5.0 Megapixel Camera
Posted 01/05/2010 at 2:02am
| by Zack Stern

The extras are as disappointing as the image enhancement.
P.T. Barnum could have been an App Store powerhouse. Dazzle an iPhone owner who (rightly) doesn't understand all of the technology inside Apple's magic device, and you've got the perfect 5.0 Megapixel Camera target--dare we say sucker. This app purports to bump your iPhone camera images up to 2,560x1,920 pixels, nearly 5 megapixels. Step right up, it works! But hold your applause; the app performs software magic to enlarge photos instead of boosting camera quality. We think it should be called "4.9 Megapixel Images," not "5.0 Megapixel Camera." We also call it money wasted.
5.0 Megapixel Camera lets you shoot at the iPhone's normal 1,600x1,200-pixel resolution or pick the bigger mode. You can continue snapping normal-resolution shots at about the same pace as the built-in camera app. And in one benefit over Apple's design, you can tap nearly anywhere on-screen to activate the shutter, which is great for self-portraits.
Kick into 5-megapixel mode, and you'll have to wait about 20 painful seconds before you can take the next image. And the results aren't worth it. We scrutinized standard and high-resolution pictures with fine details. 5.0 Megapixel Camera essentially just blows up the iPhone's standard image in the same way you could through Photoshop. The resolution increases, but the quality stays about the same.
5.0 Megapixel Camera includes a few extras that are also not worth the price of admission. A time-lapse mode shoots on an interval, but you can't deviate from a handful of preset gaps--15-seconds to 15-minutes--or automatically create a video clip. A countdown timer also only gives 5 choices instead of letting you decide exactly. And why not have it fire a handful of group pictures at the end?
This app boosts photo resolution, not camera quality. It's like mincing
garlic and saying there's more than when you started.
5.0 Megapixel Camera 1.0
COMPANY: CrowdCafé
CONTACT: www.crowdcafe.com
PRICE: $.99
REQUIREMENTS: iPhone with OS 3.1 or later.

Can snap pictures by tapping nearly anywhere on-screen. Shoots on an interval or countdown timer.

Blows up images after you take them, so it doesn't improve camera
quality. Can't manually adjust timers. Creates photos--not video--in
time-lapse mode.