I've been hooked on taking photos on my iPhone and sharing them using Instagram since I bought my first iPhone last fall.
With Instagram, I can make my photos look better by using one of the app's 17 pre-set filters to adjust lighting, color and other things. I can then share my enhanced photos on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram's own social network [1] .
But Instagram has a limited range of filters and camera effects, and it isn't always easy to edit pictures with it.
I've had a chance to test a wide range of Instagram alternatives during choice picture-taking opportunities over the past few months, including my sister's wedding in Hawaii in December and a trip to Lebanon this month. I also had my phone for shots along the streets of New York, where I live.
Of the dozen or so I tested, here are four I find myself using over and over again:
_ Photosynth by Microsoft Corp. Free. For iOS only (Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch).
My favorite among the ones I tried, Photosynth lets you take 360-degree panoramic photos that become interactive on a smartphone or computer [2] screen.
The app guides you as you stand in one place and capture photos in all directions. Then it stitches those images together to create a sphere-like panorama that viewers can scroll around in and zoom in and out.
You can share the panorama on Facebook, Twitter or Photosynth.net.
It takes a bit of practice, and it's not an app I would use every day. But I found that in the right setting -- such as Roman ruins by the sea in Byblos, near Beirut, or my sister's beach wedding -- the results can be breathtaking.
It's a great way to capture a panoramic landscape such as mountain views, beaches or bridges. Plenty of examples -- and inspiration -- can be found on Photosynth.net.
_ TiltShift Generator by Arts & Mobile. Free for basic features, 99 cents for higher resolution and album upload. For iOS only.
Tilt shift is a camera effect that blurs the edges of a picture, creating an optical illusion that makes everything in the photo look miniature. (continued...)
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