I've used Hipstamatic for about 9 years and have bought almost every Hipstapak. I was pumped to see the announcement of a new app. I've just installed the new app. Unlike everyone else here, I actually like it:
- I think the interface is quicker and easier to use than Hipstamatic 300. For example, I can quickly change lense (telephoto, wide, selfie) from one place (just swipe down to reveal flash, crop, lens options). In Hipstamatic 300 I can only use selfie in the pro camera, and only use zoom in the classic camera (WTF).
- It's much quicker to get to browse and select a camera/filter when editing your shots in the new app. Filters are grouped by category showing 8 per page, you can swipe through full size previews instantly.
- Swiping the camera up to access photos, down a bit to access lens/flash/crop options, down a lot to access cameras, is fast and intuitive.
- Hopefully the machine learning "eazy camera" actually makes intelligent choices. Hipstamtic 300's "shake to randomise" feature was completely useless with a full compliment of Hipstapaks enabled. I'd have to hit that random button 100 times to get a good combination. Too many weird combinations being thrown together, and I never had time or patience to manually go through and disable all the lenses I didn't like because it was never easy to do so right in the moment.
It's missing a few things and other things a bit unclear to me, though:
- I can't see a way to choose from my own camera bag when editing existing shots, just the curated 8 combinations per category.
- I can't see a way to edit shots at all besides choosing a different filter. Not even crop or straighten. That might go against the philosophy of "just shoot without editing" and enjoy the moment. But I really feel like at least some very basic editing features are required, otherwise this camera is really just a toy and I'll need to keep both apps so I can adjust the crop or straighten after taking a shot.
- I keep forgetting that swipe up is delete and have to keep hitting cancel as I try to navigate my photos.
- If you find a filter you kind of like but want to swap out or disable just the flash, or just the film, this doesn't appear to be possible.
- If you scroll way down in your list of photos, there's no instant "back to camera" button. I have to scroll all the way back to the top to get to the camera.
- They said all my gear would carry over from Hipstamatic. But I'm not sure where/how to access it all. Is it only available for making custom cameras, and not when editing your photo library?
Also, the lifetime subscription was discounted to $47 AUD (this week for existing users), which is just $7 more than the annual subscription. Still expensive, and annoying that there's a time pressure to buy before it's clear if the app is worth it.
I think overall they would have been better off spending time improving the existing app than releasing another toy/niche app. But I think the critics here are also being a little harsh.
Hipstamatic still have and make the best filters available on any platform (I've tried many alternative apps, and came back to iOS from a couple years on Android *just* for Hipstamatic). This new app is good, easy to use, and fulfils its stated objectives (much like the original Hipstamatic did) of point and shoot fun. The app is worth a try, and I hope they continue to improve both Hipstamatic 300 and Hipstamatic X.
EDIT: It's a bit unclear from the language, but I *think* if you've already purchased all the Hipstapaks for the old app, there is no reason to subscribe to the new app. Those filters will be available to you in the new app already. One reviewer on the app store said they were being charged a subscription to access filters they had already purchased.