With more than 100 million users, the photo sharing behemoth Photobucket is more than slightly a success and rightly so for many reasons. Fresh off its 2011 Appy Award for “Best Photography App” for its Android port of its Photobucket mobile companion, the company isn’t resting on its laurels. Available today from Photobucket is Snapbucket, its newest venture that is much more than just a photo filter app.
Snapbucket, in my opinion, is the next-generation of photo sharing apps. Sure, there are a lot of similarities such as applying filters, effects, vignettes and frames as well as sharing with your friends via Facebook, Twitter and email, but what sets Snapbucket apart from other hipster photo apps is one feature that I and probably many others have been longing for – user generated filters.
Let the custom filter revolution begin. With about 8,000 iterations of possible custom filters according to an interview with Photobucket’s CEO Tom Munro, no longer do we have to use the same old eight or 10 standard filters or port from one app to the next. Thanks to Snapbucket’s ingenious plot, you’re now able to apply a number of filters, effects, frames, vignettes, etc. and if you like it, get this, you can save if as a new filter.
For we photo enthusiasts, this is where we’ve been stuck, in the midst of a photo sharing conundrum. On one hand, there are great photo sharing apps and there are outstanding photo editing apps, but never has there been one app that combined both aspects as easily as Snapbucket.
As for using Snapbucket, as the name implies, it is a snap. Download the app, launch the app and start exploring your creativity. Munro’s primary goal with the new app was enticing your creative juices into exploring the different filter combos and sharing it with the world. And the more you explore, the more you’re rewarded with new filters.
The app is easily linked to your Photobucket account and both the original and altered images are saved automatically. This type of non-destructive edit is very useful if say you want to use the same photo with a different set of edits.
In conclusion, Snapbucket is seriously the next-generation of apps — think user customization — and I like what I see. Even better is the fact that Munro mentioned that they have more up their sleeve. Upcoming features along with an almost endless combination of user-generated sets make this a must download app so much so that you might just say goodbye to Instagram.
