The new VSCO Cam photo app is out and it’s really great. I still have to adjust a bit to the new user interface, which is possibly even more minimalist than the old VSCO Cam app’s, but it is nonetheless one of the most responsive photo apps I’ve tried (even on a slightly older device such as my iPhone 4). Not to mention the new default filters, and the bonus VSCO granted to all those who purchased the first VSCO Cam — the possibility of freely importing all the 10 default (“legacy”) filters of the original VSCO Cam into the new version. 

As I was taking some test shots to try the new VSCO Cam and the new filters, I noticed something strange with the Temperature tool. This editing tool has always been one of my favourites, especially with black & white filters, because it can ‘warm’ the photo in a very pleasant way (see this photo I took in March). However, it seems to be behaving differently — and inconsistently — in the new VSCO Cam. I’ll try to explain the issue the best I can.

Let’s consider this photo (sorry for the dull subject):

This was taken with the original VSCO Cam, and then I applied the black & white ‘02’ filter. In the original VSCO Cam app, if I select the Temperature tool and set it at its maximum value, I get this result:

Which, to me, is the intended result: the photo gets a warm tint. (It’s not a great photo, but you get the idea.)

Now, here’s where things get weird with the new VSCO Cam. If I take the same shot with the new VSCO Cam, apply the same ‘02’ legacy filter, and then set the Temperature tool at its maximum value, I get this:

Basically, it’s like increasing the image brightness, but no warm tint is applied. This only happens with photos taken with the new version of VSCO Cam. Instead, if I import any photo into the new VSCO Cam and then edit it with the Temperature tool, the tool behaves exactly like in the original VSCO Cam (i.e. the warm tint appears as expected). I believe this to be a little bug, and I intend to forward this post to VSCO Support to see what they make of it.

It would be interesting to see whether this bug affects only older devices. If you have an iPhone 4S or 5, and want to reproduce the process described above to see if it happens to you as well, get in touch with me and let me know. Thanks!