Photography

Camera+ offered for free for the very first time

Camera+ by Taptaptap, the award-winning iPhone photography app and one of the longest-standing camera and image editing apps in the App Store, is available free of charge for a limited time, but only through Apple's sleek Apple Store shopping application for the iPhone and iPad. That's a cool $2.99 saving right off the bat over the app's regular asking price.

No matter if you're only mildly into mobile photography or a seasoned photographer, you really shouldn't miss out on this promotion because Camera+ has never gone free since its inception in August of 2011. Again, you can't just follow the app's iTunes URL to grab Camera+ for zero bucks because the offer is exclusive to users who have the Apple Store application installed on their devices.

Jump past the fold for the full instructions.

Olloclip introduces 4-in-1 camera lens for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

Popular mobile device accessory maker Olloclip introduced a new product today for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. It's a 4-in-1 photo lens kit, designed exclusively for Apple's two latest handsets, that includes fisheye, wide-angle, 10x and 15x lenses.

The new Olloclip brings about some new features as well. For the first time ever, all four lenses work with both the iSight and FaceTime cameras, and thanks to a new customizable pendant, it can be clipped to a backpack, lanyard or key ring.

Instagram’s iPhone 6 refresh is out

One of the most popular mobile applications and the de facto leading platform for mobile photography, Facebook-owned Instagram, has at last been optimized with native display support for Apple's latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones.Instagram 6.1.3 is now available in the App Store and lists no other changes in iTunes release notes accompanying the 15.9-megabyte download.

Stop what you’re doing and grab Cycloramic for iPhone 6, free for a very limited time

Chances are you've heard about Cycloramic, a stupendously amazing iPhone photography software which allows you to capture stunning, accessory-free 360-degree video using custom vibration patterns in your device and an Apple power adapter.

If you haven't taken the plunge yet, please don't pass on this opportunity as Cycloramic has just gone free for the first time ever.

A $1.99 saving, only the iPhone 6 edition of the app is free, and for “a very limited time”, according to developer Egos Ventures. The iPhone 5/5s version, which hasn't been discounted and is available for $1.99 a pop, relies on the handset's squared base and the vibration motor to spin the device around its axis.

Artistic photography app Fragment is Apple’s new Free App of the Week

Artistry in iPhone photography can now be in everyone's hands with Fragment, Apple's new Free App of the Week. As you know, each Thursday the App Store editorial team cherry-picks a new app to slash from its regular price to zero bucks, for a week.

Fragment by Pixite is a nifty little iPhone and iPad app that puts cool prismatic effects in your pocket, allowing you to transform your snaps into unique artworks.

It also plays nice with iOS 8 and includes a handy extension to edit your images right within the stock Photos app. Fragment is free until next Thursday, a $1.99 saving.

Skew: a new photo app that lets you fix crooked lines and poorly aimed shots

I will be the first to admit that I am terrible at noticing lines and angles when I snap pictures. I even use the stock Camera app’s grid feature, but I don’t think about the Golden Ratio when trying to get a picture of my cat doing something funny.

Skew is a photo editing app that lets you fix those minor mistakes after the fact. Not only can you straighten angled lines by rotating the image, but you can also “skew” the photo so that objects in the picture are straight.

The Incipio Focal case will turn your iPhone into a point-and-shoot camera

Despite smart devices replacing point-and-shoot cameras in the mainstream, there still seems to be many people confused by the transition to an app-based camera. Every time I am out and ask someone to take a picture of my wife and me, it seems to be a shot in the dark, so to speak. People always fumble around with the screen, trying to zoom, or change the flash, or even take the picture.

I run into people that push the software button to take the picture instead of using the volume button. Either way, there always seems to still be an unfamiliarity with the way an iPhone takes pictures. Unless you were born in 2007 when the iPhone launched, there is a transition from point-and-shoot cameras to the iPhone, and it continues to be a struggle for some.

In that light, Incipio developed an app and hardware combination bringing point-and-shoot characteristics to iPhone. Focal is a camera case providing easy snap picture taking. Dedicated shutter and zoom buttons prevent screen pecking while trying to setup the perfect shot.

New Google app: Photo Sphere Camera for iPhone

Google has released a brand new iPhone photography application in the App Store. Dubbed Photo Sphere Camera, it provides functionality similar to the iOS Panorama shooting mode, and then some more.

By continuously taking images as you pan your device around, Photo Sphere Camera then stitches the individual photos together to create a nice sphere-like 360-degree image which can be published directly to Google Maps or shared with anyone on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and via email.

The app is a free download. I've included additional tidbits right after the jump...

Camera+ picks up improvements ahead of ‘cool new things’ in forthcoming iOS 8 update

My favorite iPhone photography application, Camera+ by a developer called Tap tap tap, has received a few very nice additions ahead of an upcoming iOS 8 update.

Camera+ 5.2, a free update for existing users, contains several bug fixes while introducing a new adjustment to the Vignette effect, improvements to the Soft Focus and Film Grain effects and the Clarity Pro feature and more.

Oh, and this version has fixed broken Flickr sharing stemming from a recent change to the way third-party apps like Camera+ access Yahoo's photo-sharing service...

FX Photo Studio 6.0 for iPhone brings iOS 7 overhaul, new filters and sharing options and more

FX Photo Studio by MacPhun used to be my go-to iPhone photography tool, but I was forced to switch to other apps because it looked like the team had ceased further development (last update was in February of last year).

I'm glad I was wrong about that. As of today, the iPhone edition has been resurrected. Basically everything has changed and MacPhun bills it as "the biggest update in its four-year history".

Now available in the App Store as a free update for existing users, the new FX Photo Studio 6.0 of course sports an iOS 7-friendly user interface along with a brand new engine and tons of other new features.

All of the hallmarks of FX Photo Studio have been preserved and enhanced in this update, including great filters, special editing tools and sharing features...

Truefilm is a comprehensive photo editing app with unique features

Though there is a ton of camera apps on the App Store, one recent addition caught my eye: Truefilm. This app is a spin on your normal photo editing app with filters, basic controls, and frames, however, the app offers a couple features I've never seen implemented in a mobile photo editing app, such as version tracking. Read my full Truefilm review to see if it's worth your $0.99.

Matter will turn your photos into geometric artwork

The makers of Tangent and Fragment are back with their newest geometric overlay app. If you have a soft spot for prismatic photo effects that integrate right in with the subject matter, Pixite’s latest submission to the genre is right up your alley.

Matters is a geometric overlay photo effects app that lets you create stunning pieces of photographic art that can be turned into moving pictures. We’ve got a hands-on app review of Matter for you here…