Phone cameras have evolved a lot, with image processing becoming increasingly important and detailed controls that help users modify their images. Despite this, many people still love old-school photography styles and techniques. Developer Alex Fox wanted to focus on this nostalgia during construction the Mood.camera app.
The iPhone app allows you to switch between different retro filters to take photos. You can also adjust the quality and tone via a dial. You can easily switch between different lenses and adjust exposure from the main screen. This all sounds familiar, but what you don’t get is the live preview of what the photo would look like once it’s “developed” — and that has some exciting results.
Image Credits: Alex Fox/Mood.camera
Fox said that with this app he wanted users to focus on the image in the viewfinder, not the effects, so he didn’t include a live preview feature — you see the same thing you see in the default camera app. In the same vein, the app doesn’t have an editing feature and you can’t import photos from the gallery to apply filters to old photos.
“Since the first Polaroid camera, photography has focused on more convenience and more control, but I think we’ve lost some of the magic along the way,” Fox told TechCrunch via email.
“Some of the design decisions I made were meant to reduce the comforts we’re used to, encouraging users to be in the moment instead of worrying about which filter to use or staring at their phone’s editing.”
Image Credits: Alex Fox/Mood.camera
The developer started working on a prototype of the app in October 2023 and released a beta version Reddit earlier this year.
Fox said that over the past two months, a team of photographers has helped him improve the app by taking more than 100,000 photos. The app is free to try for seven days, and then you can pay either $1.99 per month or a one-time fee of $14.99.
In recent years, apps like Lapse, Dispo, and Later Cam have tried to recreate parts of retro cameras by putting limitations on how the app works. While Lapse and Dispo also attracted investors, their growth eventually slowed. However, while an independent developer will not experience a venture-backed result, they could potentially turn their app into sustainable income and long-term success.
