Lens+ review

The Lens+ app (previously known as CamCam) brings exciting photography photo effects to your iPhone camera lens. You no longer have to shoot a picture, then apply the effects in multiple steps and various apps. Lens+ lets you see the effect live and adjust it, while you are shooting a photo or a video. The developers at CNC have elevated the functionality of the iPhone camera with Lens+.

Lens+ for iPhone incorporates rich functionality into clear, clean, and intuitive controls. Through the lens, you have a remarkably unobstructed view of your subject. Your flash button is in the top left corner. With a touch, it expands onto the screen, and you can select your flash function. In the top right corner, you can turn the camera on yourself. In the lower right corner, you slide back and forth between camera and video mode. The button to shoot a photo is in the customary position in the bottom center of the screen.

The buttons to the right and left of the button to shoot the picture give Lens+ its cutting-edge functionality. The button on the left changes the photo frame. You can touch it repeatedly, and it changes to a new option with each touch. Or, you can open all of the options and select via an icon at the top of the screen. The button on the right side of the shoot button allows you to view your subject with a photo or video effect. When you touch the button, thumbnails of six effects pop onto the screen. Once you touch an image to select an effect, you are transported back to the camera lens screen to view the subject with the effect. You can swipe your finger across the screen to scroll through the other effect options. Lens+ gives you two options for manipulating the frames and the effects. Some iPhone photography apps can become muddied and clunky when jam packed with function and gesture controls. But, Lens+ does not make that mistake. The options are crafted logically and without overwhelming your camera lens.

You’ll appreciate the neatly defined categories of photo effects. Lens+ assigns six different effects to five categories. The “Scene” category involves effects that add dimension through light and texture. The “Color” category is home to sepia and black and white effects. “Analog” options are exactly described. The “Fashion” category contains effects with the billion dollar Instagram touch. Finally, the “Retro” prints are truly Victorian with a hint of steampunk. And, to boot, you can apply all of these textures and perspectives to your videos.

Lens+ for iPhone incorporates sharing with YouTube and Facebook. It also enables multiple shot sharing to Facebook and email with easy functionality. An improvement would be to add one touch sharing with Twitter and other social networking sites.

Lens+ for iPhone comes with a $1.99 price tag, and it is worth every penny. It is exciting to look through your iPhone lens and see the effect, before you shoot your photograph or press start for your video.