Camera+ 5 adds 'The Lab' in free update (Updated)

Tap Tap Tap has shipped version 5.0 of Camera+ for iPhone (US$1.99) as a free update to existing users, bringing a new destination -- The Lab -- for making adjustments to your photos and adding fun.

The Lab includes:

• Clarity Pro: an update to the Camera+ Clarity feature that adds both adjustability and a new Vibrancy Boost for making photos really pop

• Straighten: which gains an auto-straighten feature

• Tint: tone your pictures to your specs, or use a dice roll to pick random tint settings

• Duotone: even more control of your tinting

• Soft Focus: adjustable soft focus for making those selfies look professional

• Film Grain: miss the graininess of fast analog film? You can add grain to your images...

• Sharpen: fix some slightly out-of-focus shots

• Blur: make perfect shots slightly out-of-focus. Go figure.

• And a lot, lot more...

I found the app to be a lot faster than I remember, although I have no quantitative proof of that. The Lab won't work on the iPhone 3GS due to processor requirements, but those users get access to a subset of the tools.

One really fun feature of The Lab is the ability to make iPhone wallpaper in the iOS 7 mode. As the release notes point out, you just grab a photo, crank the blur up, add saturation, apply an iPhone wallpaper crop and you're ready to roll.

Last new feature? A new, more iOS 7-ish icon. There's a lot more in the update that we'll let you find on your own -- if the update hasn't installed itself yet, manually update because this is one you'll want to jump on.

UPDATE: If you use the Day One app for keeping a personal journal, do not upgrade to Camera+ if you can help it -- it breaks the former integration with Day One.