual camera cases. Setting up your camera gear might run as much as $10-$15 depending on the items you want to have available.

Currently Hipstamatic features the following Camera Gear:

1. Silver Lake HipstaPak $.99: Mabel lens, Dixie film
2. RetroPak Three $3.99: Americana Lens, G2 lens, Wonder Lens Hornbecker Lens; Blanko Freedom 13 Film, OG Film, RTV Film, RTV Shout! Film, US1776 Film, W40 Film, AO BW Film, AO DLX Film
3. Portrait SnapPak $.99: Foxy Lens, Sugar Film
4. Groupie SnapPak $.99: Adler 9009 Lens, Dylan Film, Pop Rox Flash
5. PopTone CasePak $.99: Juicy Apple Camera Case, Grape Gumdrop Camera Case, Spicy Cinnamon Camera Case, Razzleberry Camera Case, Lemon Zest Camera Case.
6. Williamsburg Start HipstaPak ??: Helga Viking Lens, Cadet Blue Gel Flash, RedEye Gel Flash, Laser Lemon Gel Flash, Pistil Film
7. The Portland HipstaPak $.99: Lucifer VI Lens, BlacKeys B+W Film, Caunch 72 Monochrome Film
8. Shibuya HipstaPak $.99: Roboto Glitter Lens, Berry Pop Flash, Float Film
9. Camden HipstaPak $.99: Blackeys SuperGrain Film, Alfred Infrared Film
10. *The Mission HipstaPak $.99: Bettie XL Lens, Ina’s 1935 Film, Eggshell White Camera Case
11. *W Mag FreePak free: Wonder Lens, W40 Film, W Mag Commemorative Camera Case
12. Foodie SnapPak $.99:  Loftus Lens, Tasty Pop Flash, DC film
13. RetroPak One $1.99: Salvador 84 Lens, Melodie Lens, Tejas Lens, DreamCanvas Film
14. RetroPak Two $3.99: Matty ALN Lens, Libatique 73 Lens, Watts Lens, Susie Lens, James M Lens, Lucas AB2 Lens, Jolly Rainbo 2X Flash, Big Up Film, Rock BW-11 Film
15. *Soho HipstaPak ??: Chunky Lens, Cano Cafenol Film, Blanko Noir Film, Mr. Bling (gold) Camera Case
16. Tintype 
    SnapPak: Tinto 1884 Lens, D-Type Plate Film, C-Type Plate film
17. Multiple Exposure Kit ??: Rewind your film to make multi-exposure kit
18. IncrediBooth: A photo booth app
19. Snap Magazine
20. SwankoLab: a pre-digital era classic darkroom app which allows you to choose chemicals, process photos and experiment.

From the list above, Jane is my most used lens and Blanco Noir or Ina's 1935 my most used films.

I particularly like the intense reds that Blanco Noir produces.

When you open Hipstamatic, you are greeted by a box camera. (There are several choices here.) This is the stage where any adjustments need to be made. To change film, click on the film can icon at left.

This takes you to the film section where you can flip through each of the possibilities. When you first begin you may need to do a lot experimenting to make sure which film has the look you like.







In this case I am going to use the Blanko Noir. The film gives a great range of intense colors. After selecting your film, click done and it will take you to the backside of the camera.

Look at the back of the camera, there is a switch at the top left that is used when you do multiple exposures; the slot below shows your film. Below that the camera will indicate it has finished processing the picture by turning green in the framed box. If you wish to use flash you turn it on by toggling the center lower toggle left or right.





The big yellow button is what you snap to take a picture. Compose the picture in the viewfinder and shoot. The arrow  returns you to the front of the camera.





At right is the completed picture using Blanco Noir and the Jane lens.











When checking your picture on the camera there are four icons. The first gives you the information on what options you picked. Below that is a trash can. Top right is the share button (allowing you to automatically share to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, tumblr, or Flickr. Below that is the print icon.

Using a different film (in this case Kodak  XGrizzled)
and a different lens (Libatique 73) gives a totally different feel to the picture.

The borders of the picture are distressed and the colors are fairly muted. Note that most of the exterior seen through the window disappears in the glare.

 The next shot changes the lens to Wonder and the film to Ina's 1935. Here the darks become much more intense and a lot of the detail disappears. If you want to emphasize shows, this would be a good choice.

 Below are more examples with their settings:

 Landscape pictures do well with Jane and Blanko Noir.

Below is a sample of the multiple exposure app which allows you to take several (usually at least two or three) exposures. The toggle seems to prefer doing three exposures, but with experience you can reduce it to two exposures.

Experimentation is needed to find the right mix.

Hipstamatic is great fun for anyone who likes to experiment and take control of the image they are producing. Snap Magazine is a great tool which lets you see other people's work with lens and films credited. Just remember, that you do have to learn each of the films and the lens to know what works for you.

More information on the Hipstamatic app ($1.99 for the starter app) can be found @ http://hipstamatic.com/ or at the app store online.

KitCam - one of my most used photography apps

KitCam is a photography app I find myself using constantly. It allows you to take the picture with whatever setting you wish and then adjust the settings later. This view of Oak Park below was taken using it.

As you set up the picture determine where you want the camera to focus, touch it and a small blinking box will use that area to determine correct settings and focus. Here I focused the box on the flowers in the foreground.

A variety of lenses

KitCam has a total of 16 lenses available, some standard, a few for an additional cost. They include 

• Vignette
• Blowout
• Accent
• Line Tilt
• Oval Tilt
• Pinhole
• Dreamer
• Olga
• Bonne Nuit
• Agno
• Kurt
• Split
• DeCarlo
• Fisheye
• Kaleidoscope
• 3D

Although I haven't bought 3D glasses to check
this, you might try it.

The same picture of the flower was made into a kaleidoscope image.

A Whole Group of Films

The app includes a possibility of 32 film choices, including:

 

• Color Vibe (which I use the most). It makes the colors really pop.
• Iced Tea
• Instant '23
• Douglas Fir
• Brooklyn
• Lunar
• Antique
• Coral
• Bromine
• Louisiana
• Purple Haze
• Latte
• Bleached
• Dublin
• Red Scale
• Oslo
• Prairie
• Newsprint
• Rorschach
• Sepia
• Super Fade
• Lomochrome
• Honey Bee
• Midnight
• Deadwood
• Denim
• GB Xr3
• GB Theta
• GB KC5
• Summer '57
• Mono '51
• Technicolor

Here is the shot changed to Newsprint film.

With the frame icon, you can adjust the type of frame you want around the finished picture.

Adjustments of all kinds

At the bottom is are tools to (1) enhance the picture, (2) crop it, (3) change the lens and film settings, and when (4) is pushed, you can adjust the contrast and select the light source as seen above.If you use Instagram, you might want to crop your picture to a square image. You can do it with the second icon.

Going into the CAM settings you can adjust (1) Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation; (2) Color Balance, (3) Levels, (4) Sharpen

The edited and finished photograph.

Once you try this app, you may never use the standard camera on the iPhone again. The pictures can be transferred to your Camera Roll and easily uploaded or sent.

Download the app at kitcamapp.com. Try it and post a couple of results here for us to see.