App Update: ClearCam

'ClearCam, the app that turns your 0.7 megapixel iPod Touch camera in to a 1.4 megapixel camera'

ClearCam the iPhone camera replacement app has just been updated, and now supports the new iPod Touch 4th generation.

So what's new?

New Features:

• iPod Touch Support (4th Gen)
• Faster, better algorithms for iPod Touch

Enhancements:

• Increased capture rate
• 17 new EXIF fields stored to the Cam Roll: Exposure Time, Aperature Value, Focal Length, and much more

Using ClearCam on the new iPod Touch

ClearCam has a simple no frills interface, and having launched the app, you have two choices to make. The first choice is which mode do I want to shoot in, Quick or Enhanced, whist you second choice is to tap the shutter icon to take a photo.

In Quick mode the app takes 6 photos in quick succession and then decides which photo is the sharpest before saving it directly to your camera roll. In this mode there is no enhancement and photos will still be saved at 0.7 megapixels.

In Enhanced mode the app takes 10 photos again in quick succession, saving all 10 in the 'Photo Queue'.  From the Photo Queue, the app will allow you to analyze all 10 photos, automatically align them before enhancing them to create a 1.4 megapixel image from the iPod Touch's 0.7 megapixel camera.

How does ClearCam perform on the new iPod Touch?

Photos taken with the iPod Touch's native camera are actually quite good when you consider just how low-res the camera is, but as my sample photos below show, using ClearCam in Enhanced mode boost the image quality significantly.

Above: This photo was taken with the iPod Touch 4th generation native camera.

Above: This photo was taken with the iPod Touch 4th generation using ClearCam in Enhanced mode.

Above: This is the native camera version zoomed in.

Above: This is the ClearCam Enhanced version zoomed in.

So what do I think of ClearCam?

Well, I'm not a big fan of camera replacement apps, rarely using them on any of my iPhones, however if you have the new iPod Touch 4th generation and use it to take photos on a regular basis, then I would highly recommend buying and always using this app in Enhanced mode.

In my view this is a 5 star, must have app for all iPod Touch 4th generation owners.

App Store Link: ClearCam; Price: £1.19/$1.99/€1.59

Update on Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 10:39AM by Glyn Evans

Disclaimer: Whilst the developers of ClearCam are paid advertisers on this blog, this has in no way influenced my view of this app.

Comments

[DRC]

Looks like they're using a smart blur algorithm to great effect.

I'm not a fan of camera replacement apps either. It's not that they aren't useful. It's just that they never tend to be as fast as the built in camera app.

[Charles]

I will say this again about ClearCam: any other developers who use multiple images could learn from these folks. Their ability to align and combine images greatly surpasses any of the Pano or HDR apps I have tried and this includes Apple themselves with their (horrible) built in HDR.

[Josh]

Charles - That's really great to hear, thanks! For those of you that do enjoy ClearCam, please don't be shy about leaving reviews on the app store. Good reviews definitely help to keep the updates coming.

Thanks!
Josh

[Daniel]

Could you post a couple more comparison images?

Thanks, Dan.

[Josh]

Hi Dan - Here's at least one more comparison from a video I put together: http://bit.ly/9uWet3 . Obviously you have to take it with a grain of salt since it is from the developer, but I an assure you the whole video is legit. I really should have a gallery of comparison images out there as well. I'll try to pull something together.

Thanks,
Josh

[Nat]

I would love to try this app out. I've had my new iPod Touch 4G for a week now. The built-in camera resolution is so bad. This app is definitely something I need!

[dj898]

I use this a lot on my iPhone 4.
In fact this is the only camera app that can capture the clear picture of my 2 year toddler who doesn't seem to be able to stay in one place long enough to take a decent picture. ^ ^
I put the Apple's camera app in video mode and use it for exclusively for video shooting.

One thing if I may, I'd love to have the decent digital zoom, nothing fancy.
Just x4 should do.

[Josh]

Dj898 - glad to hear ClearCam is helping you get great shots of your 2 year old. I don't hear of that many people taking advantage of quick mode which surprises me because that's the mode I use the most! But then again I also have a squirmy little one and ClearCam is the only way I've ever found to consistently get decent pictures of her.

Thanks for the feedback. I've also thought about zoom. I go back and forth. Mostly since ClearCam is all about improving your pixels and digital zoom does nothing more than throw pixels away. My personal philosophy is to keep all the pixels around in an original and then use one of many apps to crop later. But I understand that is a bit of a pain. And at the end of the day, it's really whatever our users are asking for that is most likely to get into the product.

So, thanks again. Definitely something I'll be considering.

Josh

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