Superfish Distortion Correction
One of our newest features is the ability to apply Distortion Correction to photos captured with the Superfish lens. Before diving in to learn how to use this feature, let's go over what this feature is all about.
Lens Distortion
If you've used our Superfish Lens before, you've probably noticed that "fish-eye" or "barrel" effect in your images, with lines being curved towards the edges. In basic terms, lens distortion is when a lens sees curvy lines when there should be straight lines.
While different types of lenses have different amounts and types of distortion, generally you get more distortion the wider a lens is. This happens because the lens is trying to squeeze a really wide field of view onto a sensor that doesn't quite match that size. With wide lenses, you get what is called Barrel Distortion where the lines curve outwards.
Examples of distortion with the Superfish Lens:
Is Lens Distortion bad?
Straight lines appearing as curved lines through the lens isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, the photographers who took those images above chose to leave the lines curved. It creates a distinct and unique feel that the images wouldn't have without the distortion. Some people may say that using the Superfish Lens for portraits is a no-no because it distorts a person's face or body -- again, there is no right or wrong answer this because art and creativity is limitless! You should experiment with and see what suits your personal taste.
If you find that you'd prefer to have minimal distortion in your images, you can apply Distortion Correction.
What is Distortion Correction?
Distortion Correction is an adjustment that alters the pixels of the image to straighten out lines and reduce the "fish-eye" or "barrel" effect in the image. In basic terms, you can say that it is flattening out the image to have less of a dynamic effect. Usually you would do something like this after capturing your image in a photo editor such as Lightroom. Don't worry about having to do that anymore, since we've decided to bring Distortion Correction for the Moment Superfish Lens to the Moment app!
How do I use Distortion Correction in the app?
We offer the ability to adjust Distortion Correction both in the viewfinder and in the gallery.*
How to use Distortion Correction in the Camera (iPhone only)
1. Select the Superfish Lens from the lens picker (top button of the hardware controls on the right side of the screen).
Don't have a Superfish Lens? Pick one up here today.
2. Use the slider of the Distortion Control in the bottom toolbar to adjust the amount of correction in the viewfinder. (make sure you are not shooting in RAW)
How to use Distortion Correction in the Gallery
1. Open up a photo (non-RAW) that you'd like to apply Distortion Correction to.
2. Tap on the Distortion Edit button to open up the editing view.
3. Adjust the amount of correction using the Distortion Control slider.
4. When you're done, tapping the 'Done' button will bring up a menu to choose how to save your image:
- Save as Copy - the original image will be left as it was before the edits, and a new image with the distortion correction applied will be saved to your gallery.
- Modify Original - the distortion correction will be applied to the original image file, but you can always go back to the editing view to adjust the value or reset it to 0.0.
Now you're all ready to try out the Distortion Correction feature for your Superfish Lens. Go out and start shooting in the Moment App!
*Incompatibilities:
- Distortion Correction is not compatible with videos or RAW images.
- On the iPad, you cannot adjust the Distortion Correction in the viewfinder, but can in the gallery.