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Snap Camera - NZ made & the best of smartphone photography

Monday 11 March 2013, 7:58PM

By Emily Stevenson

1520 views

In the past, squeezing a camera into a mobile phone lead to compromises in quality. However a new app, Snap Camera for Android, makes it easy to shoot and share professional looking photos and video regardless of the type of smartphone you have. If you consider yourself a serious photographer, or just enjoy capturing life’s magical moments you will enjoy the simplicity of Snap Camera.


Snap Camera is the brainchild of Auckland man Martin Johnson, lecturer and father of two (three if you count the lizard featured in Snap’s app screenshots). Martin developed the app to enable those that owned cheap smartphones with lower spec cameras to take better quality pictures, similar to those on more expensive smartphone models. Martin’s aim was to extend the capability of the average phone camera, or as Martin puts it, "take your phone camera and expand its limits”.


The app took a couple of months to develop and was launched just before Christmas 2012. After a couple of months on the market Snap Camera has become one of the most affordable Android camera apps on the market with one of the highest average ratings: 4.5/ 5. You only have to read through the pages of feedback to see how much people love this app.


Snap Camera is the only Android camera app that is New Zealand made. However what makes Snap Camera really unique is its clean interface. The camera encompasses the entire screen of the phone, so nothing is hidden from the user while previewing.


Smartphone photography has come a long way in the past few years and this app proves it. Snap Camera allows users to take pictures and record video with a single click, with no delay. Simple adjustments seem instinctive such as touch to focus, pinch to zoom and swipe to review photos. The more sophisticated photographers will appreciate the ability to adjust camera settings by long pressing on the screen. Here adjustments can be made to the colour, contrast, shutter speed, white balance, exposure, add grid lines and plenty more. There is also loads of fun effects and image edits that can be made post picture before users share images via email or on their social media platforms.


Snap Camera is available for $1.99 from Google Play and there is also a trial version so users can test the app before purchasing.