iPhone App Review: ShakeItPhoto and Polarize

By: Matt Burrows

Be it film, literature, or music, there are always a variety of sub-groups that one discovers as he/she delves deeper into the given field. Photography is no different, with many of these groups revolving around the type of camera being used. There are countless websites and photography groups dedicated to Hasselblad, Leica, Nikon, Canon, and just about any other camera you can think of.

And, just as Kubrick sparked my interest in film, Faulkner began my lifelong love of literature, and the Ramones shattered all preconceptions I had about music, it was a Polaroid camera (purchased from my neighbor’s garage sale for one dollar) that first introduced me to the world of photography.

Over 20 years later, I now teach high school students who can only vaguely remember “film” cameras. Be it instant messaging, cell phones, or texting, they live in a world filled with immediate gratification. For me, this was part of the joy of a Polaroid—I took the photo, shook the photo, and, in a few moments, could actually look at the photo.

Sadly, Polaroid photography has gone the way of the LP. Sure, people still use them, but, as with LPs, the film is becoming harder to find. However, like the Lomo, Holga, Diana, and other “toy cameras,” there is a strong base of followers who love the look and, yes, sound of Polaroid photography.

Enter Nick Campbell’s ShakeItPhoto (version 1.1) and Christopher Comair’s Polarize (version 1.1) iPhone applications.

Though both set out to perform a similar function, there are enough differences to warrant a comparison. Therefore, I think it best to provide some photographic comparisons, evaluate/discuss each app separately, and then, in the conclusion, directly compare the two.

Photo Comparisons:
Above: Original iPhone photo.

Above: ShakeItPhoto photo.

Above: Polarize photo.

Above: Original iPhone photo.

Above: ShakeItPhoto photo.

Above: Polarize photo.

ShakeItPhoto Description (from App Store):
“ShakeItPhoto is the most realistic instant photo experience for the iPhone. Works just like a real instant camera. Watch the photo develop. Shake your iPhone to make it develop faster. Our Perfect Processing make your photos look just like the real thing. Take it, Shake it, Share it.”

ShakeItPhoto Features/Settings:

• Real instant photo look and feel.
• Shake iPhone to speed up the development.
• Process existing photos from your Camera Roll into Polaroids.
• Real Sound FX.
• Automatically saves to your library.

ShakeItPhoto Impressions:
ShakeItPhoto is extremely easy to use. Once opened, you can immediately take a photo. If you don’t want to take a photo, the simple push of a button displays your Camera Roll.

However, it’s after taking a photo or selecting a photo to edit that ShakeItPhoto separates itself from the pack. The whirl and buzz of a Polaroid camera seeps out of the iPhone, and your photo slides into view, covered in gray fog that begins to fade and reveal the processed photo. As with an actual Polaroid, you can shake the iPhone to speed up developing. Based on my tests, a “shaken” photo takes approximately 15 seconds to develop, whereas an “unshaken” photo takes about 30 seconds.

Sure, there are those that will look at the sound effects and “developing” of the photos as annoying and trivial. However, I found that the sound effects do a nice job of helping to recreate the Polaroid experience.

That said, there was a problem I had with the “developing” of the photos. Though the app will save the developed photos to your Camera Roll, you have to wait for most of the photo to develop before you can select another picture or exit the program. If you select another photo or exit the program before this happens, the altered photo will not appear in the Camera Roll—it will not be saved. This flaw resulted in the loss of a few images, as I was taking photos directly from ShakeItPhoto and pressed the camera button to take another photo too soon. Alas, no “shaken” photo and no back-up. However, outside of this criticism, I have been very pleased with the resulting images, which are appropriately cropped in a square Polaroid frame.

ShakeItPhoto Pros:

• In my opinion, ShakeItPhoto is one of the best (if not the best) Polaroid apps for the iPhone. Some may complain that the altered photos are not significantly different from the original, but that’s a good thing. Too often, I find that Polaroid apps/filters simply fade the photos or dramatically alter the coloring. ShakeItPhoto alters the photos in a subtle manner that is consistent with the Polaroid photos I used to take.
• Size of the output photos is large (1040 x 1016).
• The Polaroid sound effects are a nice little touch.

ShakeItPhoto Cons:

• Waiting for most of the photo to develop before you can select another picture or exit the program can be frustrating. However, many will view this as part of the Polaroid experience.
• Though a minor criticism, users who dislike the sounds and “developing” may find it a bit frustrating that there is currently no option to turn them off.

Next, I’d like to take a look at Polarize.
Polarize Description (from App Store):
“Want to add a funky retro look to your photos? Polarize will do the job for you! Polarize is the only iPhone application that will do a series of pixel-by-pixel modifications to your photos, getting that true look. No cheesy overlays are done here.”

Polarize Features/Settings:

• Add a unique Polaroid look to photos.
• Provides ability to write at the bottom of your photos with a custom handwritten font.
• Accepts any size photo.
• Can take photos directly from app and/or apply effect to photos in Camera Roll.

Polarize Impressions:
Like ShakeItPhoto, Polarize is equally as easy to use. Once opened, you’re presented with three options. The expected “Take a Photo” and “Load from Photo Album” are present. However, there is also a “Community” option that will open up the ProjectPolaroid Flickr group, where users can peruse over 15,000 Polarized photos.

After a photo is taken directly from the app or loaded from the Camera Roll, the cropped photo with traditional Polaroid border is quickly displayed. Touch the altered photo and three options are presented. You can “tag” a photo (i.e. write a brief message at the bottom of the photo), save a photo, or discard the altered photo.

Polarize Pros:

• As with ShakeItPhoto, the resulting photos are an effective representation of the Polaroid aesthetic. However, I should point out that Polarize tends to produce a photo with an increased hue that does more to differentiate it from the original photograph than those processed with ShakeItPhoto.
• Up to 14 characters can be used to write on the bottom of the photos. Again, a nice little touch that adds to the authentic Polaroid feel. 
• The “ProjectPolaroid” Flickr group, which can be accessed through the Community button on the opening splash page, is large. At the time of this review there are over 2,500 members. This offers you a large network of other Polarize users to share photos with and be inspired by. 
• Polarize is free. It won’t cost you anything to try it out on your own.

Polarize Cons:

• The most significant criticism I have of Polarize is the small output size of the photographs. Photographs are output at only 450 x 520. This is essentially half the output size of photos processed with ShakeItPhoto.
• A very minor gripe, but there is not an option to change the font used to tag photos.

ShakeItPhoto v.s. Polarize:
Though plenty of iPhone applications offer filters that attempt to emulate the Polaroid look (e.g. CameraBag’s “Instant”), both of these apps do the job better. With this in mind, my goal is not to recommend one app over the other, but more so to provide a comparison between the two. Therefore, I think it best to point out the most significant differences between the two apps.

Color of Photos:

• ShakeItPhoto: Subtle changes from the original. Most obvious is that the center of the photograph tends to be brighter.
• Polarize: There is a more obvious change from the original. The most significant of which is that certain colors/hues appear to be amplified.

Vignetting:

• ShakeItPhoto: Very minimal (almost to the point of being non-existent).
• Polarize: A heavier vignetting is applied to the photographs.

Output Size:

• ShakeItPhoto: 1040 x 1016.
• Polarize: 450 x 520.

Photo Processing:

• ShakeItPhoto: Authentic Polaroid sound, but you must wait for the photo to partially develop before it is saved to the Camera Roll.
• Polarize: No sounds, and photos are processed almost immediately.

Price:

• ShakeItPhoto: $0.99/£0.59
• Polarize: Free.

Overall:
Truth be told, I tend to use ShakeItPhoto and my wife tends to use Polarize. It’s simply a matter of taste. Regardless, I cannot overstate how impressed I’ve been with the photos produced by both apps. They both bring me back 20 years to the days when I was taking photographs with an actual Polaroid camera. And, above all, they both maintain the ability Polaroids often had to make the mundane appear beautiful and the beautiful appear gorgeous. All in all, I highly recommend both apps.

• ShakeItPhoto: 5 out of 5. Has quickly become one of my favorite iPhone photo apps.
• Polarize: 4 out of 5 (with the output size being my most significant criticism).

It’s amazing how times change, as both of these apps can be downloaded for less than the price that one package of Polaroid film used to cost me.

In a brief side note before I close, I can’t help but wonder if a future generation of photographers will someday look back on their iPhone as I look back on my Polaroid—as the camera that sparked their love of photography.

-Matt Burrows

Comments

[greg]

Thanks for the reviews Matt. I already had ShakeIt and I really enjoy it. I have now downloaded Polarize. Oh my! There is not going to be enough room on the phone if this keeps up. Though I am deciding which applications I want to keep on the phone. It's difficult though.

[JS]

ShakeItPhoto is great, minor annoyances notwithstanding, and is a steal at 99 cents. I like and use Polarize too, but ShakeItPhoto is my favorite.

[Matt B.]

Thanks to you both for the comments. It's always great to hear from people who read the reviews. Would love to see what photos you've taken with these apps. If you're at all interested, I have some other ShakeIt & Polarize posted on my Flickr page: http://tinyurl.com/nubbjj

Take care and thanks again for reading.

[JS]

Matt,

You might want to point out that the output resolution for ShakeItPhoto is less for us 3G users (I think its 800-something), since I see you are using a 3GS.

[Matt B.]

JS,

Thanks for pointing this out. I don't have any way to modify a post once it's posted. Hopefully, 3G users will read the comments or be aware of the smaller output size.

I'll make a note to point out that I use a 3GS in future reviews. Again, thanks!

[Glyn Evans]

@ JS. I've just checked this, and on my iPhone 3G, and ShakeItPhoto saves at 1040 x 1016, whilst Polarize only saves at 450 x 520.

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

[JS]

Glyn,

My bad. I was sure the res was less on my 3G. Must have been the size of the emailed samples.

I wrote the developer last week recommending most of the changes that were mentioned in this article.

[Laurent Nivalle]

Hey chek out my shakeitphotos :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nivalle/sets/72157620756393680/

Great review !!!
L.

[r4 dsi]

Nice review. Keep up the great work, you are providing a great resource on the Internet here!

[Michelle]

Thanks for the review! I've been trying to find these apps.