Despite the fact that most people use their smartphone's built-in camera app to snap photos, developers continue to release replacement camera apps with special features. Adobe boasts some of the deepest imaging technical smarts around, and its new Photoshop Camera app taps into that, as well as the company's Sensei AI technology and the artistry of well-known social media creators like Billie Eilish.
Adobe pre-announced the app at its MAX conference last summer, and it's been in private beta release until now. Its main attraction is the "lenses" or live effects you can see while shooting; portraits are an especially strong point. The Camera app can automatically apply adjustable bokeh (blurred background) and tune the lighting to make faces look natural. But the zanier effects are likely to attract the attention of a lot more users.
(Image: Adobe)
Filter sets include Portrait, Pop Art, Spectrum, Billie Eilish, Artful, Food, Scenery, Blue Skies, and Reverie; you can download more from an online library and other internet celeb filters are likely to be added. Note that some of the filter sets take a long time to download on first use. According to the app stores, there are more than 80 filters available in all.
Photoshop Camera is free and available on both the iOS and Android app stores, but you need to sign in with an Adobe, Facebook, Google, or Apple account to start using it. The app wants access to your location data, presumable for use in social sharing.
(Image: Adobe)
Photoshop Camera can optionally save your original, unmodified photos to the camera roll, and you can change the effect after the fact. When you're ready to share, you get a wide choice of aspect ratios—original, square, 4:5, 3:4, and so on. Built-in sharing outputs include Facebook, Instagram, Messages, Lightroom, WhatsApp, and Line; failing that, you can use the OS's share sheet options, too.
If you save to Lightroom, you'll get 30 days of access for the login you used with Photoshop Camera, but after that you'll need a $9.99-per-month subscription.
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