MonoPhix – Appotography

Monophix Updated to 3.1

I have been hoping for this update. Monophix 3.1 is out and with it comes the long-awaited color filter feature.

Monophix is one of the most valuable tools in the App Store for easy conversion from color to black and white. In our previous review, although we recognized the worth and the potential of the app, we also explained how the final score reflected the absence of a color filtering feature. Color filtering is an essential aspect in color to monochrome conversion. To avoid mediocre results, every photographer has to take into account color filtering. In traditional photography different results are obtained by blocking certain colors by using various photographic filters. In digital photography, the same can be easily achieved in photo editing.

MonoPhix 3.1 for iPhone — Different filters can change the look of your black and white photo.

In Monophix 3.1 you have now filters for red, green, blue, cyan, yellow and magenta. The average weight black and white is also still available. This allows better control over final results, depending on the photo and on the effect you want to achieve.

In Monophix 3.1 major improvements to the vignette feature were also made. Vignette is now more manageable, thanks to the intensity slider which was added in this version. For users who experienced this issue in previous releases, the developer informs that the vignette preview glitch was also fixed: with a slider it’s now possible to correct vignette preview distortion.

Thanks to these and other minor enhancements, we feel like reviewing the previous score of Monophix, which now gets 5 out of 5.

Note: version 3.1 contains a glitch affecting the app’s opening screen. Since we have verified the issue does not concern the app’s functioning, our final score is not influenced by it. Anyhow, the developer lets Monophix users know that with the upcoming update to 3.1.1 the problem will be solved.

Overall

Name: Monophix
Developer: UIC Phoenxsoftware
Compatibility: iPhone. iOS 3.1 or later.
Price: £0.69||$0.99||€0.79
Vote: 5/5

MonoPhix & MonoPhix HD Free!

A new ongoing offer currently in the App Store: MonoPhix is now free!

MonoPhix is a simple but effective monochrome converter for iPhone and iPod Touch. Not only MonoPhix turns your photos into monochromatic images and allows applying a tint to them, but it also features tools for opacity manipulation to create vintage-like desaturated effects.

To learn more, read our full review of MonoPhix for iPhone here.

MonoPhix and MonoPhix HD Free
iPad users will be glad to know that MonoPhix HD, the iPad version of Monophix, is also free to download right now!

MonoPhix Review

For most people, monochrome is just negation of color and thus a black and white picture is a mere desaturated version of something that in the original contained colors. For photographers specialized in monochrome though the question is not that simple. Black and white photography is first of all a matter of thinking in monochrome, carefully pondering before clicking the shutter button if monochrome is going to work or not with a certain subject. Not every photo that looks good in color looks also good in black and white and vice versa. Monochrome is a branch of photography that in the most accomplished instances follows rules that are slightly different than those of color photography.

Currently in its third version, with revamped appearance and improved features, MonoPhix ranks among the best monochrome conversion apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

Main Features

Full resolution available;
Adjust light/dark level and exposure;
Set alpha opacity and posterization effects;
2 types of vignetting on/off;
Grain generator;
Set tint (bw, sepia, antique, custom);
2 types of film simulation;
Retina display support.

Appotography Opinion

To use MonoPhix, all you have to do is to load a photo into the app. You are presented with several options to give you great control over your final outcome. By playing with sliders and switches you can handle several different aspects of the editing process. You can go for a vintage look, by adding intense noise (grain), vignetting and tint, or you can simply simulate slight desaturation making use of the monochrome alpha setting, which basically blends the monochrome version of the image with the original colored one. The interface works flawlessly and setting each parameter is very easy.

Monophix for iPhone

The black and white effects delivered by MonoPhix are rich and captivating. In photos where greatest importance must be given to contrast enhancement, MonoPhix truly gives its best and most convincing results.

Monophix for iPhone

What would be useful to have as an addition to an app as focused as MonoPhix on converting color to monochrome is an option for color sensitivity adjustment. MonoPhix already does its job pretty well. However, being able to work not only with parameters as exposure and light/dark balance is something photographers devoted to monochrome I am sure would appreciate. Unfortunately, not many apps to this moment offer this feature, but for more accurate control over black and white photography color sensitivity is fundamental.

Both for the quality of processing and for its user-friendly interface, MonoPhix 3 remains one of the best apps in its genre and a must have for users eager to make the most of their black and white photography.

Overall

Name: Monophix
Developer: UIC Phoenxsoftware
Compatibility: iPhone. iOS 3.0 or later.
Price: £0.59||$0.99||€0.79
Vote: 4/5