StepCase’s SteadyCam Premium is similar to other apps we’ve reviewed such as Sudobility’s Night Camera. What these apps do is to rely on the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer to gauge when you’re holding the iPhone steady so you can take sharper pictures in low light.

Both feature the ability to vary the amount of time in seconds you have to steady the camera after you trigger the shutter; a preview mode so you can determine whether to discard the image or save it to your camera roll; and a full-screen shutter, an option to press anywhere on the screen instead of the camera icon to trigger the shutter. The latter feature makes taking self portraits much easier.

Both are priced at $0.99. However, Stepcase says its price is a limited-time, introductory offer.

I tried both apps side-by-side and along with the iPhone in its native mode, and I didn’t see any difference in clarity among the three. The key is to hold the camera as steady as possible in low-light situations. I think every amateur photographer realizes this, but I could be wrong.

I did notice with both apps a slight color shift. The colors in the images I took with both apps were a bit warmer, which I found more pleasing than the iPhone-only images, which were mildly cooler (more blue, in other words).

The picture you see here was taken with SteadyCam in a dimly light room.

The real advantages both these apps have over the iPhone’s camera mode is the ability to review the photo before deciding whether to keep or discard it and the “tap anywhere on the screen” shutter trigger.

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category: Photography, Worthwhile Apps