CamWow shutters on over to Windows Phone 8

CamWow is a simple Windows Phone 8 photography app that allows you to apply unique filters to your photographs. CamWow won't let you apply the creative effects to existing images but if you're looking to put a twist on new images, it might be worth a try.

CamWow's user interface is about as simple as it gets. You have preview windows for each filter and three control buttons at the bottom of the screen. Just swipe left or right to choose your effect, tap on the preview window to pull up that effect, line up your shot and tap the screen to capture the image.

CamWow has sixteen filter effects that include: Sketch, X-ray, Bulge, Stretch, Squeeze, Thermal, Mirror, Grayscale, Valentine, Light Tunnel, Newspaper, Pop Art, Twirl, Night Vision, Coral and Pixellation. Each filter can be pinned to your Windows Phone Start Screen for easy access.

Once you've captured your image it is saved to your Windows Phone Pictures Hub. You can share images directly from CamWow.

There are a few downsides to CamWow though that may not appeal to everyone. First, the shutter button won't work and you'll need to tap the screen to capture the picture. This eliminates any ability to pre-focus shots. Next, CamWow significantly resizes the images. It shoots (at least on the Lumia 920) in 16:9 aspect ratio and resizes a 2000x3552 pixel image to 768x1280 pixels.

While some of the filters are interesting, the inability to use the shutter button and image file resizing may turn some away from CamWow. Luckily, it is a free Windows Phone app so you can try things out without breaking the bank.

You can find CamWow here at the Windows Phone Store.

via: Plaffo

QR: CamWow

George Ponder

George is the Reviews Editor at Windows Central, concentrating on Windows 10 PC and Mobile apps. He's been a supporter of the platform since the days of Windows CE and uses his current Windows 10 Mobile phone daily to keep up with life and enjoy a game during down time.