Remember the stock camera App called Focal developed by the XDA forums for CyanogenMod 10.2 Nightlies. Now the XDA Forum member TeamBBQ has published the standalone App called Focal (Beta) for Android smart phones and tablets.
As usual, being a beta App, it may contain bugs and may crash. The TeamBBQ has also said that this App is mostly for Android 4.2 based smart phones but should work on tablets as well.
Focal as standalone App has many key features which will make your camera experience with Android smart phones worthwhile. The most notable of these changes include an open source replacement for Google’s closed source Photo Sphere, an improved post-shot image review paradigm, spot metering, double-tap to quick capture, and various additional image capture modes. Additionally, device-specific features are available for certain handsets. For example, you can adjust shutter speed on certain Sony devices.
The features of the Focal Beta are :
- A photo and video mode, supporting many features (burst mode, timer mode, scene mode, shutter speed on Sony devices, ...)
- A panorama mode, currently semi-broken
- A PicSphere mode, open-source replacement of Google's PhotoSphere, to do 360° sphere shots
- A review drawer, by sliding from the top of the screen (in portrait). It shows your latest pictures.
In photo mode, you also have access to a few tools, such as automatic picture enhancement (auto-awesome), or a rule of thirds overlay. On some devices, settings such as Color adjustment, HDR and a manual light measure point are also available. Double tapping the screen will put your in quick shot mode, where tapping the screen anywhere will take a picture. In video mode, high-framerate video is also possible.
Worthwhile tips to remember:
- You can slide a widget's left handle to the right to close it
- You can swipe twice to temporarily hide open widgets, and swipe back to recover them
- You can pin widgets on your main screen
- You can scroll the sidebar
To download the App, visit Google Play here. You can also download the APK file directly from the mirror site at Github.
0 comments