Hip Hipstamatic
September 23, 2010 10:34 AM Subscribe
Hipstamatic is one of the coolest camera apps for the the iPhone. Photojojo is one of the coolest photography blogs. World's collide: Photojojo's Ultimate Hipstamatic Guide in which pictures are taken with every possible hipstamatic film/lens/flash combination.
Want to do more with the hipstamatic app? Check out the top 10 hipstamatic combinations, upload your pictures to the flickr group, or order prints straight from the app.
Want to do more with the hipstamatic app? Check out the top 10 hipstamatic combinations, upload your pictures to the flickr group, or order prints straight from the app.
I shoot film.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:37 AM on September 23, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by dunkadunc at 10:37 AM on September 23, 2010 [3 favorites]
[seething rage]
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 10:42 AM on September 23, 2010
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 10:42 AM on September 23, 2010
I shoot film.
I shoot on glass plates, you fucking hipster.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 10:43 AM on September 23, 2010 [26 favorites]
I shoot on glass plates, you fucking hipster.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 10:43 AM on September 23, 2010 [26 favorites]
[unexpected joy]
posted by eyeballkid at 10:50 AM on September 23, 2010
posted by eyeballkid at 10:50 AM on September 23, 2010
Ah, it's a plastic toy camera emulator. That explains it. One my friends has been posting loads of Hipstamatic photos recently and I felt compelled to ask if 'Hipstamatic' was what the cool kids were calling 'out of focus' these days.
posted by IanMorr at 10:51 AM on September 23, 2010
posted by IanMorr at 10:51 AM on September 23, 2010
I prefer tintypes. Also, even if it does do tintypes, does it run on my cell phone?
posted by everichon at 10:52 AM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by everichon at 10:52 AM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
A friend of mine got a camera with a fisheye lens on it a while back, and another friend got all derisive, saying "why would you ever buy a camera to do that, I can do all that with my iPhone". Thing is, Friend 2 was completely missing the point of a fisheye camera- it has a wide field of view. All the iPhone does is apply vignetting and distort the picture.
In a few years, things like wow, flutter and hiss, video scan lines, and film grain are all going to just be cool effects and nobody will be able to understand the value in doing it analog.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:57 AM on September 23, 2010 [7 favorites]
In a few years, things like wow, flutter and hiss, video scan lines, and film grain are all going to just be cool effects and nobody will be able to understand the value in doing it analog.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:57 AM on September 23, 2010 [7 favorites]
I have a small camera-shaped stone box, in which a tiny bird pecks out photo-like illustrations on miniature stone tablets.
posted by burnmp3s at 11:04 AM on September 23, 2010 [10 favorites]
posted by burnmp3s at 11:04 AM on September 23, 2010 [10 favorites]
This also glosses over the fact that Hipstamatic is the same kind of bait-and-sell that makes me loathe Zynga and their ilk: you get it, it does one or two things, then you pay for something else... And pay again... And pay, and pay, and pay. I HATE that shit. I will - and have - paid as much as twenty dollars for a full featured iOS app that does what it claims to from the moment I install it. I don't want to be nickeled-and-dimed to death because the app has been artificially limited and advertised features aren't available without further payment.
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 11:05 AM on September 23, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 11:05 AM on September 23, 2010 [3 favorites]
Big Wall of 336 Photos, complete with a Flash interface that simulates the awkwardness of the real world!
posted by Nelson at 11:08 AM on September 23, 2010
posted by Nelson at 11:08 AM on September 23, 2010
I have a small camera-shaped stone box, in which a tiny bird pecks out photo-like illustrations on miniature stone tablets.
posted by burnmp3s at 2:04 PM on September 23 [+] [!]
eh, its a living.
posted by ShawnString at 11:09 AM on September 23, 2010 [20 favorites]
posted by burnmp3s at 2:04 PM on September 23 [+] [!]
eh, its a living.
posted by ShawnString at 11:09 AM on September 23, 2010 [20 favorites]
OneMonkeysUncle - The app costs 1.99 and the accessory packs are .99. So yea, I hear what you're saying about having to pay more than once but it's hardly a huge investment.
posted by morganannie at 11:10 AM on September 23, 2010
posted by morganannie at 11:10 AM on September 23, 2010
I thought these were called "Tumblr photos"
posted by desjardins at 11:11 AM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by desjardins at 11:11 AM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
This also glosses over the fact that Hipstamatic is the same kind of bait-and-sell that makes me loathe Zynga and their ilk
Ah, but there's a difference. With Zynga you never stop paying.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:13 AM on September 23, 2010
Ah, but there's a difference. With Zynga you never stop paying.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:13 AM on September 23, 2010
I paint on cave walls with my hands, using pigments I created myself from crushing up and boiling various animals and compounds.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 11:14 AM on September 23, 2010
posted by Threeway Handshake at 11:14 AM on September 23, 2010
I'm curious what will happen once fauxhemians start embracing Dageurrotypes. Well, not really that curious.
posted by DrSawtooth at 11:18 AM on September 23, 2010
posted by DrSawtooth at 11:18 AM on September 23, 2010
I use photo imps. When I want a distortion effect, I shake my iconograph so the imp gets dizzy or just give his head a good knock.
posted by kmz at 11:20 AM on September 23, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by kmz at 11:20 AM on September 23, 2010 [3 favorites]
Also: Photojojo is one of the coolest photography blogs. No, Photojojo seems to be a low-end photography gimmick store with a 'newsletter' attached.
Oh, and the newsletter is almost exclusively about stuff you can buy from them.
posted by dunkadunc at 11:25 AM on September 23, 2010 [3 favorites]
Oh, and the newsletter is almost exclusively about stuff you can buy from them.
posted by dunkadunc at 11:25 AM on September 23, 2010 [3 favorites]
Android users:
I prefer fxCamera to Vignette. I find it is quite customizable, but I often just set it to a random filter so that I'll be surprised.
Also, Retro Camera was recently made free (ad-supported) and has many filters available. The biggest problem with it is the processing time after taking a snap is quite bothersome.
With any of these apps, I find that composition is 99% of the battle. I've long had an interest in this sort of photography, and I really find that it's a great low cost way to get into the hobby without buying up a bunch of hardware and film. I admire anyone who can do these things without software, but you have to admit that it can accomplish some pretty cool stuff.
posted by snapped at 11:27 AM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
I prefer fxCamera to Vignette. I find it is quite customizable, but I often just set it to a random filter so that I'll be surprised.
Also, Retro Camera was recently made free (ad-supported) and has many filters available. The biggest problem with it is the processing time after taking a snap is quite bothersome.
With any of these apps, I find that composition is 99% of the battle. I've long had an interest in this sort of photography, and I really find that it's a great low cost way to get into the hobby without buying up a bunch of hardware and film. I admire anyone who can do these things without software, but you have to admit that it can accomplish some pretty cool stuff.
posted by snapped at 11:27 AM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
Free Photoshop plugins [plus] old photo templates and tutorials [plus] GIMP (or GIMPshop if you've used PS and like that interface more) = free* Hipstamatic
* Camera(phone) not included
And if you're to emulate a particular old camera, know what you want, and it's easy (or at least easier). Of course Hipstamatic does this internally, without the need to tweak and fidget with details and settings.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:29 AM on September 23, 2010 [9 favorites]
* Camera(phone) not included
And if you're to emulate a particular old camera, know what you want, and it's easy (or at least easier). Of course Hipstamatic does this internally, without the need to tweak and fidget with details and settings.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:29 AM on September 23, 2010 [9 favorites]
Free Photoshop plugins [plus] old photo templates and tutorials [plus] GIMP (or GIMPshop if you've used PS and like that interface more) = free* Hipstamatic
That reminds me of a question I had... do these apps (Hipstamatic and the Android equivalents) save a copy of the "original" photo? If not, it seems a shame that you're basically losing the ability to retrieve the original photo or apply different filters if you want. It's like using digital zoom. Applying a digital effect that would be better done in post.
posted by kmz at 11:33 AM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
That reminds me of a question I had... do these apps (Hipstamatic and the Android equivalents) save a copy of the "original" photo? If not, it seems a shame that you're basically losing the ability to retrieve the original photo or apply different filters if you want. It's like using digital zoom. Applying a digital effect that would be better done in post.
posted by kmz at 11:33 AM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
Thanks for posting this. Aside from its terribly lame name, I've found Hipstamatic to be a good resource for my 3G iPhone's shoddy camera.
That being said, my biggest complaint about Hipstamatic itself is that the company doesn't even really bother to show you what prints look like on their website. So I'm glad to see that someone has put this together.
posted by dhammond at 11:36 AM on September 23, 2010
That being said, my biggest complaint about Hipstamatic itself is that the company doesn't even really bother to show you what prints look like on their website. So I'm glad to see that someone has put this together.
posted by dhammond at 11:36 AM on September 23, 2010
I shoot on horses, don't I?
posted by shakespeherian at 11:37 AM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by shakespeherian at 11:37 AM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
And if you're faking it by hand, you can make it slight changes to things like the numbers on the photo frame. It seems odd that every frame is HPSTM 269.
That reminds me of a question I had... do these apps (Hipstamatic and the Android equivalents) save a copy of the "original" photo?
Apparently, Hipstamatic does not, but ShakeItPhoto does. The Android Vignette saves the original (I think), but fxCamera does not save the original (I just tried it =) Saving the original is the one of the two primary reasons I'd do this by hand. The second reason is because I like fine-tuning photos, cropping and twisting so they look better than the original shot. I understand that's not the point of toy cameras, but I'd still try to frame things in a better way when I could.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:52 AM on September 23, 2010
That reminds me of a question I had... do these apps (Hipstamatic and the Android equivalents) save a copy of the "original" photo?
Apparently, Hipstamatic does not, but ShakeItPhoto does. The Android Vignette saves the original (I think), but fxCamera does not save the original (I just tried it =) Saving the original is the one of the two primary reasons I'd do this by hand. The second reason is because I like fine-tuning photos, cropping and twisting so they look better than the original shot. I understand that's not the point of toy cameras, but I'd still try to frame things in a better way when I could.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:52 AM on September 23, 2010
A few things:
1) Yes they try to "upsell" you the packs. You can get the app and all the packs available for something like $7. It's an amazing deal.
2) "Hipstamatic" was the name of a physical camera from the '70s. Obviously the fact that it sounds like "hipster" is a red rag to a certain tiresome sort of bull, but that's not why it's named that.
3) I have a "real" DSLR, and I know how to use Lightroom. But I love Hipstamatic. Of course it's limited- it costs two dollars and it's on my iPhone. But my DSLR is limited too- it's freaking huge, and it takes a lot of effort to carry it places, and then shoot, and then process. For casual, cool, small photos, the Hipstamatic is great. It's actually the reason I got an iPhone.
posted by drjimmy11 at 12:24 PM on September 23, 2010 [5 favorites]
1) Yes they try to "upsell" you the packs. You can get the app and all the packs available for something like $7. It's an amazing deal.
2) "Hipstamatic" was the name of a physical camera from the '70s. Obviously the fact that it sounds like "hipster" is a red rag to a certain tiresome sort of bull, but that's not why it's named that.
3) I have a "real" DSLR, and I know how to use Lightroom. But I love Hipstamatic. Of course it's limited- it costs two dollars and it's on my iPhone. But my DSLR is limited too- it's freaking huge, and it takes a lot of effort to carry it places, and then shoot, and then process. For casual, cool, small photos, the Hipstamatic is great. It's actually the reason I got an iPhone.
posted by drjimmy11 at 12:24 PM on September 23, 2010 [5 favorites]
I'm more of a Camera+ or CameraBag guy myself.
posted by entropicamericana at 12:32 PM on September 23, 2010
posted by entropicamericana at 12:32 PM on September 23, 2010
Obviously the fact that it sounds like "hipster" is a red rag to a certain tiresome sort of bull, but that's not why it's named that.
I might be inclined to believe this explanation if they didn't also sell a package named the "Williamsburg hipstapak".
posted by Pyry at 12:35 PM on September 23, 2010
I might be inclined to believe this explanation if they didn't also sell a package named the "Williamsburg hipstapak".
posted by Pyry at 12:35 PM on September 23, 2010
I love Hipstamatic.
It's one of the few apps I use pretty much daily.
And for the neighsayers (what is this, Horseville?) I can tell you that ere it not for Hipstamatic I never would have gotten a Holga, a Diana, and now I'm experimenting with using 120 in a vintage Brownie.
The tech enthusiasm can go both ways.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 12:42 PM on September 23, 2010 [9 favorites]
It's one of the few apps I use pretty much daily.
And for the neighsayers (what is this, Horseville?) I can tell you that ere it not for Hipstamatic I never would have gotten a Holga, a Diana, and now I'm experimenting with using 120 in a vintage Brownie.
The tech enthusiasm can go both ways.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 12:42 PM on September 23, 2010 [9 favorites]
Hipstamatic is one of those cool looking apps that I bought the day I got my iPhone activated.
It taunts me, though, because even though I enjoy its image processing tricks (and have bought packs), I never seem to have the time to really stand still and let it develop the fine picture it wants to. So, I have the app, but all my friends show me their beautifully "hipsta" shots with it, and I have elegant pictures of... a ceiling fan.
Still, cool app, glad I bought it. If you're on an iPhone, Camera Plus really spanks the native Camera app. Though it can get a bit tiresome if you shoot like 100 images, like me, and then have to either pick and choose which actually end up on your camera roll (it seems to save in camera plus's native app space, IANADeveloper), or wait like 10 minutes for it to slowly save them all down. On the plus side, once you get up to shoot with it, boom, you just go click, click, click, because it's not doing the save each photo to the roll each time.
I still carry a Canon IXUS with me, but lord knows I haven't opened it in 3 months. I think it's out of habit.
posted by cavalier at 12:45 PM on September 23, 2010
It taunts me, though, because even though I enjoy its image processing tricks (and have bought packs), I never seem to have the time to really stand still and let it develop the fine picture it wants to. So, I have the app, but all my friends show me their beautifully "hipsta" shots with it, and I have elegant pictures of... a ceiling fan.
Still, cool app, glad I bought it. If you're on an iPhone, Camera Plus really spanks the native Camera app. Though it can get a bit tiresome if you shoot like 100 images, like me, and then have to either pick and choose which actually end up on your camera roll (it seems to save in camera plus's native app space, IANADeveloper), or wait like 10 minutes for it to slowly save them all down. On the plus side, once you get up to shoot with it, boom, you just go click, click, click, because it's not doing the save each photo to the roll each time.
I still carry a Canon IXUS with me, but lord knows I haven't opened it in 3 months. I think it's out of habit.
posted by cavalier at 12:45 PM on September 23, 2010
Photojojo is one of the coolest photography blogs.
citation needed.
posted by krautland at 12:50 PM on September 23, 2010 [2 favorites]
citation needed.
posted by krautland at 12:50 PM on September 23, 2010 [2 favorites]
I have a small camera-shaped stone box, in which a tiny bird pecks out photo-like illustrations on miniature stone tablets.
Luxury!
posted by Evilspork at 1:32 PM on September 23, 2010 [3 favorites]
Luxury!
posted by Evilspork at 1:32 PM on September 23, 2010 [3 favorites]
Great, now we're going to have iPhone users think they're amazing photographers too.
posted by joni. at 1:48 PM on September 23, 2010
posted by joni. at 1:48 PM on September 23, 2010
kmz, I've never been able to find the "originals" from fxCamera, but I believe there is an option in Retro Camera (and some other Android apps, like Vignette) to do just that.
posted by snapped at 2:12 PM on September 23, 2010
posted by snapped at 2:12 PM on September 23, 2010
I've always loved the look and feel of plastic-camera photos, and I have always hoarded my rolls of film until I had enough money saved to actually develop them. Medium format film, etc., is really expensive to develop! I still pull out my actual cameras for particular events, but I am also extremely happy with the hipstamatic app and use it all the time. It's hardly a crime. The name 'Hipstamatic,' however, might be.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 2:22 PM on September 23, 2010
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 2:22 PM on September 23, 2010
Does hipstamatic let you process pictures already in your camera roll, or do you have to take the picture with the app?
posted by hellphish at 3:02 PM on September 23, 2010
posted by hellphish at 3:02 PM on September 23, 2010
hellphish, I think you have to take the picture within the app.
I'd never heard of this app and just had a grand old hour playing with it - thanks for posting this! I can't wait to go outside and play with all the pretty effects.
posted by ukdanae at 3:15 PM on September 23, 2010
I'd never heard of this app and just had a grand old hour playing with it - thanks for posting this! I can't wait to go outside and play with all the pretty effects.
posted by ukdanae at 3:15 PM on September 23, 2010
And for the neighsayers (what is this, Horseville?)
Thanks for making my day.
posted by painquale at 3:33 PM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
Thanks for making my day.
posted by painquale at 3:33 PM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
Does hipstamatic let you process pictures already in your camera roll, or do you have to take the picture with the app?
It does not, which is something of a drawback. The same people put out swankolab, which is to "messy converted bathroom darkroom with chemicals" what hipstamatic is to plastic cameras. I recommend Format 126, which is free and allows you to select from your camera roll as well as from the camera. Lots of iPhone photography apps are reviewed on iphonography.com.
posted by tractorfeed at 4:43 PM on September 23, 2010 [2 favorites]
It does not, which is something of a drawback. The same people put out swankolab, which is to "messy converted bathroom darkroom with chemicals" what hipstamatic is to plastic cameras. I recommend Format 126, which is free and allows you to select from your camera roll as well as from the camera. Lots of iPhone photography apps are reviewed on iphonography.com.
posted by tractorfeed at 4:43 PM on September 23, 2010 [2 favorites]
I gotta say, I love the holy crap out of this app.
Is it a fully functioning camera? Nope, but it never claimed to be.
Will it give you professional quality prints? Very occasionally.
Is it the best of the pull out and shoot camera apps on the iPhone? I think so.
Does it do anything to your shots that a few hours in PS would do? Nope, but really who has that sort of time.
posted by cerulgalactus at 4:46 PM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
Is it a fully functioning camera? Nope, but it never claimed to be.
Will it give you professional quality prints? Very occasionally.
Is it the best of the pull out and shoot camera apps on the iPhone? I think so.
Does it do anything to your shots that a few hours in PS would do? Nope, but really who has that sort of time.
posted by cerulgalactus at 4:46 PM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
For "vintage" look images on the iPhone I'm a huge fan of Plastic Bullet instead of Hipstamatic. The company who makes the app is Red Giant who have done plugins for After Effects for years, so they know their way around the faux-filter. No connection w/company just love their software.
If you're going to go fake, you might as well do it right. The Plastic Bullet has less cheesy colorization IMO. You can choose to use the app to create a singular image or you can select an image from your selection of gallery photos.
Here's an example of the exposed film look.
It can also do subtle. Here's some jellyfish.
posted by jeremias at 7:25 PM on September 23, 2010 [2 favorites]
If you're going to go fake, you might as well do it right. The Plastic Bullet has less cheesy colorization IMO. You can choose to use the app to create a singular image or you can select an image from your selection of gallery photos.
Here's an example of the exposed film look.
It can also do subtle. Here's some jellyfish.
posted by jeremias at 7:25 PM on September 23, 2010 [2 favorites]
I love Hipstamatic. It's one of my favorite apps & I use it more than I use my D90. I always have my iPhone with me, but I only schlep the D90 when I'm going somewhere specifically to shoot pictures.
posted by mike3k at 8:48 PM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by mike3k at 8:48 PM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
I love hipstamatic too. So much hate here for it (complaining about a $1 upgrade for an app that took months to develop? how churlish). Whatever.
I've always got my iPhone 4 with me during my commute on BART. I set hipstamatic to random. Usually the pictures are crap. But occasionally I get some nice ones.
posted by schwa at 9:43 PM on September 23, 2010
I've always got my iPhone 4 with me during my commute on BART. I set hipstamatic to random. Usually the pictures are crap. But occasionally I get some nice ones.
posted by schwa at 9:43 PM on September 23, 2010
Does no one else EVEN CARE that one of the 'hipstapacks' is called the Camden? What is this, 1997?
The Dalston, grandad, we live in Dalston now. Err, I mean we've always lived on Dalston. Since before it was cool.
posted by jimbaud at 12:41 AM on September 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
The Dalston, grandad, we live in Dalston now. Err, I mean we've always lived on Dalston. Since before it was cool.
posted by jimbaud at 12:41 AM on September 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
Polaroid app on my iPhone
Taking pictures on London Fields
Up on the blog so everyone knows
We're having NEW AGE FUN with a VINTAGE FEEL
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:56 AM on September 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
Taking pictures on London Fields
Up on the blog so everyone knows
We're having NEW AGE FUN with a VINTAGE FEEL
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:56 AM on September 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
Coming in late b/c I was on vacation...
2) "Hipstamatic" was the name of a physical camera from the '70s. Obviously the fact that it sounds like "hipster" is a red rag to a certain tiresome sort of bull, but that's not why it's named that.
Really? Do you believe that? Is there any proof whatsoever? Oh, right, all of the remaining physical cameras were 'lost in a fire'. Sounds like a fake marketing story to me.
This app bugs the crap out of me. I can't tell the difference between any of the photos my friends post on Flickr/Facebook. They all look exactly the same coming out of this app.
posted by statolith at 6:36 AM on October 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
2) "Hipstamatic" was the name of a physical camera from the '70s. Obviously the fact that it sounds like "hipster" is a red rag to a certain tiresome sort of bull, but that's not why it's named that.
Really? Do you believe that? Is there any proof whatsoever? Oh, right, all of the remaining physical cameras were 'lost in a fire'. Sounds like a fake marketing story to me.
This app bugs the crap out of me. I can't tell the difference between any of the photos my friends post on Flickr/Facebook. They all look exactly the same coming out of this app.
posted by statolith at 6:36 AM on October 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
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