fbpx
Software

Fun Review: Pixlr-O-Matic for Android Phones

Chris Gampat
No Comments
09/23/2011
3 Mins read
screen

Last Updated on 05/18/2012 by Chris Gampat

Sometimes we don’t want to bring a point and shoot, mirrorless camera, film camera, or DSLR with us. And at those times, we’ve often been good enough with the results from our phones. Indeed, when we tested the Apple iPhone 4’s camera, it performed very well. While the iPhone users have their fun with Instagram and Hipstamatic, the closest thing that us Android users (whether using HTC Smartphones or others) have had for a while was Retro Camera (which has undergone many changes since our review.) Enter Pixlr-O-Matic for Android: hands down the single app that is killing my battery due to my absolute addiction.

First off, this app is just an Android version of this site, but where it belongs is on a phone. This app in part stems from Pixlr, the online editing software. However, those aren’t the main features of Pixlr-o-matic. This app is all about having fun and getting all of those retro and kooky lenses and looks that iPhone users can get digitally.

Of course you could always get a Lomography La Sardina or use something like a Yashica Electro GSN, but then you’ll need to develop the film. Indeed, this app is all about being spontaneous—which is one of the pillars of Lomography and the lo-fi life in general. Plus, you won’t have to shoot an image with your DSLR and apply the film presets afterward.

 

Pixlr-O-Matic starts off with the interface screen that allows you to either take a photo, edit an existing photo, or edit one of a couple of photos that the company provides for you. With that said, you may want to install this app and then move it over to your SD card because it is 10MB + worth of space.

Once you take a photo, you are brought to a new interface where you can choose special styles for your photo. The parameters that you can manipulate are:

– The Film Look: choose the type of film it looks like. Each one is named after a person; though I’m not sure why. Some look cross processed, others look like black and white film, and others like things I can’t totally explain. It’s all cool and in the name of fun though.

– The Lighting: Add bokeh, sparkly magic, vignetting, glitter, and loads of other weird and cool lighting options.

– The Edge: Choose what edge you want the photo to have. Perhaps look like a Polaroid, or an old film negative, etc. The choice is all yours.

After this you’ve got a couple of options. You can share the photo via your favorite sharing service associated with your phone, save it to your SD card, or head back to editing.

Here are a couple of photos shot with this app:

So why is this app so addicting? Because it’s so fun to use. The fact that you can take the photo and then customize it to have loads of different effects and looks just opens up your creative freedom possibilities so much. Accepting that you’re shooting with your phone’s lo-fi abilities also helps you to let go of any apprehensions you may have about the photos. Indeed, using this app is all about being spontaneous.

Are there any down sides? It can take a little while to export my image to my SD card on my HTC MyTouch Slide 3G. Plus this isn’t a small app to download. At a little over 10MB, I highly suggest using Android Task Manager to move the app to your SD card instead of your phone. When being used, it doesn’t take up too much of your RAM either.

Want to see more? Check out my Tumblr. I’ll often post images from this app there.

Please Support The Phoblographer

We love to bring you guys the latest and greatest news and gear related stuff. However, we can’t keep doing that unless we have your continued support. If you would like to purchase any of the items mentioned, please do so by clicking our links first and then purchasing the items as we then get a small portion of the sale to help run the website.

android film hipstamatic instagram iphone lo-fi lomography retro camera
Shares
Written by

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
You might also like
Screen Shot 2017-08-28 at 12.07.13 PM
Features

Opinion: Please Stop Wearing a Photo Vest if You Don’t Need to Be Wearing a Photo Vest

4 Mins read
07/09/2018

When I got into this industry years ago, one thing really confused me almost as much as how much certain older photographers tend to treat the younger generation of us: photo vests. I’m completely positive that you’ve all seen them: a photographer of a certain distinguishment (or trying to show off without having said distinguishment) wearing their vests that look a lot like safari vests. You know, almost as if they’re going to go out on an African safari at all times without being anywhere near something like a safari. Walking down the streets doing street photography? You’ll see a photo vest. In the studio? Photo vest! Hiking? Yup, A Photo vest!

5.01
Features

What is Kodak Aerochrome? A Beginner’s Guide to The Confusion of Lomochrome Purple

3 Mins read
01/30/2013

Today’s exciting announcement from Lomography about Lomochrome Purple is bound to get some people excited and others totally confused. First off, know that it is based off of Kodak Aerochrome–an old infrared film developed for government surveillance. Since it is infrared, that means that there are no real purple fields in the Congo. So we’re here to answer a couple of big questions that you may have about the new film. Check out more information after the jump.

X-T3_Black_LeftObl+VPB-XT3+XF18-55mm
Features

Opinion: The Fujifilm XT3’s Sensor Still Doesn’t Output Images That Look Totally Like Film (But They’re Nice)

3 Mins read
09/20/2018

The Fujifilm XT3 (or as they call it, the Fujifilm X-T3) is the company’s latest evolution to their SLR style camera body designed to be a workhorse for many photographers. Despite a whole lot of great and absolutely fantastic things built into the camera, I personally am wondering what Fujifilm’s goal is here with the idea of the X Trans sensor and Film Simulations. One of the reasons why I was so smitten with the X Pro 1 was the fact that it delivered images that really looked like well shot and developed film. To some extent, the Fujifilm XT2 did too but only really with Acros. With the latest iteration, the Fujifilm X-T3, the company is delivering a new 26.2MP X Trans Sensor that delivers the most beautiful colors of any APS-C sensor that we’ve seen. But at the same time, the film simulations just don’t feel right.