Perfectly Clear ($3), from Athentech, recently launched the upgraded version 4.0 of its namesake photo app for Android. The company designed it to maximize what you can do with an Android smartphone camera – going beyond what the native camera offers. The app has been updated with several new features that enhance photo-capture performance with Android devices, particularly those running Android 5.0 Lollipop.
Here’s what’s new. There are several “Beautify” auto-correct options designed to improve the way people look into photos, including Blemish Removal, Face Slimming, Dark Circle Removal, Shine Removal, eye and skin enhancements, and Catchlight (add sparkles to a person’s eyes). Using highly sophisticated algorithms in its software, Perfectly Clear says it applies the right amount of correction based on gender-, age-, and facial-detection. Red-eyes are also automatically removed.
The redesigned user interface has a cleaner look. A quick-correct mode applies 20 corrections in one tap, as well as a photo browser that lets you view and edit photos within the app.
Perfectly Clear claims version 4 allows for 2x faster processing with Android. And if you’re carrying a device running Android 5.0 Lollipop, you get features common to high-end cameras: full-resolution high-speed burst mode, HDR (high dynamic range) of fast-moving subjects, exposure compensation, white balance, and full-resolution panoramas with Nexus 6 and 9 devices.
The high-speed HDR is promising. Perfectly Clear’s HDR feature combines two photos at different exposures to create a better looking image, but the company says it can’t normally handle action shots, which result in images with some ghosting. With phones running Lollipop, Perfectly Clear says HDR in-between shots have sped up to 0.05 seconds. This faster capture helps to eliminate said ghosting.
The app also supports Amazon Cloud Drive. You can open any photo stored in the cloud, and apply the correction features before resaving them.
Perfectly Clear is also available for iOS.
