Camera Awesome is now iPad native

I liked Camera Awesome for iPhone (free) when I tested it last spring. It's a feature-rich app that helps you compose an excellent shot and then edit your image to perfection.

Camera Awesome is now universal and ready for the iPad. If you already have the iPhone version, look for it to show up on your iPad. I never thought much of the iPad as a camera platform, but I've learned over time that many people do use it as a camera, and appreciate the larger display for the viewfinder and when editing.

The app presents several guides while you compose your shot, including moveable focus and exposure points. It also helps you get the horizon level, and offers overlays to assist in the overall composition of your image. There is also a helpful slow and fast burst mode for capturing action, as well as selectable timers for triggering the photo.

Once the picture is taken, you get quite a few editing tools, including a button called "awesomize" which adjusts white balance, color saturation and curves to give you a pleasing image with just a tap. There are some basic filters, cropping tools and some frames.

The app also supports video.

If you want more from the app, there are in-app purchases. Those purchases can add presets and filters. If you want them all, it's a US$10 toll.

Pictures can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, SmugMug (the creator of the app), Picasa, Photobucket and Flickr.

Camera Awesome is a very capable app, even at the free level. SmugMug sees it as a portal to the many other services it offers, like printing and sharing, but you can certainly use it as a standalone app.

Having this app finally be universal is most welcome. It's worth a download. The app requires iOS 5 or greater.