The Later Cam App Turns Your Smartphone into a Disposable Camera
Later Cam is a new app that is designed to bring the idea of retro analog photography to the smartphone by featuring a disposable camera interface that lets users take 27 pictures and then delivers prints of those one-take photos back to them.
Later Cam bears similarities to the photo-sharing app Dispo, which had a similar goal rooted in the nostalgia of an analog camera. The app exploded in popularity based on its main feature, which only let users see the photos they took 24 hours after. Last year, Dispo went through some troubles as its founder David Dobrik left the company amid controversy.
Later Cam goes one step further than Dispo by not allowing users to preview the images and instead offers the option to send the photos out for “development” — effectively turning a user’s smartphone into a modern-day disposable camera but without the waste.
According to TechCrunch, users can pick a “disposable camera” style in the Later Cam app through the “Digital Disposable” mode, then take up to 27 photos.
Like an old-school disposable camera, the user does not get to see previews of the pictures after taking them and the app does not feature any editing software or the option for do-overs.
However, users do have the option to use the old-school or full-screen viewfinder when shooting photos and can switch between different lenses or turn the flash on and off.
Users can also invite their friends through the “party cam” feature by sending them a link to the shared camera. Friends can install the app through that link and take photos of an event with a collective limit of 27 photos.
As users snap photos, the Later Cam app will display the number of photos the user has left through a counter on the camera interface, similar to what a disposable camera would offer.
Users cannot see the “developed” digital images until three days after the the app’s camera is “full” and they have taken all 27 photos. People can opt to use the “develop early” option to see the photos before they finish the reel, but then they will lose the unused slots in that camera.
Paying users can get the photos they like printed and shipped to their homes within a week. Later Cam charges $3.99 for five photos, $5.99 for 10, $8.99 for 17 and $12.99 to have all 27 printed, which is competitively priced compared to actual disposable camera rates today.
The service is also available as a wedding package where guests can snap up to 270 photos for $149.
In a promo video, Later Cam is described as “a new app that brings old-school disposable camera right onto your phone, transporting you back to similar times before social media and instant gratification.”
“Later Cam is just a like a real film camera except it’s on your phone and always with you,” the company adds in the video.
Image credits: Later Cam.
