vivien discourage: iOS 7 vs. Instagram vs. Google+ vs. Twitter: Black & White photo filter comparison

Thursday, July 4, 2013

iOS 7 vs. Instagram vs. Google+ vs. Twitter: Black & White photo filter comparison

I recently previewed the new Camera app Apple will be releasing alongside iOS 7 this fall, and one of the things that stood out for me the most was not so much the inclusion of built-in photo filters - everyone seems to be adding those these days - but the subtly and restraint shown in which filters Apple chose to include. Not only aren't there any tilt-shifts, frames, borders, or vignettes, but there's nothing overly aggressive about Apple's selection in any way. How does that compare to current king of photo sharing, Instagram, and to the other big social photo sharing services, Google+ and Twitter?

There's such a range it makes things tricky, so to begin with, I'm going to stick to black and white filters using what Apple's shown off so far on Apple.com, and the photo they've shown it off with. I'm not going to look at color filters yet, or at pro-level apps like VSCOCAM or Camera+. I am going to include Camera Noir both because it focuses on just the black and white filter, and because that filter is a lot like the late, lamented Gotham filter of Instagram past.

Here's what the black and white filters looks like from, in order, iOS 7 Camera, Instagram, Google+, Twitter, and Camera Noir:

And here's the same comparison with the interface chrome removed, again, iOS 7 Camera, Instagram, Google+, Twitter, and Camera Noir:

Since iOS 7 is still in beta, Apple could still change the way the Camera filters work and look before final release this fall. Never-the-less, it's interesting to see the direction they've taken, and perhaps even more so to see the various approaches to black and white filters already implemented in the apps we currently use every day.

Which set of photo filters is your go-to now, and how do you like what Apple's shown of iOS 7 filters so far?