New iPhone Photo App: Format126
Monday, December 28, 2009 at 9:55PM | Glyn Evans The LONG wait is over, and finally my app Format126 the square format photo app for the iPhone is here!!
Description from the AppStore: Inspired by the 126 film format which was introduced in 1963 and associated with low-end point-and-shoot cameras. Format 126 brings that retro square format to the digital age in the form of this iPhone app.
Format 126 is an easy to use app, simply load or take a photo, convert it to square format and then apply any of the following effects or options.
Effects:
Neutral - Leaves the colors unaffected, allowing you to convert your photo to the square format with or without border- ColorPlus - Gives your photos an extra color boost
- PolaColor - Gives your photos that retro Polaroid look
- ColorHint - Bleaches out all but the strongest colors in you photos
- LOFI - Gives your photos that extra toy camera look
- Mono - Gives your photos that good old Black and White look
- MonoPlus - Gives your photos that Black and White look with added contrast
- MonoHi - Gives your photos that ultra hi contrast Black and White look
Options:
- Vignetting - Adds a subtle vignette to your photos
- Border - This option allows you to add a white border to your Format 126 photos
- Square Format - Just in case you don’t want that square format look, we have enabled this option to allow you to switch off the square format
AppStore Link: Format126 - Price FREE
Format 126 - an idea by Glyn Evans, created by Chris Comair
Editors comments: For obvious reason I am not going to comment on this app, other than to say "I hope you like it".
Glyn Evans
Please note: There are reports that this app is taken longer than average to download, please stick with it, the wait will be worth it ;)
Format126 in New iPhone Photo Apps 
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Reader Comments (38)
Glad it's finally out!
Some things/toggles that would be swell.
A) Can't use it to just square, vignette and add border. I have to also add a filter.
This also keeps me from seeing what the image looked like pre filter when trying to see how photo is being effected by said filter.
B) Swipe left/right to change filters would be nice, the dropdown obscures my photo and doesn't really 'flow' like an iphone app should.
C) would love like a top/Bottom swipe to +/- vignette strength (with light/dark vignette).
D) Drag photo when squared to align a a new crop based on pre-squared resolution.
In my Settings app there is a Format126, but it has a blank icon. Plus the output settings default to regular and not original. And original is kinda weirdly named since this app will square your picture by default too.
App looks very promising!
I am loving it so far! You two make a great team!
Just had a play around with the application and loving it already. Excellent app!
@nickythegreek. Thanks for the feedback, which I have addressed as below.
A) Use the Neutral filter which will let you apply the square format with or without border to your existing photos.
B) The UI will remain as is, as we did not want to make a CameraBag clone.
C) Increasing the vignette strength is something I'd like to add.
D) This is a nice idea, lets see what can be done.
Glad this is finally out in the wild. Had a blast with it the last couple of months. Now everyone can enjoy it.
Looks very nice Glyn, congrats!
Downloading now. You have probably created the second real photo app besides Photoshop mobile that isn't made by myself that I will actually be using.
Allright, seems like I can't install it because it requires iPhone OS 3.1.2, I'm stuck with v3.1.1 for development reasons. :(
Looks like "CameraBag"
@Ricardson Williams. It's not meant to be, but if you create an app with a square format with white borders, then there will be some similarity.
Not kidding on the download. Could not see it searching via iPhone, but founsdit via link above.
Was downloading with seconds to go, then stopped.. cureently the wait is getting longer.
When I started typing this it was 8 minutes wait.. now its 17 minutes and getting longer
Downloaded real quick for me.Have played with it just a bit and it looks like it's gonna be a lot of fun. Great job Glyn and thanks.
Finally got it.. looking good to me :)
Glyn, it's truly a great app - and amazing that you can offer it for free. Will it always remain so?
I really like nickythegreek's suggestion about being able to realign the square crop -- and happy to hear you're considering it. It's the ONE beef I have with almost every app that squares a photo...it almost always seems just a tad "off." It'll be great to be able to slightly adjust that...
Great start!!
Love the ColorPlus!
(If you chose 'output original' it only takes half of the original in none square format...)
Despite that I'll certainly use the ColorPlus.
Cheers to you both
@Anton Kawasaki
Yes, we are planning to keep the app available for free.
Hope you all are enjoying the app!
Just like Phoenxsoftware, I can't be upgrading my iPhone firmware. I'm stuck with OS 3.0.
I would like to ask, is there any technical reason why developers create their software to require the 3.1.2 platform? Is there some function that requires the newer kit?I have never used the kit so i don't know. Or is it just that they use the latest SDK because it's out there?
I've run into this issue with a lot of the newer apps I wanted to try.
Just like Phoenxsoftware, I can't be upgrading my iPhone firmware. I'm stuck with OS 3.0.
I would like to ask, is there any technical reason why developers create their software to require the 3.1.2 platform? Is there some function that requires the newer kit?I have never used the kit so i don't know. Or is it just that they use the latest SDK because it's out there?
I've run into this issue with a lot of the newer apps I wanted to try.
After first trying i like your app! good structure and good effects. Very flexible to choose.
good idea. remembers me my good old agfamatic sensor. my first cam.
what would be great?
great would be to have a square mask of the screen while shooting in square option.
Cheers to you both!
Glyn, you're not getting away with so little! Tell us everything!!!
How, why, how long, the idea, the development, the whole process, the plans for the future - everything!!!
@da5id
The reason why most developers choose to release under the newest operation system is generally because of bug fixes and performance gains in the development SDK. The iPhone SDK is extremely buggy, which actually is personally my biggest slow down when developing apps. When a new, less buggy, version comes out, I prefer to speed up my development time, sacrificing backwards compatibility.
For an extreme example, back in the old 2.0 days, the development SDK had a major bug outputting images over the 500x500 resolution (notice that most apps from a while back did not support outputs larger than this). Although it would have been nice to allow 2.0 users to use Format126, bugs like these prevented us from doing so.
Personally, I very much recommend updating your device to any iPhone user. Not just so you can run the latest apps, but so you can benefit from the increased speed and, more importantly, stability of the OS.