Camera + 2
- Thread starter psmoore
- Start date
I really like Camera+ (and I must try to use it more often) so think it’s one of those worth paying for. Whether it’s worth 7.99 will be your decision.
I didn’t know about the new Monument Mode. It looks a bit gimmicky to me. In the examples, there are a few where you can definitely see that something has been removed. I‘m inspired to try it and see, so thank you.
Geek1956
IOTM Winner - Mar, May, Oct 21 & Jan, Mar 22
- Real Name
- Kevin
- Device
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
I started using camera+ earlier this year after being reintroduced to it on an organised iPhone photo walk with a professional photographer. Is it worth the price of a large coffee? There’s more exposure control than with the native which is good, and white balance in manual mode. I like the action mode which is the same as the iPhone burst mode but easier to use. I like the fact that any photos you take are kept in app so you don’t clutter up your photo album. Some good filters and editing tools. Yes it’s worth it
I use Camera + 2 routinely for anything I shoot close-up. I have. Recently had some success using the Magic ML setting for zooming beyond iPhone capability. Not perfect but for someone like me who goes for the abstract-y look, it’s just fine. It is my 1st go to camera after the native cam. Just remember to set up the save to camera roll option. Otherwise, like me, you’ll discover a bunch of months old images you’d forgotten about! 
Geek1956
IOTM Winner - Mar, May, Oct 21 & Jan, Mar 22
- Real Name
- Kevin
- Device
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
I forgot to mention the macro mode which I use a fair bit, but I like the not saving to camera roll. I see your point about forgetting about shots you’ve taken but I might take 50 or more shots a day and it doesn’t take long to clog up your camera roll.I use Camera + 2 routinely for anything I shoot close-up. I have. Recently had some success using the Magic ML setting for zooming beyond iPhone capability. Not perfect but for someone like me who goes for the abstract-y look, it’s just fine. It is my 1st go to camera after the native cam. Just remember to set up the save to camera roll option. Otherwise, like me, you’ll discover a bunch of months old images you’d forgotten about!
Yeah, I do try to weed out my Camera roll at least weekly. I’m trying to keep the image count to 7000-ish.
I haven't tried the new Monuments mode, so no help from me there. I do use Camera+ in a kind of random rotation with half a dozen other camera apps. The Macro mode that Geek1956 mentioned is sometimes handy. Beyond that, it's a good solid app but for me, it doesn't really stand out from ProCamera, Halide, ProCam, Chromatica, CameraPixels, Moment Pro, Camera-M... You get the idea. It does have quite a good set of editing tools built in, although I still stick to my usual editing apps.
The UI in Camera+ suits me pretty well, but that's such an individual thing. Each app has some quirks -- some bother me and some don't. Firstlight, for example, requires two taps to switch lenses on my iPhone XS, where others require only one tap. Pretty minor, right? But still a bit annoying for me.
If you've got a checklist of things you want a camera app to have, we can probably tell you if Camera+ does or doesn't have them. For example, I like to be able to capture a raw DNG and a JPG of the same shot but have the JPG saved separately from the DNG rather than combined into a single file. Camera+ can do that; some other camera apps can't.
Precisely why Camera + is my main alternate. I know my way around. I’m not searching for something while the shot wanders off.
When I‘m not using the native mode and I want a manual camera for lenses or bursts or when using a remote shutter I tend to switch between Camera+2 and CameraPixels but for some reason I often get the focus wrong with Camera+. I think you do have to make sure you tap the screen to get focus. I particularly like the easy exposure feature in Camera+
I tried some shots with Monument mode this morning, and it does work as it says. However, the surprise was that the app insists you keep the camera very stable, and it aborts the shot if you don't. I was first shooting handheld at the beach in a breeze, and over half my attempts got aborted. I tried a few later while sitting in my car, resting the phone on the windowsill, and shooting as cars passed by on the street, and even then I got one abort.
I have an iPhone XS, and it may be that the app is not quite so sensitive with newer phones that have better stabilization, but I figure I'd need to use some kind of brace or mini-tripod like the Joby GripTight One.
Ugh. Can you get a refund through the app store?
ric alexander
Mr. Patience
- Real Name
- ric alexander
- Device
- iPhone 11
talk about digging through the forums while I’m waiting for a train to London ( iPhone 11 is having a few hours loose on the streets hopefully). I’m about to jump down the rabbit hole looking at camera apps but I’m not sure I’m gonna find better than camera+2 and native cam apps.
as for raw, I’ve not even thought about it but surely this isn’t an option on the 11? I’ll have to Google this I think but I’m wondering does raw actually give that much better quality?
if it is an option, the image processing time between shots comes into question when needing fast shots.
as for burst shots, I’m not convinced and think I’m asking for too much for the camera to track focus on a moving subject as it’s taking the series of shots, at least it didnt seem to on tests with my old faithful iPhone XR.
just thinking out loud on the group and hoping someone can save me a little time googling ( or duckduckgo’ing).
oh and ImageArt , funny you should mention that focus thing with camera+ and the apps ability to find focus without tapping screen, I find that too when shooting on the street from the hip)
sinnerjohn
IOTM WInner - April 2022
Ah the RAW debate goes on! You'll find whole threads devoted to use/not use. I came to the conclusion RAW on a regular basis is pretty pointless, but I know Ted disagrees.
ric alexander
Mr. Patience
- Real Name
- ric alexander
- Device
- iPhone 11
The raw part is a personal preference i think. Ill test it for sure but this camera app thread got me thinking.
Geek1956
IOTM Winner - Mar, May, Oct 21 & Jan, Mar 22
- Real Name
- Kevin
- Device
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
I tend to agree John, I’m a minimalist when it comes to editing, but I’m sure that those who shoot raw have good reasons to. Maybe I’m just too lazy to figure it out
Geek1956
IOTM Winner - Mar, May, Oct 21 & Jan, Mar 22
- Real Name
- Kevin
- Device
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
Camera plus is a great app. I used it most of last weekend on a trip down south
The 11 can't shoot Apple's ProRaw, but it can shoot regular raw if you use a camera app that supports it (something other than the native cam app).
Shooting raw doesn't automatically give you better images, and raw shots do require editing. Plus, it takes some work and skill to turn a raw image into a JPG that will be as good as or better than a straight out of camera JPG. What raw does give you is more latitude in editing and the ability to make your own decisions about things like how much noise reduction to use, recovering highlights and shadows, and so on. Those initial decisions are made for you when you shoot a JPG or HEIC or TIFF. You can still modify the results in those formats, to a certain extent, but you can't, for example, decide to use less noise reduction in order to preserve detail or recover highlight detail from an area that's been blown out.
I do shoot JPGs or HEICs most of the time, but I shoot raw in certain situations where I think I may need it. Example: When I'm out by the ocean taking pictures of egrets, I use raw because the egrets are so blindingly white in contrast to the surroundings that JPGs and HEICs always have blown highlights. Likewise for other situations where the dynamic range is extreme.
I think it's worth trying out, just to see what you come up with. If you come up with a different look when you're making all the editing choices yourself, then it might be worth pursuing. On the other hand, if you end up with something that looks just like the out-of-camera JPG, why bother?
Since you've got Lightroom Mobile, you could try this: Shoot a raw image. Open it in Lightroom (or even shoot it in Lightroom to begin with, but use LR's plain DNG rather than HDR DNG). Tap the Auto button to apply what LR thinks are the right adjustments and the export the result to your Camera Roll. Now go back to the same raw image, zero out all the settings, and edit it yourself, going through all the LR controls. Export that to the Camera Roll and compare it to the first. When I do that, I find that the two versions are noticeably different and that I prefer my own edit to LR's auto edit.
WOTANICUS
IOTM WInner - Sept 21
- Real Name
- Bill
- Device
- iPhone 12 Mini
The problem with all these camera apps is that they all offer a range of facilities that most of the time we will probably never actually use on a daily basis. If a user is going to go down the route of looking for more complex control of the camera, then perhaps mobitography is not for them and a pure DSLR route is a way forward.
I use both iphone and a DSLR, for similar subjects and there is a degree of overlap, but I would always use the DSLR for more serious or considered work, or something which needs a higher degree of technical control. That said, the native camera on the iphone 12 Mini is fabulous and produces amazing results, without any fiddling about. If I add in the benefits of using Lightroom, or something like Argentum or Blackie, it gives me a lot more creative freedom too.
I am sometimes tempted to buy into something like Halide or Camera + etc, but I know that if I am out and about, by the time i've fiddled around with the settings for an app like this and got the technical aspects sorted, ill have missed the moment. I find that it is so much easier to fix a photo in post, where I have so much more control, especially if I use RAW.
If I am going to shoot something which does need a bit more technical input or control, Ill go DSLR every time, especially if it involves the use of a tripod and ill always shoot RAW with it.
There are so many apps vying for attention and the top spot in the field, you can become mired with them and have a phone full of expensive software which you rarely use and which dates rather to quickly.
Lightrooms camera is brilliant and pretty full featured and is mostly free - the paid sub adds access to the creative post processing side. I would tend to go for the keep it simple approach and look at the old saw "the best camera you have is the one in your hand"
I use both iphone and a DSLR, for similar subjects and there is a degree of overlap, but I would always use the DSLR for more serious or considered work, or something which needs a higher degree of technical control. That said, the native camera on the iphone 12 Mini is fabulous and produces amazing results, without any fiddling about. If I add in the benefits of using Lightroom, or something like Argentum or Blackie, it gives me a lot more creative freedom too.
I am sometimes tempted to buy into something like Halide or Camera + etc, but I know that if I am out and about, by the time i've fiddled around with the settings for an app like this and got the technical aspects sorted, ill have missed the moment. I find that it is so much easier to fix a photo in post, where I have so much more control, especially if I use RAW.
If I am going to shoot something which does need a bit more technical input or control, Ill go DSLR every time, especially if it involves the use of a tripod and ill always shoot RAW with it.
There are so many apps vying for attention and the top spot in the field, you can become mired with them and have a phone full of expensive software which you rarely use and which dates rather to quickly.
Lightrooms camera is brilliant and pretty full featured and is mostly free - the paid sub adds access to the creative post processing side. I would tend to go for the keep it simple approach and look at the old saw "the best camera you have is the one in your hand"
sinnerjohn
IOTM WInner - April 2022
I do have to agree with that. The mobile camera was once lauded as quick 'cheap' and always in your pocket. Now we try and turn them into mini DSLR's, forgetting all the reasons we we liked mobiles in the first place!
jpclicks
MobiPassionista
Thank you all! This has been an illuminating thread.
Geek1956
IOTM Winner - Mar, May, Oct 21 & Jan, Mar 22
- Real Name
- Kevin
- Device
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
That about sums it up John.