Cultured: Get Your Oggl On

The founder of Hipstography, Eric Rozen, takes us on a guided Oggl tour to make sure you get the most out of your Oggl experience :: On Oggl as @EricRozen 

Oggl is the latest addition to the Hipstamatic family, and it complements its parent-app, very well. It will also delight those who love to share on social networks. Before we dive in, I’ll point out that Oggl is designed around two key features: capturing and curating photos.

Capturing images, or the art of dealing with our neuroses

All Hipstamatic users will at some point have to cope with the same problem, which can even develop into full-blown neurosis: what, in a specific situation, is THE combo to use? Editing is not possible with Hipstamatic, as the filters (lens, film and flash) are applied when taking the photo.

So to overcome this limitation, the user will take the same shot several times but with different combinations, and afterwards select the best result. With more than 200,000 possibilities (28 lenses, 30 films, 10 flashes and two flash options), the user can lose their head and sink into an anxiety state! “Should I choose Tejas/Blanko, W40/Wonder or Mabel/Pistil? Or should I in fact opt for black and white film? Should I use the flash?”

But let’s get back to the subject — Oggl. The principle of this application is simple: you take a picture and a lens and film effect is applied — and an important distinction: You can edit the lens and film effect after the photo is taken.

The various lenses and films are the same as Hipstamatic, so you can find our 28 well- known lenses (Helga Viking, Lucifer VI, Loftus, John S, etc.) and of course our usual 30 films (BlacKeys SuperGrain, Pistil, Blanko Freedom13, etc.). It is also possible to get a preview of the effect before shooting the photo. This will help many breathe a sigh of relief!

Oggl is free and comes with 5 “Favorites” pre-loaded for situational shooting: Landscape, Food, Portrait, Nightlife and Sunset. For instance, the “Food” combo is the Loftus lens and DC film, a Hipstamatic fan classic.

To get more gear, Hipstamatic will charge $2.99 per quarter (or $9.99 per year) for access to the full catalog of lenses and films. Oggl also guarantees new gear each month.

The same chocolates, different packaging

In an interview with Ben Watts published on Hipstography, Ben told us: “Hipstamatic gives each lens, each pack a personality, comparing some effects to Polaroid 180 and 195 cameras. Instagram just throws names at them. (…) It’s that personality, and the number of possible combinations, that sets Hipstamatic apart. (…) Hipstamatic is like a box of chocolates — I like this one, I like that one with a nut in it, and that one’s a good toffee: there’s something for everyone.”

Oggl can therefore be compared to a new box of chocolates, just as delicious as those offered by Hipstamatic but…you share the chocolates differently.

Let’s play curator!

What is remarkable about Oggl is its rather innovative way of sharing photos. There is of course the classic sharing on the major social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, Tumblr and Flickr), but there is also an internal Oggl network for users to connect (follow each other), create and get inspired by each other’s photos.

As always with Hipstamatic, the design of Oggl is meticulous and each Oggl member can create their own profile. Each profile is divided into three parts: “Captured” includes your own shots, “Curated” unites the photos (by other users) that you have curated and “My Collection” is a combination of both.

Hipstamatic has really completely rethought the very concept of sharing and has adapted it to the concept of Hipstamatic combos. By way of example: you like another user’s photo and add it to your collection; by clicking on it, you can find the combination used (lens and film) and most importantly, shoot directly with this combo. It is simple and effective.

Where’s Hipstamatic Classic in all of this?

Hipstamatic announced on its blog: “Fret not, friends. Hipstamatic is here to stay.” I actually think that the two applications will coexist, because it all depends on the user. Personally, I love the unpredictability of Hipstamatic, and even if it is in fact a constraint, I like having to choose the combo to use before taking the photo.

That said, being a bit neurotic about finding the perfect combo, I often take the same picture 4, 5 or 6 times. Oggl can alleviate this neurosis.