Google has released a new standalone Camera app offering keen Android photographers a range of new tools and features.
Free to download now in Google Play, Google Camera is available for phones and tablet devices running Android 4.4 KitKat, and will be coming to older versions soon.
The app offers a selection of new features which were previously only available on the company’s Nexus mobile devices, as Google looks to target customers using more advanced third-party apps..
Top of the list is a new Lens Blur feature, which allows you to create SLR-esque shots by emphasise a particular subject whilst blurring the background. The change in focus can also be changed after you’ve taken the photo, allowing you extra control over your images.
The new app also features an improved Panorama service, which lets you capture panoramic images in higher resolution, giving you more width and detail, as well as being able to interact with them as you would a Google Street View image.
Users will also be able to enjoy the Photo Sphere feature, which expands on the Panorama option to let users create 360-degree images, allowing you to include more of the sky or the sea in wide-angled photos.
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Google Camera also offers a new, cleaner interface, which Google says will ‘get out of your way’ whilst still capturing the maximum resolution of the scene, with no dropped pixels. The new app also includes an extra large capture button with increased sensitivity, meaning it is easier to use, and your eyes never lose sight of the subject.
"Today we’re launching Google Camera, a new app for your Android phone or tablet that makes it easy to take quick photos and videos. And being behind the lens just got more fun with new creative picture modes," the company said in a blog post announcing the launch.
"We’re just getting started, and in the months ahead we’ll make Google Camera available to more devices, helping make photography easier, faster and more fun," Google’s blog added.
