8mm Vintage Camera – App Review

With the immense popularity of retro-analog iPhone photo apps such Hipstamatic, and the rising prominence of photo sharing service Instagram, it was only a matter of time before an iOS developer stepped up and put all of those hip, color tinted and light leak plagued stills into motion. Developer Nexvio Inc. has done precisely this with its tremendous 8mm Vintage Camera app for iPhone.

Building off both the success and aesthetic of camera apps such as CameraBag, TiltShift Generator and the aforementioned Hipstamatic, 8mm adds a multitude of retro filters to recorded videos—yielding surprisingly convincing results. The app includes a versatile collection of built-in lenses and films which can be mixed and matched at will to lend videos an old school flair. The five included lenses range from Flickering Frame and Light Leak, to Color Fringing and more. Though these simulated lenses accurately emulate many of the flaws—and resulting nostalgia—of bygone A/V equipment, the Film effects lend the app its biggest appeal. The app includes five films in total, all from different time periods. Among them are the grainy ’1920,’ discolored and dusty ‘70s’ and Super 8-esque ‘XPro.’ Films and lenses can be coupled to create up to 25 unique effects. Users can further indulge their inner auteurs with additional effects such as tap to focus/adjust exposure, frame jitter and displacement and projector sound effects—though the latter two leave a bit to be desired in the realism department.

While some users have knocked the app for omitting the HD capabilities of iPhone 4, it’s important to remember that HD video was a distant dream in all of the eras the app’s effects are modeled after. Many of the app’s filters are purposefully low resolution in order to accurately commemorate their analog ancestors. While the app does not receive updates as frequently as some of its still image cousins and lacks additional purchasable content, it is still a worthy investment at a paltry $1.99.

Download 8mm here.

Here’s a sample video I shot at the Venice Beach Skatepark: