Image: John Kratz. |
Editor’s note: The following app lists, ratings, and descriptions were sampled from a range of app-ranking sites — including the Android Market, BlackBerry App World and TopAppCharts.com — on Aug. 29-30, 2011. Several lists provided by TopAppCharts.com feature constantly updating app rankings.
There are hundreds of mobile apps that take advantage of smartphone cameras, offering many ways to capture a single scene, and allowing users to quickly edit or customize digital images, wherever they are standing.
This report features a collection of paid and free mobile photography apps for a range of mobile devices, including Android-equipped devices, BlackBerry devices, iPhones and iPads. The lists include apps for taking photos, editing photos, and for assembling panoramic images.
Top 10 paid photography category apps for Android
PicSay Pro – Phot…
Shinycore
Rating: 4.7 stars (Above average)
(12,568 ratings)
$4.31
Camera ZOOM FX
androidslide
Rating: 4.3 stars (Above average)
(6,599 ratings)
$4.88
Camera Fun Pro
SpiceLoop
Rating: 3.9 stars (Above average)
(5,026 ratings)
$0.99
Vignette
neilandtheresa
Rating: 4.1 stars (Above average)
(5,295 ratings)
$4.06
Camera360 Ultimate
mAPPn, Inc.
Rating: 4.0 stars (Above average)
(4,823 ratings)
$3.99
Pho.to Lab Pro
VicMan LLC
Rating: 4.6 stars (Above average)
(305 ratings)
$2.99
Paper Camera
JFDP Labs LTD
Rating: 4.3 stars (Above average)
(214 ratings)
$1.94
Pano
Debacle Software
Rating: 4.2 stars (Above average)
(223 ratings)
$2.02
Pro HDR Camera
EyeApps LLC
Rating: 3.5 stars (Above average)
(580 ratings)
$1.99
Retro Camera Plus
Urbian
Rating: 4.0 stars (Above average)
(1,462 ratings)
$2.99
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Top 10 free photography category apps for Android
PicsIn Photo Studio
PicsIn
Rating: 4.4 stars (Above average)
(52,374 ratings)
Install
PicSay – Photo Ed…
Shinycore
Rating: 4.5 stars (Above average)
(63,614 ratings)
Install
Color Touch Effects
Swiss Codemonkeys
Rating: 3.7 stars (Above average)
(4,280 ratings)
Install
Adobe Photoshop E…
Adobe Systems
Rating: 4.0 stars (Above average)
(40,083 ratings)
Install
Action Snap
Oursky Ltd.
Rating: 4.2 stars (Above average)
(2,931 ratings)
Install
Pho.to Lab
VicMan LLC
Rating: 4.5 stars (Above average)
(17,907 ratings)
Install
PhotoFunia
PhotoFunia
Rating: 4.5 stars (Above average)
(40,200 ratings)
Install
FxCamera
ymst
Rating: 4.4 stars (Above average)
(81,329 ratings)
Install
Retro Camera
Urbian
Rating: 4.3 stars (Above average)
(41,986 ratings)
Install
PicsIn Magic Effects
PicsIn
Rating: 4.4 stars (Above average)
(2,255 ratings)
Install
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Most popular free and paid photo editor apps for Android
PicSay Pro – Photo Editor
Shinycore
Photography
Rating: 4.7 stars (Above average)
(12,568 ratings)
$3.99
Award winning photo editor with all the tools you need to spice up your pictures Spice up the pictures on your phone with this award winning photo editor! New, initia…
PicSay – Photo Editor
Shinycore
Photography
Rating: 4.5 stars (Above average)
(63,614 ratings)
Install
Spice up your pictures with the free edition of this powerful Photo editor This is the free Lite edition, upgrade to PicSay Pro and get a host of extra tools, special …
PicsIn Photo Studio
PicsIn
Photography
Rating: 4.4 stars (Above average)
(52,374 ratings)
Install
Awesome Photo Editor! INSTALL Pics-In — All-in-One Picture and Photos Editor! PicsIn is one of best and most complete photo editors available for free in the market…
Color Touch Effects
Swiss Codemonkeys
Photography
Rating: 3.7 stars (Above average)
(4,280 ratings)
Install
Color Touch Effects allows to recolor images and apply cool effects to them. You can select an image, turn it to gray (or sepia, ..) and bring the color back with you…
Photo Grid
RoidApp
Photography
Rating: 4.2 stars (Above average)
(6,674 ratings)
Install
Convert your photos collection into amazing collages. Thumbnail choose photo support now, better and faster. Edit(Swap,Rotate,Move,Zoom,Sketch) grid support now. Wit…
PicsIn Magic Effects
PicsIn
Photography
Rating: 4.4 stars (Above average)
(2,255 ratings)
Install
Awesome PicsIn Photo Effects. Artistic Photo Effects! Perfect addition for PicsIn Photo Studio! Many effects such as Stenciler, Cartoonizer, Sketcher, Orton, Lomo, Vi…
Camera illusion
Mobile illusion
Photography
Rating: 4.1 stars (Above average)
(4,947 ratings)
Install
"Camera illusion" is the camera application that lets you process photos in real-time, previewing and taking amazing pictures combining cool effects, filters and masks. Easy to use for taking funny pictures, but also very powerful for use by professional photographers or artists …
BeFunky Photo Editor
BeFunky INC
Photography
Rating: 4.3 stars (Above average)
(2,337 ratings)
Install
Edit photos, apply effects, add frames, save back to your phone BeFunky, the popular online photo editing application is now on your Android. Edit your photos, apply s…
TouchRetouch Free
Adva Soft
Photography
Rating: 4.4 stars (Above average)
(578 ratings)
Install
Remove unwanted content from your photos easily! TouchRetouch Free is an award-winning photo editor that allows you to remove unwanted content or objects from any phot…
Photo Effects
Swiss Codemonkeys
Photography
Rating: 3.4 stars (Above average)
(1,135 ratings)
Install
Turn your pictures into art! Apply more than 40 amazing effects. Turn your photos into art with amazing photo effects, similar to instagram. • Edit your photos with g…
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Top 10 most popular free and paid panorama apps for Android
(Based on a search of the keyword "panorama" at the Android Market.)
Panorama beta
Sony Ericsson
Photography
Rating: 4.5 stars (Above average)
(718 ratings)
Install
The easy panoramic photo application on your Sony Ericsson Xperia™ X10 phone. This application gives you an easy panoramic photo experience on your Sony Ericsson Xperi…
Photaf 3D Panorama (Free)
Oren Bengigi
Photography
Rating: 3.9 stars (Above average)
(4,334 ratings)
Install
Easily create a 3D panorama by utilizing the camera and the orientation sensor. Photaf – The best Android App for creating panoramas Top 10 Android Photography apps …
Photaf 3D Panorama Pro
Oren Bengigi
Photography
Rating: 4.2 stars (Above average)
(651 ratings)
$3.99
Easily create a 3D panorama by utilizing the camera and the orientation sensor. Photaf – The best Android App for creating panoramas Top 10 Android Photography apps …
Camera Advance Lite
mnApps
Photography
Rating: 3.5 stars (Above average)
(1,240 ratings)
Install
Full featured photo camera app Camera Advance Lite is a full featured photo camera app. Camera features: – Timer – Burst photo capture – Reduced noise by capturing mu….
Sfera
Yudo inc
Photography
Rating: 3.5 stars (Above average)
(46 ratings)
Install
Sfera is the first application on Android that can realize easily fantastic 360 degree photos. It is possible to record a 20-second sound sequence during the photo shooting. The sound recording is automatically added to the photo and is played during its visualization …
Camera Advance
mnApps
Photography
Rating: 3.8 stars (Above average)
(237 ratings)
$2.99
Full featured photo camera app Full featured photo camera app. Try free version Camera Advance Lite first. Camera features: – Timer – Burst photo capture – Reduced no…
360
TeliportMe
Photography
Rating: 3.1 stars (Above average)
(249 ratings)
Install
Create and share amazing panoramas! Capturing 360 panoramas on your Android phone has never been so easy! Using the 360 app all you have to do is press start and pan y…
PhotoStitch Lite
JUPE Software
Media & Video
Rating: 3.1 stars (Above average)
(663 ratings)
Install
Create panorama photos with 2 photos! (Buy Photostich for more photos) Be creative with the monochrome effect. Use the bubble level to align the photo’s. Share the p…
Easy Panorama Camera Trial
miraidepartment
Photography
Rating: 2.5 stars (average)
(42 ratings)
Install
This is a tool for creating a panoramic multi view photo like Google Street View. Select [Create] menu and pan your camera slowly. Select [View] to see a Panoramic mu…
Robot View Free
the vegan robot
Media & Video
Rating: 3.4 stars (Above average)
(846 ratings)
Install
Think Google Street View creation in the palm of your hands. A spherical panorama creation tool, Robot View allows you to fully capture your surroundings and share the.
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Top 5 most popular free and paid augmented reality apps for Android
(Based on a search of the phrase "augmented reality" at the Android Market.)
US Yellow Pages
Yellowbook Inc
Travel & Local
Rating: 4.4 stars (Above average)
(42,906 ratings)
Install
Yellowbook’s free yellow pages search app helps you find local businesses fast. Yellowbook’s free US Yellow Pages app on Android is all about *your* ‘local’. It can h…
Layar
Layar
Travel & Local
Rating: 4.1 stars (Above average)
(29,208 ratings)
Install
See the World! Layar is a mobile app for discovering information about the world around you. Using Augmented Reality (AR) technology, Layar displays digital informatio…
Wikitude World Browser
Wikitude GmbH
Travel & Local
Rating: 4.1 stars (Above average)
(7,876 ratings)
Install
Voted “Best Augmented Reality Browser in 2010”, Augmented Planet (Jan 2011). Wikitude World Browser is a fun, innovative and informative Augmented Reality ( AR ) platf…
3D Compass (AR Compass)
Sam Lu
Travel & Local
Rating: 4.2 stars (Above average)
(4,779 ratings)
Install
3D compass with augmented reality view, Auto rotate map, Big heading degrees This is a compass app with augmented reality view and real time map update, and provides r…
3D Compass+ (AR Compass)
Sam Lu
Travel & Local
Rating: 4.4 stars (Above average)
(39 ratings)
Install
3D compass with augmented reality view, Auto rotate map, Big heading degrees This application is a compass app with augmented reality view with real time map update, a…
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Top 10 most popular free and paid BlackBerry photography apps
(Based on a search at BlackBerry App World.)
HUGE Sale – PhotoClub – Funny Make Machine With Photos
by MMMOOO
| 5326 reviews
50% OFF! Now ONLY 2.99USD, form is 6.99. ***Regional Selections Winners of 2010 BlackBerry® Super Apps Challenge**No.1 in Photo for months! Ultimate fun and functional**, PhotoClub enables your BlackBerry® as a funny make machine with photos! It includes Adjust Photo, Add Clipart, Add Frames, Add Effect and Add Custom Elements these useful and funny functions. Changelog in 2.0.2: 1. Support t …
Photo Studio (BETA)
by KVAD Gro p
| 3840 reviews
FREE
PhotoStudio for BlackBerry® is utilized by both amateur and professional photographers who seek simple, but powerful image processing on-the-go. Users can turn their BlackBerry® into a fantastic photo editing studio that allows them to mix operations, clips and effects. Main features: – Base photo operations: brightness, contrast, RGB color adjustment, hue, saturation etc. – Transform operati …
Screen Shot FREE – Capture and grab what shows on your display
by S4BB Limited
| 1439 reviews
FREE
With ScreenShot you can take a screen shot of your current BlackBerry® screen with just one click. Features: * Takes screen shots and saves them on the sd card / internal memory * Illustrated how to for setting up ScreenShot on a convenience key for 1-click screen shot taking * Real camera shutter sound * After screen shot is taken it can be sent by email easily * No time limitation * This FREE …
Photo Editor Ultimate FREE
by Ice Cold Apps
| 845 reviews
FREE
Photo Editor Ultimate Free is the ultimate photo editor for your BlackBerry®! You can edit your images easily and send them to all your friends. A menu item will be shown when you use the file explorer and select images, which makes it easy to start editing. Update 6.0: Finally we added the crop function to the free version! Also, you can create a photo booth and set the image as wallpaper …
A+ Picture Effects and Photo Editor
by shendz
| 695 reviews
US$0.99 USD
Only with one payment of $0.99, you get unlimited access to this app and free upgrades forever! *** A+ Photo Effects Editor Tool is a sophisticated photo editing tool with very friendly user interface. You can edit, save, and share you picture very easily. Selecting images that will be edited can be done from …
MiniFrames
by BB4 Software
| 596 reviews
US$1.99 USD
MiniFrames is an application to decorate your photos with custom frames, so you can create extraordinary and beautiful photos. Take a look for the screenshots. MAIN FEATURES: * Small size * Adjust the original photo, it can be resized and moved * Save your photo in 3 different sizes * All the Frames are downloaded and stored in your Media Card, not in the internal memory …
Photo Editor – Free Trial
by Pepper.pk
| 648 reviews
FREE
PLEASE READ—-In order to use the free trial make sure you give the app all permissions OTHERWISE IT WILL NOT WORK! WE NOW HAVE AN UPDATE OUT WHICH FIXES THE ONE TIME USE ISSUE! NOW EVERYONE CAN USE IT FOR AN ADDITIONAL 7 DAYS! *** Now you can download a free trial version of this best-selling photo editing application for the BlackBerry®! Don’t delay – Download today!" …
MiniPaint
by BB4 Software
| 448 reviews
US$1.99 USD
If you are looking for something more that a simple photo editor, this app is for you. MiniPaint is the most complete image editing app, and the only that offers a trial. ** We don’t want unhappy users, try before you buy ** MAIN FEATURES: Rotation Scaling/Resizing Cropping Clipart.- Early 150 images availables to download online. Text.- write over your images. Several colors, sizes …
PixTrix
by Inline Marmalade ltd
| 558 reviews
FREE
PixTrix for BlackBerry® is a simple to use app that allows you to apply photographic filters to your photos and share them with your friends. Pick from a selection of predefined filters and make adjustments to the Brightness, Contrast and Saturation of your images. Link the app to your Facebook profile and directly upload the altered photos to your profile or alternatively save them back to your …
Popular Photo Tools
by Elena Vino kurova
| 393 reviews
US$0.99 USD
NEW VERSION OUT NOW! GET A HOST OF NEW FEATURES NOW FOR FREE – ALSO AVAILABLE FOR THE PLAYBOOK! Get Value for your money, we have amazing features like CROP, DOODLE, PAINT, FILTERS and FRAMES! Get this BlackBerry® Super App Challenge Regional Selection Winner for a discounted price. Hurry while promotion lasts!
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Top 5 most popular free and paid panorama photography apps for iPhone
(Based on a search of the keyword "pano" at apps-ranking site TopAppCharts.com.)
360 Panorama
Number 9 in Photography (-1 today) “Instant, awesome panoramas” — CNET “Easy as pie … impressively sharp.” — Gizmodo “Feels like magic” — TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) Beautiful panorama…
$1.99 — More details › Get it ›
Pano
Number 14 in Photography (+4 today)
Pano is on sale for the next few days. Grab it while it’s extra-cheap! * Pano is an award-winning app that lets you take beautiful, seamless panoramic photos straight from your …
$1.99 — More details › Get it ›
Dermandar Panorama
Number 27 in Photography (-1 today)
DerManDar lets you capture and share panoramas in just seconds. It’s easy to use and its fun interface will change the way you take photos ! More than 1 million users worldwide …
Free — More details › Get it ›
AutoStitch Panorama
Number 32 in Photography (+6 today) AutoStitch brings high-resolution, wide-angle photography to your iPhone or iPod Touch. Have you ever wanted to capture a wider view in a photo? Do you sometimes wish you had a b…
$1.99 — More details › Get it ›
Panorama Free
Number 55 in Photography (-1 today) Free The Apps brings you Panorama! Now you can take spectacular panoramic photos with your iPhone camera! This simple, easy to use camera app will allow you to take professional pa… Free — More details › Get it
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10 most popular free photo apps for iPhone
A continually updated list provided by app-ranking site TopAppCharts.com of the most popular free apps for the iPhone that are listed in the "Photography" category:
Source: TopAppCharts.com.
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Top 10 paid photo apps for iPhone
A continually updated list provided by app-ranking site TopAppCharts.com of the most popular paid apps for the iPhone that are listed in the "Photography" category:
Source: TopAppCharts.com.
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Top 10 photo editing apps for iPhone
Editor’s note: The following is a continually updated list provided by app-ranking site TopAppCharts.com of the top 10 most popular free and paid photo editing apps for iPhones, based on app rankings in a search of the phrase: "photo edit."
Source: TopAppCharts.com.
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A photographer’s top 10 picks for iPad, iPhone camera apps
By TERESA BOARDMAN
I got my first iPad when the new device was introduced in 2010, and then I won an iPad2 shortly after those became available this year. The iPad2 gave me the opportunity to fully test camera apps designed for iPads and iPhones.
To get started, I asked my friends with iPhones for some recommendations. Four months later, here are my top 10 picks:
1. ICameraHDR Pro. This app takes three pictures of the same scene and combines them into one high dynamic range (HDR) image. It is all automatic: one click, instant HDR.
2. Dynalight HD. The photo effects make almost any picture look good. It is fun to use and it didn’t take long for it to become my favorite app. Try out the fun effect called "mysterious light."
3. Photosynth. Photos are stitched together as they are taken, and the end result is a 3-D image. Viewers can move up and down and from side to side in the images, just like a virtual tour. Photosynth can be used with a camera and computer, but it is much easier to create them with the app.
4. AutoPainter. Take a photo, choose a paint effect, and the app does all the work to turn a photo into a simulated painting.
5. Halftone. Give photos a vintage look. Comic-book-style text and stickers can be added.
6. PhotoPad. My first photo app for the iPad, and it is for photo editing. It has the basics, like cropping and resizing, and some special effects. It is very easy to use and I consider it a must-have for photo editing.
7. Diptic. Create a collage with several pictures to tell a story. It is easy to grab photos from the photo library on the device or get them from your Flickr.com account.
8. Plastic Bullet. Some fun photo effects.
9. AutoStitch. Take pictures, stitch them together and create a panorama.
10. Instagram. A photo-sharing social network. Take pictures with the app, add a special effect, and send them to the Instagram site to share with friends.
Most of these apps can be used on iPads without built-in cameras and on the iPhones and the iPod touch. Some of the apps offer one-touch sharing so that the photos can quickly be sent to social networks, and the iPad screen is great for photo editing. Taking a photo or creating some artwork is a fast and easy way to share on social networks.
The built-in front- and rear-facing cameras are low-quality, but with a little imagination I can create some decent photographs. The iPad2 can also be used for video. It is not easy to hold it steady because of the shape, but it can be done. The video quality isn’t bad, and you can upload videos to YouTube with two clicks.
I recently used it to create a kind of virtual tour of a local community garden, which will be used for a blog post this weekend.
Skype recently released an app for the iPad and iPhone that uses the camera. I had my first Skype video conference on the iPad a couple of weeks ago. The discussion was business-related but I took the call on my back porch.
After the business discussion I gave a short tour of my gardens and then went inside and showed my office. The camera can be switched from front-facing to back-facing midcall. Skype is much more fun on an iPad than it is on the computer in my office.
Now my iPad is one more source of content for blogs and social networks. The apps are all cheap or free, and it’s easy to use and turn ordinary photographs into some interesting artwork.
I get the most out of my iPad by using the camera, and I can use the apps to edit photos taken with other cameras for some interesting effects.
Teresa Boardman is a broker in St. Paul, Minn., and founder of the St. Paul Real Estate blog.
More apps reports: