iPhone App Review: ToyCamera

I am a big fan of Takayuki Fukatsu's photo apps. He is the developer for the ToyCamera series of apps, including my all-time favorite camera app, Quad Camera (now back and working with OS 3.0 yay!) and OldCamera, recently reviewed by my colleague Matt Burrows. I already had ToyCamera on my phone, though honestly, I hadn't used it very much because I, like Matt, prefer to have the option to either take a picture through the app or to post-process from my camera roll. This is not an option ToyCamera offers.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

ToyCamera is the color counterpart to Old Camera, providing the user the opportunity to snap pictures through the app which automatically applies various ToyCamera effects to the just-shot photo. The user can select, through the comprehensive settings page, any one of the available effects, or the user can go all-in and select ìrandomî mode, which will randomly apply an effect to the photo ñ which means you don't know what you're gonna get until the photo is processed through the filter.

Using ToyCamera couldn't be simpler: open the app, point, shoot your subject, wait and see what comes out. The interface is extremely polished and easy to use. For all its apparent simplicity, though, ToyCamera offers an impressive array of customization options to help you nail the ToyCamera effect you wish to achieve.

In the Settings mode, you have the option to select one of the eight effects ToyCamera offers, or you can let the app randomly apply one of these effects to the picture you shoot. You can also select which effects wind up in the random grab-bag. If you're not fond of Toning Sepia, for instance, you can toggle that effect off so that none of your random photos are processed with this effect.

The Settings screen also offers some truly lovely sample images so you can get an idea of what each effect will produce in a finished snap. You can turn vignetting on or off, and you can select square mode, which, as you might expect, produces a square photograph instead of a rectangular one.

ToyCamera provides an option to upload your finished photo to Big Canvas Photoshare, but if you're not interested in this option, you can toggle off the upload button on the main page through the settings.

Image output size options are impressively wide, ranging from 320x427 to 1200x1600. This is changed through the Settings screen, as well.

Finally, on the Settings page is a ìlinksî section, which offers links to communities (Flickr groups, Facebook, Big Canvas PhotoShare); links to Fukatsu's other apps; and links to means of contacting Fukatsu, including his blog, his Twitter, his Facebook page, and a direct link to email him. Mr. Fukatsu is tremendously present and supportive of his apps, and that attentiveness to his apps and the users of his apps is very apparent and very appreciated.

The effects available are:

• Vintage Green
• Vintage Warm
• Vintage Yellow
• Low Saturation
• High Saturation
• Toning Sepia
• Rich Black and White
• HiCon Black and White

Impressions

This is where I'm sure I'll lose people. I don't like ToyCamera. The first thing I don't like about it is that I can't apply the effects to photos from my camera roll. I understand why this is the ToyCamera philosophy at work but I still don't like it. The reason I don't like it is because I can't, for the life of me, get a decent picture out of ToyCamera.

I am willing to admit that this is probably because of my lack of native photography skills. I don't have the patience or the skill to really take a lot of time to compose a shot carefully. In this regard, I like the LOMO mindset: don't think, just shoot. But at the same time, I don't like missing what could have been decent shots because I subscribed to the ToyCamera philosophy. I don't like taking the risk. I want the best of both worlds ñ being able to shoot carelessly, but being guaranteed a usable shot. Many of the available photo apps afford me this luxury. ToyCamera does not.

It is this very quality of ToyCamera that appeals to many of its users, and I don't quibble with that. I think that ToyCamera is a very high-quality, well-written app. It just doesn't happen to be an app that works well with how I like to take pictures. I can't get a good shot out of ToyCamera, but many users put ToyCamera up there among their most favorite photo apps. And truly, the sample shots provided by Fukatsu are lovely.

When I was taking my test shots, it was late at night and I didn't have anything good to take a picture of. This is why my test shots are of the inside of my (yes, very messy) fridge. I will say that were I able to import pictures from my camera roll, my test shots might have been more appealing. In the event that the inside of my fridge was perhaps not the best subject for testing, when I began writing this review, I snapped another couple of impromptu photos.

Photos of my sleeping son did not fare better than the pictures of the fridge:

This was admittedly in pretty low-light conditions, so I took aim at the (lit) lamp a little less than a meter from me:

And again, while I'll freely admit that I am not a naturally good photographer, and most of my good pictures are good mostly because of the apps I use to post-process what I shoot, I do expect that an app that embodies the ToyCamera philosophy of just doing it will, at least once in a while, give me a decent photo. If I have to carefully compose each shot and measure my light in order to get a reasonably good photo out of ToyCamera, doesn't that defy the purpose of the app?

Pros

• Very easy to use, simple interface
• Many customization options
• Extremely responsive and involved developer
• Simulates many effects one might get from a range of ToyCameras
• Inexpensive, considering what you get when you purchase the app

Cons

• No importing from camera roll, which limits your range of subjects
• Pictures may or may not be worthwhile once processed with ToyCamera effects, which means potentially lost photo opportunities
• Extremely difficult to get anything usable in low-light conditions
• Shots may need to be more composed than ToyCamera shots normally are

Conclusion

Once I've packed in this review, I will probably take ToyCamera off my iPhone, because it kills me to snap and snap and snap and snap and never once get a good picture. So many wasted photos, so many missed opportunities! The app simply doesn't work well for my style of picture-taking.

That said, I am still happy I paid for the app - $1.99 in the US App Store because I am pleased to support the development efforts of Takayuki Fukatsu. My issues with ToyCamera have very little to do with the quality of the app itself it is extremely well-written and well-supported, as are Fukatsu's other apps. ToyCamera simply isn't my kind of app. But again, I will say that ToyCamera is the go-to app of many iPhoneographers out there. And even though it isn't my app of choice, I can see why it appeals to better photographers than I am.

AppStore Link: ToyCamera - Price £1.19/$1.99

Comments

[iquanyin]

i liked your toycamer article, the more so because i agree with everything you said and yet still use toycamera quite a bit.

the dev: outstanding apps.
the photos: off-the-cuff is not toycamera's strongpoint (tho a couple of my all-time favorite shots were indeed that very kind, so it's not impossible to get a few of these w toycamera).

when i got my iphone i took nearly six thousand shots in under two months (i still have first gen too). the first day i had toycamera i took nearly 500 shots (and used up the battery, or i'd prolly have shot even more).

so in a way, toycamera helps me because it slows me down. i am naturally good at composing shots and tend to end up with a flood. toycamera curbs this for me.

like you, i wish you could use photos from the roll, as in some of the dev's other apps. were i a dev i'd always include that option. the other thing i'd add to the app is a totally unfiltered mode. what i mean is, the ability to add that to the mix (i set it to random and use many or all the options because i enjoy the surprise). one thing toycamera can't do is yield the amazing colors and strangely beautiful things iphone camera can do with light.

and of course, it's slow. but even if i didn't want to turn that into an asset for myself, the slowness is balanced out by how toycamera seems to improve the resolution on certain shots (basically, on farther away shots of a whole scene). it gives detail the regular camera has rarely given me.

anyway, great site! i tried to sign up for email rss on my phone but it insisted i give a website, which i don't have yet. ah well, i bookmarked you and (i think) joined or something.

i love your photos, btw. the only thing i'd disagree w you on is your self-assessment as "not a natural" photographer. i see nothing to indicate that. : )

sweetcheeks willy turned me on to this site, and it's really a nice resource in addition to being a sweet photo shocase.

[iquanyin]

ps: hey, you gotta admit your fridge looks pretty cool...

[greg]

I enjoy the randomness of Toy Camera. Not every shot that I take with it comes out perfect, if such a thing is possible. Whatever application that you use or if you just use the built in camera I feel that you have to take tons of pics to find out if you have a keeper. It is just part of the process. I have got many great shots using this application. Of course that is my opinion only. I know that I will keep on missing shots, but I will love the ones that do turn out.

[Vei]

Hi, I just discovered your site a couple of days ago, and I'm very glad to see this review of an app that I really like, although in fact I don't use it much because just the same reasons. Actually the only time I used it full time was in the first 26 hours and I used to try the app shotting my ordinary daily life (metro, way to work, my shop, wife, co-workers, neighbours, the guy at the bank, in the bar, coffe, way back, home, my son & his friend, etc, and back to work next morning) I didn't get any extra time - no more than 1-2 minutes- nor I went "hunting" pictures out of my normal daily route, just walk iphone in hand shooting my daily Barcelona with my first iphone (first gen) and the first version of ToyCamera, please check the result and tell me your opinion (knowing how was done ;-)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ertimacle/sets/72157608305561089/

Thanks for this nice job. I wish I knew this site before , it would have saved me a lot of time!! (and please, excuse my english, it's no my language...

[Pamela]

iquanyin, I'm glad you liked the review! I thought I was shutter-happy, but I don't think I could manage 6K shots in two months! And aw, shucks, and thanks for complimenting my photography skills! :)

[Pamela]

greg, my review is just my opinion, too. I'm not an authority or anything. Heh. I'm glad you get some great shots with ToyCamera! I'm not surprised that people are able to - Fukatsu has developed some really awesome photo apps. Just because I'm not able to get good results out of the app doesn't mean it isn't a good app. Just means it isn't an app for me. Happy shooting!

[Pamela]

Vei - glad you liked the review! And yes, iphoneography is a fab site (it isn't mine, I just write here, so I can say that). Thanks for sharing your everyday photos - I'm heading over to look at them now! BTW, your English is just fine. You speak much better English than I speak Spanish. :)

[gantico]

You should give a try to toy camera in daily vacation scenarios, with lot of light. The same happens with real world toys camera or toy lenses: you hardly get good picts with low-light conditions. I Just bought Toy camera app and I'll play with it soon.

PS
I wish I hadn't discovered your blog: I end up buying a lot of photo applications because of you!!! Just kidding, we really need pages like these, since browsing the app store is such a pain...

[greg]

Yes Gantico, there is a lot of money spent because of these reviews. But I am glad that they are here and to also to be able to look at other galleries of work is inspiring. And with folks like Pamela that take time out to give us some great reviews is a great service and I thank them for their time.

[Glyn Evans]

Thanks for all the feedback on this review everybody

@Pamela. Great review, and great to have you on the team :)

[Hannah]

I didn't like the idea of ToyCamera at first, in fact I hated it when I first downloaded it because it insisted on always using the b&w filters which dont produce good images, so I turned them off.

I now use toycamera for colour images, because all the colour filters are excellent.
I use oldcamera for b&w photos
and sepiacamera for sepia photos.

and each does its own job without my ending up with a random b&w image when I wantes a lovely bright one.