Janarayson

Two Sophie Cam reviews in one week

Projects18 min read

All About Windows Phone and All About Symbian both reviewed Sophie Cam this week. Some notes on how a camera filter app ended up on four kinds of Nokia.

Two reviews of Sophie Cam came out this week, a couple of days apart. All About Windows Phone did the Windows Phone version and gave it 68%. All About Symbian did Sophie Cam 2 and gave it 78%. Both liked the filters and the sharing, and both want a crop that isn’t square … the Windows Phone one also wants zoom.

Sophie Cam started because we wanted something like Instagram on our own phones, and there was nothing like it for Nokia. We’re a mobile company, so we built it ourselves. It’s on Symbian, the N9, S40 and Windows Phone now, so this seems like a good time to write down how it got here.

Four Nokia phones side by side running Sophie Cam: a Symbian touch phone with filter thumbnails, a white N9 with camera and gallery buttons, a Lumia with a framed lake photo, and a Series 40 phone showing the Retrorize filter on a drink
Sophie Cam on Symbian, the N9, Windows Phone and Series 40.

Every filter starts as a Photoshop recipe

We make each filter in Photoshop first, then write it down one slide per step so the developers can rebuild it in code. Summer 69 goes like this … duplicate the photo and set it to Screen, add a flat blue layer on Exclusion, a cream one on Multiply, sky blue on Colour Burn, light pink on Soft Light, a shadow on top. The first eight went out like that in May last year, Summer 69, Dirty Old Camera, Cinematic, XPro 1, Roid, Housten, Lime Plastic Lens and Light Leak. The test photo for Summer 69 is our own office.

By the Hip Pack last December the recipes had RGB curve points written next to the steps as well.

A filter recipe slide: the original office photo, a flat dark blue layer, and the result after setting the blue layer to Exclusion at 100 percent, with the original and the finished filter shown along the top
One step of the Summer 69 recipe, May 2011.
The Summer 69 filter: the original office photo next to the finished version, warmer, with darker corners
Summer 69, before and after.

Light Leak works the same way with more layers. A copy of the photo goes on top on Overlay, then a black film border with the frame numbers along the edges, then a light leak on Screen, then two shadow layers on Overlay. We made nine different leaks and the app picks one at random each time, so your photos don’t all get the same leak.

  • The original beach photo with a red kayak on the sandOriginal
  • The photo after a copy of itself is laid over it on Overlay, warmer and brighterOverlay
  • The photo with a black film border and frame numbers addedFilm border
  • The photo with a red and pink light leak along the right edgeLight leak
  • The photo after the first shadow layerShadow
  • The finished Light Leak photo after the second shadow layerShadow
Light Leak, step by step.

The leaks themselves are glows on a black background, so on Screen the black disappears and only the light comes through. Dirty Old Camera uses a layer of dust and scratches with dark rounded corners.

  • A light leak layer: an orange glow in one corner and a yellow streak on the right, on a black backgroundLight leak
  • The Dirty Old Camera layer: dust, specks and scratches on a pale square with dark rounded edgesDust and scratches
Two of the texture layers.

Each pack has its thumbnails done on one photo. The first set is on a little figurine of a couple in red, and the Hip Pack is on a latte.

  • The Antique filter on a figurine of a couple in red Chinese outfitsAntique
  • The Cinematic filter on a figurine of a couple in red Chinese outfitsCinematic
  • The Dirty Old Camera filter on a figurine of a couple in red Chinese outfitsDirty Old Camera
  • The Housten filter on a figurine of a couple in red Chinese outfitsHousten
  • The Lemon filter on a figurine of a couple in red Chinese outfitsLemon
  • The Light Leak filter on a figurine of a couple in red Chinese outfitsLight Leak
  • The Lime Plastic Lens filter on a figurine of a couple in red Chinese outfitsLime Plastic Lens
  • The Retro filter on a figurine of a couple in red Chinese outfitsRetro
  • The Roid filter on a figurine of a couple in red Chinese outfitsRoid
  • The Summer 69 filter on a figurine of a couple in red Chinese outfitsSummer 69
  • The XPro 1 filter on a figurine of a couple in red Chinese outfitsXPro 1
The first set of filters, 2011.
  • The 1969 filter on a latte with a face drawn in the foam1969
  • The Busco filter on a latte with a face drawn in the foamBusco
  • The Lisa Ray filter on a latte with a face drawn in the foamLisa Ray
  • The Morning Glory filter on a latte with a face drawn in the foamMorning Glory
  • The Sun Drop filter on a latte with a face drawn in the foamSun Drop
  • The Awake filter on a latte with a face drawn in the foamAwake
  • The Caldo filter on a latte with a face drawn in the foamCaldo
  • The El Cerdo filter on a latte with a face drawn in the foamEl Cerdo
  • The Hindigo filter on a latte with a face drawn in the foamHindigo
The Hip Pack, December 2011 to April 2012.

The darkroom

The first version was three steps. Pick a filter, snap, look at your photo. After you snap, the photo goes to a “darkroom” screen where it hangs on a clothes line with a wooden peg, and from there you shoot again, go home or share. Symbian phones ran it sideways, 640 by 360.

Sophie Cam on Symbian in landscape: a column of filter thumbnails on the left, a street photo with the Cinematic filter in the middle captioned Moody, Dramatic, Suspense, and a camera button on the right
Choosing a filter on Symbian, May 2011.
The darkroom screen on Symbian: a seaside photo hanging from a clothes line by a wooden peg, with camera, home and share buttons on the right
The darkroom on Symbian, May 2011.
Sophie Cam splash screen in landscape: Sophie Cam in grey on white with a big camera lens on the right, the line Putting the fun in your camera again, and Nerd Attack! 2011The first camera screen in landscape: a black leather camera body with flash and back buttons, a red shutter button, a small thumbnail of the last photo, and Processing in the empty viewfinderThe darkroom with a menu over the photo: Share on Facebook, Share on Twitter and Social SettingsAbout Sophie Cam on a white screen: the app icon, Sophie Cam v0.9, an email for bug reports, and the line More filters and functionality in the works, stay tuned
The first version on Symbian, May 2011.

At Nokia Connection in Singapore in June last year, it was on our booth as one of the Qt showcases. Nokia was pushing Qt hard and wanted developers on it, and Sophie Cam was there to show what you could build with it.

A white Sophie Cam splash screen with the camera lens at the top and the line CommunicAsia 2011 demo build 080611 along the bottomThe demo build camera screen, upright: a strip of filter thumbnails along the top, a photo of drinks and a sandwich, and a red shutter button on a black leather camera body with flash and menu buttons
The demo build on Symbian, June 2011.

Last September we sent review builds to a few Nokia blogs, each one with the blog’s name on a ribbon across the splash screen, in its own colour.

Sophie Cam splash screen with a red ribbon reading review copy for MyNokiaBlogSophie Cam splash screen with a pink ribbon reading review copy for The Nokia BlogSophie Cam splash screen with a blue ribbon reading review copy for ZOMGitsCJ
Review build splash screens, September 2011.
Ovi Store banner: Sophie Cam in large silver letters on black leather, the line A great photo filter app for your Nokia device, a green Download now button, and an N8 running the camera screen in front of a spread of filtered photos
The Ovi Store banner, September 2011.
Sophie Cam on Symbian: a big shutter button on a leather panel, with menu, flash and quit buttons underneathSophie Cam on Symbian: a seaside photo with a boat and a white loading ring over it while the filter is appliedSophie Cam on Symbian: camera and next buttons above a strip of filter thumbnails labelled Cinematic, Housten, Roid and Summer
Sophie Cam on Symbian, September 2011.

The N9, and a filter you unlock with a tag

We had two N950s from Nokia for this, the developer version of the N9 with a slide-out keyboard. On the N9 it became a tall app with a leather background and a red “saved” ribbon on the photo. The N9 has NFC, so we made one filter, Retro, that’s locked until you tap the phone on an NFC tag with our string on it. A second tag would post the photo straight to our Flickr … that one was only for demos, it’s not in the store version.

Sophie Cam splash screen on the N9: Sophie Cam in silver on black leather under a big camera lens, with the line MeeGo preview edition. This is not the final product, and Nerd Attack! 2011The N9 camera screen: dancers in red and yellow on a stage in the viewfinder, a big shutter button, and menu, flash and quit buttons on a leather panelSophie Cam on the N9: a beach photo with a red Saved ribbon, a camera and next button on a leather panel, and a row of filter thumbnails along the bottomThe N9 share panel over a dark photo: Facebook, Flickr and save buttons, and the line Share this photo with a friend via NFC by tapping both NFC capable phones together
Sophie Cam on the N9, July and August 2011.
NFC guide slide: the N9 filter strip with a Retro thumbnail marked nfc, and a note that the filter stays locked until the phone is tapped on an NFC tag
The Retro filter in the NFC guide, August 2011.
The N9 darkroom with a beach photo, and the Retro thumbnail at the start of the filter strip marked with a blue nfc badgeA dialog over the darkroom: an nfc icon, Filter locked, Scan the NFC tag to unlock this filter, and a Close buttonThe darkroom with a banner across the photo reading Retro unlockedThe darkroom with a Flickr banner across the photo reading Sharing to FlickrThe darkroom with a Flickr banner across the photo reading Shared to Flickr
Unlocking Retro and sharing to Flickr with the tags, August 2011.
The N9 camera screen: a beach with a white boat in the viewfinder, a shutter button, and menu, flash and quit buttons on a leather panelThe N9 darkroom: a seaside photo with a loading ring over it, camera and next buttons, and filter thumbnails labelled Retro, Cinematic, Dirty Cam and HoustenThe N9 darkroom with a menu open over the photo: Share Photo, Save to gallery and View Photos
Sophie Cam on the N9, September 2011.

Series 40

The S40 version is Java, on a 240 by 320 screen. One big shutter button with help and exit on either side, and you swipe left or right to go through the effects. S40 got its own seven filters too, like Retrorize, Holga and Old Kodiak.

Sophie Cam splash screen on Series 40: Sophie Cam in silver on black leather with a camera lens in the corner, the line Putting the fun in your camera again, and Nerd Attack! 2011 at the bottomSophie Cam on Series 40: a photo filling the screen with help, shutter and exit buttons along the bottomChoosing an effect on Series 40: a photo of a bubble tea cup with the Retrorize filter and the hint Swipe to view effects
Sophie Cam on Series 40, October 2011.

Version 1.5

Version 1.5 in December last year added a photo bucket … you can take up to 15 shots, then pick the one you want to edit. It also split the filters into packs, so picking a pack changes the thumbnails underneath, and it has the crop frame, 360 by 360.

Crop Photo on Symbian: a photo of a pitcher plant inside a square white frame, and the line Tap and move to the area where you would like to crop the photoA menu over the editing screen on Symbian: Choose a filter pack, with Standard pack and Hipstar packA menu over the editing screen on Symbian: Sharing, with Share on Facebook and Share on FlickrThe sign-in screen on Symbian with a Facebook account and a Flickr account both signed in
Version 1.5 on Symbian, October 2011.
Sophie Cam 1.5 on Symbian: the SophieCam logo on leather with From Camera and From Gallery buttons, and help, settings and quit along the bottomThe photo bucket on Symbian: a numbered photo of a yellow and pink flower, the next shot peeking in from the right, and the line Pick a shot that you would like to editEditing on Symbian: the flower photo with Share, Save and Tilt along the top and the first set of filters underneath, Antique, Cinematic, Dirty Cam and HoustenThe same screen after switching packs: the Hip Pack thumbnails 1969, Busco, Lisa Ray and Dawn under the flower photoThe Lisa Ray filter applied to the flower photo, warmer and brighter with dark corners
Version 1.5 on Symbian, December 2011.
Sophie Cam 1.5 on the N9: From Camera and From Gallery buttons on leather, with help, view photos and quit along the bottomDesign for the N9 gallery: a grid of photos from the phone under the SophieCam logo, one of them picked with a blue frameThe N9 camera screen: a rocky shore in the viewfinder with a square crop frame and grid lines, a shot counter and flash off at the top, and a thumbnail with a red 2 for the shots in the bucketThe photo bucket on the N9: a numbered photo with delete and select buttons, and the line Pick a shot that you would like to editDesign for the N9 crop screen: Crop Photo over a photo of a pitcher plant in a square white frame, with a back arrow and a tickEditing on the N9: the rocky shore photo with Share, Save and D.O.F along the top and the filters Retro, Cinematic, Dirty Cam, Housten and Light Leak underneath
Sophie Cam on the N9, October and November 2011.
The N9 camera screen: pixel art made of sticky notes on a wall in the viewfinder, flash off in the corner, and a thumbnail with a red 2 for the shots in the bucketEditing on the N9: a seafront photo of palm trees with the Lisa Ray filter, Share, Save and Tilt along the top and the Hip Pack thumbnails underneathThe N9 help screen: handwritten notes with arrows on black, Share to Facebook and Flickr, new tilt effect tap and drag the lines, Remember to save your photo, Back to the camera screen, and Filter packs are hereThe new Sophie Cam splash on the N9: Sophie Cam in a silver script under the camera lens, Putting the fun in your camera again, and Nerd Attack! 2012
Sophie Cam on the N9, January to April 2012.

Windows Phone

The Windows Phone version uses the pivot. “snap filters share” across the top, the shots under snap, the list of filters under filters, the sharing under share, and a toast when a share goes through. This July it got the Vintage Pack, same as Sophie Cam 2 on Symbian.

Windows Phone design slide: a dark leather screen titled Sophie Cam with the pivot headings snap, filters and share, and notes listing what each pivot shows
Windows Phone pivot spec, November 2011.

The square crop both reviewers want gone is the 360 by 360 crop we put in with 1.5.