Note from editor: If you missed out promo code giveaway for EffectsLab, then fear not as iPhoneography writer Matt Burrows has it covered for you.

Though some iPhone users subscribe to the “you get what you get” mantra of iPhone photography, as a longtime user of Photoshop I am not quite there. Enter Christopher Comair’s impressive EffectsLab iPhone app, which provides users with a wide variety of post-processing options for their iPhone photographs.

Application Description (from App Store):

“EffectsLab is the photographer’s pocket knife, giving you a powerful image filtering suite, putting the highest end photo editing techniques into your pocket. With EffectsLab, you will be able to apply and layer a multitude of the most popular photo color adjustments. You can stack multiple photo adjustments in layers, modify and rearrange the already applied layers, then compile them into a custom filter which can be saved and applied to other photos later on. EffectsLab does not reduce the resolution of photos. No need to worry about losing resolution or color! EffectsLab also gives you a precompiled set of filters.”

EffectsLab Adjustments:

• Hue
• Saturation
• Saturation (RGB specific)
• Luminance
• Brightness
• Darkness
• Color Balance (RGB specific)
• Contrast
• Grayscale
• Grayscale (RGB specific)
• Invert
• Rotate
• Histogram Input
• Histogram Input (RGB specific)
• Histogram Output
• Histogram Output (RGB specific)
• Gamma Correction
• Tint

Impressions:

In my previous review of Takayuki Fukatsu’s OldCamera app, I mentioned that I spent the past weekend at the cottage evaluating photo apps. And though my father-in-law, with his new 14 MP Canon DSLR, was somewhat baffled by an app that would intentionally make pictures look old, he was very intrigued by what he referred to as a “pocket PhotoShop.” Now, I don’t know if I’d go that far, but I will readily admit that I am a fan of EffectsLab.

The app itself is very simple to use. When opened, you are prompted to select a photo from the Camera Roll. Once loaded, you can select the “Filters” tab to make a wide variety of adjustments or apply various preset filters. When selected, each of the adjustments (listed above) presents a picture of the photo and a slider bar (three bars are present in the RGB adjustments). When the slider is moved, the given changes are immediately seen in the photograph.

Another nice feature is the graph that can be seen in near the lower left corner of the above picture. When pressed, it allows users to switch between the various channels they would like to alter. However, if I’m not happy with the adjustments I’ve made to the photo, I can simply press “Cancel” and return to the main menu, thereby erasing any changes I made to the photo in that adjustment window.

One other nice feature in the “Filters” menu is the “Auto Photo Correction” option. The changes it made to the photos I tested were improvements. For an example, I’ve included the original....

....and the “Auto Photo Corrected” photo.

Finally, 11 preset filters are included at the bottom of the “Filters” page. These include:

• Cinema
• Nostalgia
• Belltown
• Lomograph
• Polarize
• Tweed
• Hong Kong 1976
• Red Flare
• Noir
• Summer ‘69
• Fantasy

I’ve also included a series of test shots with each filter to provide some additional comparison:

Above: Original iPhone photographAbove: Filter used CinemaAbove: Filter used NostalgiaAbove: Filter used BelltownAbove: Filter used LomographAbove: Filter used PolarizeAbove: Filter used TweedAbove: Filter used Hong Kong 1976Above: Filter used Red FlareAbove: Filter used NoirAbove: Filter used Summer ‘69Above: Filter used FantasyEven though the names may be unique (e.g. vintage filters like “Hong Kong 1976” or “Summer ‘69”), the 11 filters effectively represent a common set of filters that now seem to be included in many photography apps. Don’t get me wrong, this is a positive. It is, however, worth noting that these preset filters cannot be adjusted.

And though the multitude of adjustments available to users is impressive, the part of the app that most impressed me was the ability to stack adjustments and create your own custom filters that can be applied to future photos. To further my father-in-laws Photoshop analogy—it’s like creating mini Photoshop filter actions. That said, I did have one issue with “Stack” that I’ll address in the Cons section of the review.

Pros:

• A wide variety of ways to post-process photos. From the simple, one-button press of “Auto Photo Correction” to the three-slider bar for various RGB editing, EffectsLab is currently my go-to program for post-processing photos on my iPhone.
• Though I do have one concern about the Stack option, it is, nonetheless, a nice tool that allows me to save a “stack” of effects for future use. Not only will this allow me to post-process various photos in a consistent manner, but it will also save me time.
• Included preset filters represent a diverse collection of looks and are an effective means to apply quick changes to given photographs.

Cons:

• Though I found the ability to “Stack” different adjustments and save them as your own preset useful, it was frustrating at times. The reason for this is that while viewing the “Stack” page, the only thing you can see is the list of adjustments and filters that have been stacked.  As a result, you cannot see the immediate changes that deleting various effects/layers has on the photo. Including the photo as the background, as is the case when making adjustments in the “Filters” section, is a possible solution. And though this could create a crowded screen, I wonder if listing 2 - 3 of the layers at the bottom of the screen with toggle buttons (visible/invisible) would help to prevent overcrowding. If there are more than three filters, then users could scroll down the list.
• Though minor, I do wish that the ability to rotate and/or crop photos was an option.

Overall:

Though I’ll still use Tiffen’s Cool fx for some editing, if I want to do more than apply and manipulate filters, EffectsLab is the app I will turn to. All in all, for $1.99 Christopher Comair’s EffectsLab not only offers a nice selection of filters, but, more importantly/impressively, a wide variety of adjustment options for those who are looking to perform actual post-processing on their iPhone.

4.5 out of 5

@Matt Burrows

AppStore Link: EffectsLab - Price £1.19/$1.99

Editors thoughts: Whilst I have not tried EffectsLab, I have however tried Christopher Comair’s PhotoBox, which is a free version of EffectsLab, that only contain the pre-defined filters. Whilst for some EffectsLab and PhotoBox will meet their needs, for me these two apps compare more with apps like Mill Colour than say Photogene (for histogram editing etc.) or Photo fx (for pre-defined filters), and as such does not offer the flexibility that I am looking for. That said the ability to customise your own effects and save them for future use has to be a plus.

If you were lucky enough to get one of the promo codes, or already own this app, then let us know what you think of it by posting your thoughts in the comments section.