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Post edited 1:29 am – February 5, 2011 by admin

Computational photography leader, Stanford professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Marc Levoy seems to have a software development venture going and its first software for public consumption that I know of is SynthCam. What is interesting is that SynthCam is for the iPhone 4, 3GS, and iPod Touch 4G powered by iOS 4.2 or higher. 

According to its website, SynthCam promises to let your "iCamera" "match the light-gathering ability of an SLR. . . pictures you take with this app will be less noisy than pictures taken with the iPhone's native Camera app" and the "app allows you to do many other things, like see through bushes, remove people walking by. .  ." Neat stuff for any consumer camera let alone a smartphone.

On the other hand a leading iPhone camera app is Hipstamatic which has a retro app of sorts and states on its site  "Digital Photography Never Looked So Analog" and further describes the app like this:

"The Hipstamatic for iPhone is an application that brings back the look, feel, unpredictable beauty, and fun of plastic toy cameras from the past.  Buy Hipstamatic on the App Store »

HipstaSwap your Lens, Flash, and Film

With a swipe of the finger, change your lens, flash, or film. Each adds a unique touch to your HipstaPrint, so mix and match to find your favorite combination!"

Hipstamatic appeals to the heart while SynthCam appeals to the leading edge photographer. Which is better? I don't know but SynthCam costs $0.99 while Hipstamatic is $1.99. The SynthCam site is here.