Advertisement

MultiCam for iOS can greatly improve your photos

Since cameras were first invented photographers have gone through this drill: Focus, set exposure, take photo. Some innovative cameras like the Lytro let you interactively change your focus after you take your image, but the Lytro hasn't set the world on fire due mainly to buggy software and small sensors.

MultiCam (U.S. $1.99) cleverly turns the whole process around. You take your photo, then select the proper exposure and focus. The app works by taking a series of three or six exposures almost instantly. It does the same with focus, taking up to 15 shots with varying focus. When you are done, you see the photo with two sliders: one to change the exposure, another to see all the focus options. Moving those sliders, you see the changes in the picture all happening smoothly and in real time. When you have the combination you like, you save the photo. Both the front and back cameras are supported. You can save the MultiCam shots in the app's internal library, and if you throw those away you will have only the image you saved. Chances are good that once you have selected the best combination of focus and exposure, you won't need the originals anyway.

I was a little dubious when I started my tests, but Multicam works really well. The multiple exposures/focus stream takes just a few seconds, so you'll want to hold the camera steady. Picking out the best focused and exposed photo is easy on the iPhone's excellent screen, and you can pinch zoom to enlarge the image and check your precise focus.



MultiCam is innovative and can truly capture photos that are better exposed and focused that your usual images. I thought it was especially effective on closeup subjects like flowers and insects, and even moving objects at a distance where you might not get the focus right in one shot.

Of course the iPhone under iOS 8 allows for the rapid taking of multiple photos like the motor drive on convention DSLRs, but they will all be exposed the same and at the same focal plane.

MultiCam is a universal app and it works very well. It's innovative in the way it takes your pictures, and it can certainly make sure you get something better than you might with conventional photo apps.

The only suggestion I would make to the developer is that since the app can take multiple exposures, I'd love to see an HDR option added. Then you'll get sharp focus and better dynamic range all in one app.

MultiCam requires iOS 8 or later and is highly recommended.