THE STORY

One of the best features of any Android handset is arguably its camera and there are oodles of apps that cater for fun and games with photography. Cartoon Camera’s claim to fame is its ability to add a cartoon like appearance to your shots. But you probably guessed that from the name, right?

THE EXPERIENCE

This is one of those apps that makes its overlays on your images as you shoot them rather than letting you edit standard photos after they’ve been taken. That has its good and bad points.

You can capture photos just as you want them to look, without the hassle of opening them up into a new app afterwards, but you don’t get to have the un-doctored version of a photo on hand. In some situations you’ll want to add your effects after shooting, so Cartoon Camera  isn’t the only cartonising app you might want to install.

Still, it is easy and fun to use. There are just five effects to choose between – sepia, white strokes, dark strokes, coloured edges and cartoon.

You can fiddle with their ‘strength’ using a slider on screen. This can lead to a more defined or less well defined image.

If your camera has autofocus it is supported – you just tap the screen in the usual way and it kicks in. Also, if your camera has zoom, you can use a the zoom bar on the left side of the screen.

If your handset has a front camera as well as a back one, there’s an on screen button for switching between them. Cue cartoonised photos of yourself, then.

It is worth noting, though, that you access your handset’s camera software through the Cartoon Camera interface, so any special settings or features your particular handset might have aren’t accessible. (We’re thinking flash control, burst mode, that kind of thing).

THE BOTTOM LINE

Cartoon Camera is a tad limited, but it is a fun little app that could produce some decidedly entertaining photos.

Additional Info
Version reviewed 1.0.2
Requires Android 2.2 or higher
Download the Cartoon Camera app from Android Market
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