New Universal Photo App: PhotoCopier
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 1:03PM | Glyn Evans 
App Store Description: pho•to•cop•i•er (foh-tuh-kop-ee-er): An app that creates a photographic reproduction of a printed or graphic work made with a process in which a new image is formed by the action of proprietary image analysis, color, texture and light.
We have painstakingly analyzed the brightness, color, tone, detail, grain and texture of some of the world’s greatest paintings, photos and historical photographic processes. The DNA of these masterpieces can now be applied to your very own images with PhotoCopier. The color, tone and brightness of the original work are replicated while the texture, grain and detail are simulated.
Make any picture look interesting. Good, bad, ugly—PhotoCopier doesn’t care. You supply the image, we supply the secret sauce. Combine the two and create a new work of art.
Features:
- Choose from 72 paintings from artists such as Cezanne, Chagall, Greco, Leonardo, Monet, Rembrandt, Renoir and Van Gogh to name a few.
- Select from 40 Photos by various masters of photography including Abbott, Andreev, Cunningham, Fenton, Nadar, Outerbridge, Stieglitz and Weston
- Try one of 30 historical processes, some of which are Ambrotype, Cyanotype, Liquid Emulsion, Kallitype, Palladium, Salt Print, Vandyke and Wet Plate
- Color, tone and brightness replication
- Texture, grain and detail simulation
- Add a vignette to any preset
- Modify images with presets or sliders
- Edit in portrait or landscape mode
- Quickly search for presets
- Integrated Help
Reader Comments (23)
This looks very interesting. Has anyone tried it yet?
Please note that PhotoCopier has no arbitrary resolution limits and has native retina support.
Marco
Digital Film Tools
This is a very cool cap. I've never seen more accurate reproductions of photographic processes - the Polaroid presets in particular are stunning, if you're into that "old camera" thing. Even the various B/W photograph presets are all wonderfully unique. But the paintings really set this apart from everything else. I'm particularly fond of "The Kiss" and "Twilight".
Just bought this app ... so very cool and full of tweaking and it will certainly fit in my bag ...
Wish there was more info or samples about the actual photo filters. The painting filters I could do without though they still look cool just not my thing. :)
Matt - they're not "filters". They actually analyzed REAL paintings, photographs, and photos with certain photographic processes, creating genetic "models" of the original works. Then you can apply those models to your own photos. The results, especially for the photographic stuff, are DEAD ON.
Don't know if I'm missing the point, or its just not good on the iPad, but its making my pics look terrible. not stylish, just adds noise
Yes, I would like to see some more samples before I make the decision to buy.... Will keep an eye on it for possible future purchase.
The presets are based on actual photos and paintings, some of which have more grain or texture than others. To adjust these settings, click the sliders icon and turn down the grain and texture amounts if your preference is for less noise.
Doh! Just tried that just after I posted my comment. yes, that's much better.
Hate the noise, but the colour filters are nice
Would love to see some Polaroid samples :)
Idea sounds interesting and the controls look versatile, but like others, I'd like to see more samples, perhaps a Flickr group to post to. This will definitely go on my 'watch' list, but at this point I'd like to try before I buy to establish that there is a unique nature to the processing that other apps don't already provide.
I've just boughtit and my first impressions, after a few minutes of messing with i,t are that it is very impressive. The sliders are very effective for setting the effects. In fact they are very similar to Photo FX. Looking forward to spending more time with this.
Seriously, how about a user rating for these apps instead of a copy/paste of the app description.
I bought this and it makes my pics look like crap. Any respectable iPhoneographer would never use this as it totally degrades images.
@John. You must be new to the blog. Where possible I try to post a comment based on initial testing of an app, but on this occasion I had not bought the app prior to the post, sorry about that, and sorry you're disappointed with the app. I will try and test it out over the next day or so and post a short review.
Yeah watch the attitude John
For the people complaining that it makes their pictures look like "crap":
1. Did you bother to read the in-app help? You can adjust all of the various aspects of the transfer process, dialing down elements you find objectionable. One of the nice things about DFT's products is they give you a good deal of control over the results.
2. I'd like to point out that there are many apps out there that are DESIGNED to make images look like "crap". For instance, every image produced by Hipstamatic, a very popular app, looks like "crap" to me. These apps create stylistic results. Because the elements of "style" are purely subjective, complaining about the "crappiness" of the results is a bit of an oxymoron.
Yep. I was rather hasty in posting it was making my pics look bad, but now I love it.
Just pull out the Texture & Grain, and I get some great effects
I'd recommend it now
Ignore the trolls.
Bought this and definitely like the results. This app is one where you have to fiddle around with the filters before deciding if you hate it or like it as an overall app. Obviously not all filters will go well with all photos, but one or two will really shine out. I love combining Photocopier with other apps like LoMob and HIpstamatic to add texture and a vintage touch. The sliders are also really nice to be able to fine tune the processing. It won't give you outstanding results like Hipstamtic's ability to make any photo an instant favorite, but it is a nice addition to what i already have.