As I mentioned a few days ago, I would like to present you Android applications I find interesting, useful, impressive or generally noteworthy. It’s not secret that I like photography, it should therefore not be surprising to some of you that I will start with a camera application.

Retro Camera by Urbian follows a recent trend in photography. Modern cameras, including entry-level point and shoot cameras, produce gorgeous and near perfect photos. Unfortunately, these pictures are often boring. That’s why more and more photographers use processing techniques to make their photos appear as if they had been taken with crappy cameras, often referred to as “toy cameras.” Retro Camera lets you take crappy yet artsy/interesting photos right away and saves you time in Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture… The application sports a very realistic user interface centered around film photography. When you launch it, you almost feel like you are actually using a camera, and not a cell phone:

Turn your phone into a camera

The tiny viewfinder is an especially nice touch and I appreciate the level at the bottom of the screen in the commercial version (replaced by ads in the free version.) Retro Camera is very easy to use, mostly because you do not have to fiddle with settings, knobs and sliders. Instead, the application offers you four virtual cameras, each with its own look and unique results. Of course, choosing a camera is as enjoyable as using them (don’t miss the very useful information panel of each camera):

Choose your favorite camera

When you take a picture, it is sent to the dark room for processing and finally saved on your SD card. You can browse the photos using Android’s built-in Gallery application or simply do it from the application itself. The visuals are once again pleasing but the application will only show you photos taken with Retro Camera but you can share them in just one click to post them on Twitter, Facebook, send them by email, etc.

Photo gallery inside Retro Camera

Retro Camera is a fun application that I like to use to take candid snapshots and give them a quirky look. It does not replace other camera applications but acts as a nice companion. I wish processing pictures was faster but overall Retro Camera is worth its price, especially if you enjoy visually rich and polished applications. Finally here is a photo of a real camera taken with one of Retro Camera‘s virtual cameras: