FX Photo Studio version 4.0 is now available in the App Store. The long-awaited update renews MacPhun’s photo editing app by adding several new features and by revamping old ones with improvements to their overall performance, losing nothing of the app’s original ease of use.
What’s new in version 4.0:
- 7 new effects;
- Masking tool;
- Improved performance (up to 2x faster);
- Square format cropping;
- Centering in Tilt-shift and Radial Blur;
- In-app camera enhancement;
- Restore in-app purchases;
- New import/export options.
A number of new effects were added to the already extensive collection of FX Photo Studio, bringing the app’s total to 194. With version 4.0, you are given 6 brand new cross process effects, which were developed in collaboration with professional photographers. A special 3D effect is also part of this update.
The new 3D effect.
The highlight of version 4.0 is, without a doubt, the masking tool. Masking allows to apply effects selectively on images. In FX Photo Studio, you can add selectively as many effects as you wish in a row. There are four types of brush that can be used to paint over images, varying in opacity and border hardness. By zooming and panning using your fingers, painting over photos can be done quite comfortably. It’s either possible to enable mask view or disable it while painting. The ‘invert mask’ lets you easily switch among masked and unmasked areas.
Very cleverly, FX Photo Studio saves your previous mask, so that you can apply a series of effects exactly where you want to. The only drawback concerning masking is the lack of a resize function for the brush. It’s possible to make up for this by zooming in, but on finer detail it may still be problematic.
Effects applied selectively using masking.
It’s now possible to import photos directly from any Facebook account. Other than sharing them via the previously available options, edited photos can now be printed right away by taking advantage of iPhone’s AirPrint (requires iOS 4.2 or later) or they can be sent directly to Instagram.
The developer of FX Photo Studio revealed that a print-on-demand feature is in the works, so check out for future updates.
Given the new features, significantly expanding FX Photo Studio’s possibilities, I am revising the previous rating for MacPhun’s app, which now gets a well-deserved full score.
Overall
Name: FX Photo Studio
Developer: MacPhun
Compatibility: iPhone, iPod Touch. iOS 3.0 or later.
Price: £1.49||$1.99||€1.59
Vote: 5/5
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