Announcement: The Hipstamatic D-Series - bringing analog back, one exposure at a time

Finally the wait is over, as Synthetic the team behind the popular and very successful Hipstamatic app, today announced the rumoured and predicted Hipstamatic D-Series, a Disposable Camera for iOS.

From the Synthetic team: "Hipstamatic introduces the new D-Series iOS app, set to release this Thursday December 15th!  Hipstamatic's Disposable camera makes it a snap to create and share a camera with your friends. From the first snap to the last, everyone shoots to one roll, and at the end photos are instantly exchanged to all of the camera's contributors. You'll never have to swap doubles or email from your friends phone again. Sharing a roll of film has never been this much fun. Users share a set of 24 exposers through a cloud sync'd camera creating a social sharing application to instantly connect and exchange with friends. The D-Series launch, marks Hipstamatic's first ever FREE download and will launch with 3 in App Purchase Camera's to create sharable analog images."

At the press announcement, Lucas Buick, CEO & Co-Founder of Synthetic, had this to say. "Two years ago we created Hipstamatic and changed the way we thought  about photography on the mobile platform. We believe that 2012 will be the year that Hipstamatic's D-Series changes how we come together to capture photographic stories".

Due for release on Thursday the 15th of December, the Hipstamatic D-Series key features are:

• Instantly connect to all your friends via Facebook
• Share the entire album or individual prints to Facebook, Twitter, and Email 
• Get awesome new cameras from the in-app HipstaMart

Upon release there will be 4 optional film and lens add-on packs available for the D-Series.

First up there will be the MegaZuck 84, which will be FREE if you connect the app to Facebook.  

• MegaZuck 84 (Free with Facebook Connection): Desaturated duo style tones with a thick white border. This camera adds a touch of 1984 to any social network.

Then there will be 3 extra packs priced at £0.69/$0.99/€0.79.

• Foxy X69: Hot as the day is long. Foxy's X69 camera captures a shallow depth of field from within a scanned film border. This is the perfect camera to add a little spice to any occasion.
• Dreamy: Sweet and delicious. Dreamy's orange sherbet shell and cream grip houses a masterful lens created to soften the mood with blurred vignettes and a white rustic border.
• BlacKeys 44: Like a chilly night stargazing in Paris. Warm and cool monochromatic tones collide between a soft black border. BlacKeys 44 sports a balmy cool black shell and grip making it the perfect camera for classy shindigs.

With only a couple of days to wait for this app to hit the App Store, it will be interesting to see how the Hipstamatic D-Series with its social networking angle is received.

Comments

[mr.timney]

Note no mention of whether after the "roll" of film has been shot that the photos can be saved to your camera roll. I mean they are sketchy & much of the logical thinking you'd expect, isn't something these guys have. So... if you can't & thus they are only pushing their own social styled network within the cloud. Then that is another reason this sounds like the biggest fail I have ever heard in my life. But don't forget... from here on out every app they make will include a money sucking in-app purchasing "Hipstacart". I mean they didn't get enough of all our money from Swankolab you remember the gimme your money & we will give you a lifetime of FREE updates... to then never be heard from again! Just a warning to anyone jumping on another Synthetic Corp app release... This "D-Series" screams like a sinking ship in my personal opinion.

[Rob]

I have a feeling this will be another Swanko Lab app that seems neat at first, but then plateaus and is forgotten. I'm actually a huge fan of Hipstamatic, but I think they're trying way too hard with this one. The idea of "Ooh, you don't get to see the pics until you finish your roll" is silly. It takes away the advantage and fun of instant feedback with digital photography, and it needlessly complicates the app for users.

It's free, so I'll give it a try... but I suspect this will have a strong start followed by a long fade into app store oblivion.

[Tyler Pond]

what i want is a hipstamatic for regular prints, not just square format. if that is offered here, i may be more serious about it. for now, prolly wont buy into it. not after getting swankolab, and being let down by it.

[David]

I'll try it because it's free but it doesn't sound so exciting as they say. I'd prefer some improvement to Hipstamatic, some bug fixed, the possibility to buy all the limited editions and other features rather than a new one like this.

[Chris K]

Yet another HO HUM app from these guys. All I ever wanted from Hipstamatic was the ability to apply all the films, flashes, lens to pictures ALREADY TAKEN.
WHY is that so hard?? There are so many cool combinations, but hell, I don't have time to figure them all out, or trial and error at the time of shooting.
Would LOVE for Hipstamatic to let me just mix and match dynamically the effects to my camera roll.
However, there are about 5 other good apps, and many, many other apps that can do all this.
They missed the boat big time in my opinion.

[Joel Madison]

Yes let's go back in time to the days before the wheel or fire. It does sound like another Hipstacart vehicle rather than something really useful. But who knows, I said the flat screen TV was just a gimmick.

[Suzé]

I agree with Patrick and Chris. I've missed so many pix because I forgot I had a lens/film combo in hipsta that wasn't the effect I wanted for a particular scene. So much easier to apply effects post-process.
I'm still ticked SwankoLab was left in the dust. I like the app but I think it's false advertising to promise customers free updates, have them pay for it, then put the app to bed and laugh all the way to the bank. That's really no better than some of these scam apps that take the money and run.
Synthetic hasn't given away anything for quite awhile and they keep riding this hipstamart pony. This new app has no interest for me. I'm still trying to take photos with version 231 without it crashing on iOS 5.

[Eric Haggard]

I like the idea of not being able to see your shots until after you've used up the roll, but I want to know if you can just use the app solo n' not have to connect to anything or anyone unless you want to, does anyone know?

[Kent Kangley]

I'm intrigued by this new D-Series app. Maybe it will be as much fun as they claim, maybe it won't, but I won't know until I try it.

[Andre Clemente]

Yeah, I agree with Eric. I'm not into it to be able to share a roll with friends at a party or whatever. I want to shoot it solo. I'm just really excited that this offers you the chance of stripping yourself of the power of looking (chimping) at your work after every shot. I'll get some bad shots that I won't be able to re-do, but I'll live. But when I get a fantastic shot, satisfaction will be greater. It's going to be a one of a kind app. Just like Hipstamatic is. If it's not your cup of tea, don't use it.

[rfulton]

Another option is just to take 12 pictures with Hipstamatic and, um, don't look at them until the next day?

Being charged by the "roll" for a digital product seems ridiculous to me, and if it wasn't a company that has generated a ton of good feelings in the iphoneography community already I think people would be up in arms over this. As it is I think they are stretching their credibility with this.

The networking idea is great and if they had made it a one time extra charge to have you and your friends hipsta photo's all go to a common account, my feelings would be different. But to me it just sucks the joy out of the freedom to experiment with iphoneography when you are charged by the picture.

And, yeah, they did lose a bit of credibility with me over the seeming abandonware status of Swankolab.

[Kent Kangley]

@rfulton I could be wrong, but I don't see anything in the Synthetic press release that says that you have to pay for each roll. Only that three of the cameras are extra in-app purchases.

[Kent Kangley]

Now that I've seen a screenshot of the film at lifeinlofi blog, I see that you do have to buy each film roll. 9 shots for $0.99, 36 shots for $1.99 and 99 shots for $4.99.

I'm a big Hipstamatic supporter, but I think I'm going to have to say no to this one. I have no problem buying apps and in-app add-ons if I enjoy the product, but paying a fee to keep using an app I've already bought doesn't sit well with me.

[Richard G]

I'm totally with Kent on this. Paying for imaginary "rolls" of film is really an insult to the intelligence of the iPhoneography community.

At least now it's easier to understand why the last few Hipstapaks have seemed rather uninspired (though I do like the most recent one, with the Loftus lens), and why the recent 230 update was released in half-baked form. The Hipsta team was pouring its creative energies into this shameless cash machine.

I'm pretty confident this will get the reception it deserves.

[Alex C.]

This 'film' model is very similar to the Lomora app. http://www.iphoneography.com/journal/2010/7/7/warning-new-photo-app-lomora-read-carefully-before-buying.html

[Tomba]

Just used it 2 times but deleted it after discovering that it saves in 600x600 only!

Camera purchases are limited to 9, 36, 99 times depending how much you pay.

Save your time and money!

[mr.timney]

@ Alex

Yes, that is one reason Hipsta D is a FAIL before it came out.

[tntv]

.99 for only 9 rolls? I was excited but nothing left now. I don't feel like enjoying anything from Synthetic anymore.

[Rob]

tntv, I agree completely.

Synthetic is trying to find a business model where they can charge users again and again for the same software. They're punishing people who buy their apps to use them.

Hipstamatic is already the most expensive app on my iPhone thanks to its in-app purchases, but I didn't mind buying them since they added value to the app itself. But this new D Series app charges for in-app purchases that expire after a certain number of uses?!? How is that an acceptable practice.

As far as I'm concerned, the D stands for DELETED.

Richard G summed it up perfectly above by saying: "Paying for imaginary "rolls" of film is really an insult to the intelligence of the iPhoneography community." I agree completely.

This is pure greed on the part of Synthetic. It's pathetic.

[Winterfresh74]

Love Hipstamatic but this software is not the photo camera but cash machine. The photo taken with Hipsta-D looks like taken with Hipstamatic (John S+Pits) nothing new and you need to wait 24 shots to see them. app deleted after one roll.

Waiting for other new hipstamatic pack (better than last one ) not only B+W and Brown but also with nice color

Sorry English is not my native language