This app completely reinvents iPhone photography

Out of !Camera

I have not found much joy in iPhone photography of late. Between the flat, HDR-heavy image processing and the stagnant hardware compared to competitors, it’s rare that I’ll use my iPhone for anything beyond quick, functional snapshots. “Here is the price of eggs at the supermarket today” in a chat message. That sort of thing.

But lately I’ve been having more fun with my iPhone camera than I’ve had in years. The reason for that is !Camera, a new app that completely reimagines the experience of taking photos on your phone.

!Camera — no, I am not entirely sure how you’re meant to say that out loud — comes from Not Boring Software, which also makes a suite of iOS apps including a weather app, a timer, a calculator, and more. I’ve tried some of these in the past and admired their stylish, original design, but none of them really stuck with me; I tend to lean into functionality if I’m going to learn a new app.

But cameras are the opposite. Unless I’m shooting professionally at a critical event, I want cameras to have their own personality and inspire me to use them. That’s exactly what you get with !Camera.

Although !Camera solely exists in software, its unique 3D interface makes your iPhone feel like a new device. The colorful, customizable UI is not intended to look realistic, exactly, but the combination of visual effects and haptic feedback is surprisingly believable. I set up a shortcut to open !Camera with the iPhone’s physical Action Button, which adds to the verisimilitude.

The chunky virtual dials show shadows in the knurls as you tilt your phone, based on input from the gyroscope. The iPhone’s haptic system lets you feel every notch along the dials, together with satisfying clunks when you swap between lenses or turn the flash on. And I can’t remember the last time I didn’t immediately turn off the beeps on a digital camera, but the stereo sound effects here actually add to the experience.