FocusTwist: boost your iPhone photography with refocusable photos

FocusTwist 1.0 for iOS (iPhone screenstot 004)

There is no such thing as too many photography apps. Being an avid iPhone photography fan, I’ve found that every single photography app I downloaded from the App Store – and boy did I download ton of these – serves a slightly different purpose, letting me go the extra mile adding something unique to my photos.

Enter FocusTwist, a new iPhone application from Arqball which gives you ability to capture your snaps now and focus later. The software achieves refocusable photography by taking several images rapidly, each at a different focus setting.

The clever software then combines those snaps into a single image that can be posted online for your friends to interactively refocus later…

To start capturing, just tap on a desired foreground object. The capture process takes a few seconds. The program lets you review the multiple images captured so you can define your focus points. From there, the resulting data goes up into the cloud where the actual focus shifting is being carried out.

FocusTwist 1.0 for iOS (iPhone screenstot 002)

Developers caution users to hold their device three to five inches away from the foreground object for optimal results. In a similar fashion, your background object should be something else at least five or more inches further away.

You should also try to keep the device and everything in the scene still during capture. Your best option is a tripod for your iPhone. Or, you could lay the device onto a flat surface to minimize shaking.

FocusTwist 1.0 for iOS (iPhone screenstot 003)

After taking a refocusable image, you can share it on Twitter.

People clicking the source link will be taken to a special web page containing what they call a ‘twist,’ basically the image that can be interacted with by clicking on different parts to refocus.

Needles to say, scenes with multiple elements will yield best results – the stuff like food and toys, buildings and nature and other scene types with pronounced depth.

The app also has a feed of recent twists taken by other users and you can have your twist considered for the feed by applying the #focustwist tag when sharing on Twitter.

Here, check out the promo video.

To learn more about the app, visit the official web page where you can also interact with a few example twists.

FocusTwist will run you two bucks a pop for your iPhone and iPod touch devices. Unfortunately, iPads are not supported natively at this stage.