iPhone App Review: Spica - Super Monochrome
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 11:30AM | Glyn Evans 
Spica from developer Daisuke Nogami is a very unusual monochrome camera app for the iPhone that can produce some very unique and high contrast results, but are these results any good? read on to fined out.
Description from the AppStore: Spica - Super Monochrome is a camera application that allows you to take a super strong black-and-white contrast photo. The black and white sharpness of the picture will clearly show up the lights, shadows and texture of an object, and creates beautiful pictures with a great atmosphere.
Spica is very simple to use. Get a slight of an object you'd like to take a picture, then just tap the shutter button! Taken pictures will be automatically transformed into a super high contrast black and white photo and saved right on your iPhone.
The App
This app is as simple as they come, with no tweaking options, just launch the app, and then after the app splash screen the iPhone's camera app immediately kicks in, inviting you to take your photo. Once the shot has been taken you are shown a preview of the native photo (no effect applied), with the option to either use or retake. Selecting use initiates the app, and then the processing begins, and after Spica has done its stuff you are presented with a high contrast, sometimes very grainy and gritty mono photo, which is automatically saved directly you your camera roll without any prompting.
If you want to take another photo simply tap the camera icon in the bottom left hand corner of the apps screen, and this relaunches the iPhone's camera app for you to take another shot, and that's all there is to Spica.
The results
As I have already mentioned Spica can produce, under the right conditions, some very unique and interesting mono results which as my photos below show, combined with other photo apps like Cool fx can further enhanced these already unique results. More samples can seen here on the developers website.
Above: Photo taken with Spica
Above: Photo taken with Spica and Cool fx Antique effect applied
Above: Photo taken with Spica
Above: Photo taken with Spica and Cool fx Antique effect appliedWhat do I think of the app?
In short, I like this app, but I especially like combining it with other apps, and whilst it may have limited appeal to some, for me it has become one of my favourite apps.
The only two wishes I have for Spica, is I would like to be able to apply the effect to existing photos, and for the app to save the original photo to the camera roll, and for these reasons I give Spica 4 out of 5.
AppStore Link: Spica - Super Monochrome - Price £0.59/$0.99
Reader Comments (6)
I agree. This is a good app but needs a few minor additions which you outlined. I hope the developer updates this app with those additions.
2 questions: does this program save in the full original size? Are these results replicable with Photogene?
@ Charles. Spica saved at full res on my iPhone 3G, but I'm not sure about the 3GS. With regards to creating the same effect with Photogene, I am not sure, but would suspect you can, as I have been playing with EffectsLab, and you definitely can with that app. That said I like this effect and the advantage of the app, is you see what you're going to get straight away and if it doesn't look right you can re-shoot your shot. Whilst you can do the same with an editing app like EffectsLab, it can be difficult in strong sunlight, which is the ideal lighting conditions for Spica.
@ Charles.
It also saves in full resolution on my 3GS.
I'm enjoying this application.
Just wanted to provide an update to this app. The developer has now released an update that allows this feature to be saved to the camera roll! it works very nicely.