What is Hipstamatic?

Hipstamatic is a photo app developed by Synthetic in 2010 that rose to popularity among iPhone photographers for its ability to make digital photos look like they were taken with vintage analog cameras. The app applies digital lenses, films, and flashes to images to give them a retro, distressed aesthetic.

Some of the features that make Hipstamatic stand out include:

• Vintage Camera Body Options - Choose a vintage camera body like the Kodak Blackbird or Polaroid OneStep to frame your photos.
• Swappable Lenses - Apply colored or specialty lenses as if you were changing actual glass lenses on an old film camera.
• Analog Films - Choose different faux film types like Kodak Portra or Polaroid to add grain, fade, or color shifts.
• Flashes - Control the flash intensity and color from your vintage camera’s flashbulb.
• No Editing After Capture - Photos must be edited with filters before capturing, making each image feel authentic to old school film cameras.

While newer camera apps like Instagram have more features, Hipstamatic stands out for its focus on analog photography and creating images that feel captured in vintage style. Its constraint-based approach gives it an artistic appeal and cult following among photographers seeking to make digital look like beloved analog.

Official Links