Review : Photastic HD for iPad

Photography on the iPad is a sore subject for some. Many believe it was a huge oversight to not include a camera on the iPad, I personally am not with that line of thinking (except perhaps a front facing camera), I just don’t see using something the size of iPad for taking pictures.

With that said, iPad is still becoming a home for photos.  With good reason.  There is plenty of storage, and now plenty of apps to edit photos and make them look the way you want.  Add in the ability to use your iPad as a great digital frame when storing, and the fact that the photos app is a great way to share, and of course you find people using the iPad as their primary photo display tool.

But what about fun with your photos?  While having the ability to edit and make them look “professional” is nice, sometimes it’s also about having fun.  That’s where Photastic HD ($.99) by iBeams comes in.

Photastic HD is a warping and destruction of photos app, that allows you to import photos from your iPad and manipulate them in fun and interesting ways.

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The app allows you to shatter, liquify, and distort images turning them from the beautiful moments you captured into thousands of pieces or a swirled mess.  When you are ready for them to reform, you can watch them snap back into their original position.  If the size of the iPad screen isn’t quite good enough, users can share and involve the whole family as VGA output is available.  Want to share your devastation with friends? No problem. The application allows you to capture your destruction in case you want to send it to a few of your unsuspecting friends.

Really the only place the app falters is with a limited amount of options for your manipulations.  While each of the choices can be changed and altered to create a very custom look, it would be nice to see some additions in future updates, which I’m told are on the way!

While it’s probably not something professional photographers are going to use, those who just like to have fun with images may find it worth their time.  At $.99, it’s priced just right.