Hipstamatic is still alive because they were the first of doing this kind of app and because of us. We have created websites, guides, facebook groups and so on......
If you want to compare with old apps that work like a charm, you can take Camera+. They have done many changes since then, and the app always works great. Same for Snapseed, or VSCO, or NightCap Pro, or 645Pro.
I completely agree!
I literally downloaded hipsta the week it hit the App Store. I've been with it since the beginning. I have watched the app grow, lose footing, go through reconstructioning (firing of ALL its development team), birth side apps, lose side apps, become stagnant (in terms of updates/iap offerings), and so much more.
I've also watched the amazing community grow around this app. There are many iPhone shooters that ONLY shoot with hipsta. The community, in my opinion, kept hipstamatic alive during all of its toddler fit days (including now), and with out it hipsta would have just been another long forgotten filter app resting far down the search list in the App Store. Or abandoned like those side apps.
I have been using camera+ almost as long as I've been shooting with hipstamatic. It is a beautiful shooter. When I hop out of hipsta or am in a situation that hipsta will not work for, camera+ is always the next choice. I haven't used it as an editor since 2012. Probably around the time I found snapseed and filterstorm. Camera+ has had amazing updates since the early days. They have always stayed constant and true to exactly what the app is. I know every time I open the app that it will perform exactly as it should. (Now good pictures? That is in my hands, as it should be. Too many expect the app to make the picture magically work, and honestly that is beyond all shooter apps capabilities) This is why it stays a relevant app and is a perfect model for other camera replacement apps (or any photography app) to follow.
I feel the same about 645pro, VSCO, snapseed, phototoaster, decim8, and believe it or not the apple camera app itself. All of these are amazing apps that have stayed consistent and true since the beginning.
The hipstamatic community is amazing and huge. I've not seen another that compares. (Though icolorama's community is getting very close these days, and is lovely to see). There are many iPhone shooters that only shoot with hipstamatic. As David said, hipsta's community has created its own relevance. (They have their own awards!) As long as that relevance exist, the app will. It is hipsta's saving grace.
BUT, I've also watched many walk away from the app over the last 5 months. Users that have been with hipsta since the beginning and invested a good amount of time and money into it. If that continues, we may never see a fixed hipstamatic. (Take me for example. I have purchased every IAP as their packs when they first rolled out, not as retro packs and also paid for two years of oggl, that I don't use, to support a hopeful development of the app I love. I am not the only one that could say they've done this for this reason. I definitely don't use or even like all of the films/lens they've put out, but I'll continue to keep putting my money into the app until I feel there is no point or no worth to it. Many have already reached that point and I hope hipsta takes note of it soon)
I also believe that the communities uproar over oggl (when it came out) is the reason we now have an integrated , yet broken, one app that does all. But, that's only my theory based on what I've witnessed over the last two years and I could be completely wrong.
Before I'm accused of not liking the changes in hipsta300, let me clarify that I actually love most of them.. When they work. I am not advocating, in anyway, for the return of the old hipstamatic. I want hipstamatic to be a fully functioning app. There is no reason for a developer to put an app out to market that has this many errors and bugs. If it was any other product other than a mobile phone app, there would be recourse for the decisions being made. But it is only a mobile phone app. That people are still sinking a good ton of money into before they realize it is broken. (And usually on recommendation from an older shooter within the community) If this was a brand new app on the market, not a loved favorite from the beginning, we all would be making sure it was put on the warning lists so other photographers wouldn't purchase it. There should be frustration over the fact that hipstamatic, as it is right now, doesn't work. My like or dislike (or anyone else's) of the changes is actually irrelevant under these circumstances. My hope is to watch hipsta turn this around and once again become a strong dependable app (or apps) worthy of the position it holds in the App Store and on users phones.
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