VSCO Cam for Android leaves beta, available to all

In July, VSCO announced that it was porting its popular VSCO Cam iPhone app to Android, and started allowing people into the beta for the new version. Now, more than four months later, the app has finally been officially released and is available as a free download for folks with Android 4.0+.

While the camera app side of VSCO Cam has never been anything special, what has really distinguished it from other photo filtering and sharing apps is the combination of excellently designed filters, and a variety of editing tools. The app ships with a handful of basic filters for free, which should do you for most situations, but with many more available as independent packs through in-app purchases. In fact, to celebrate the Android app, VSCO is offering a Launch Bundle of 38 presets for $5.99 (valid on the iPhone, too).

VSCO (the Visual Supply Company) made its name by producing plugin packs for the Lightroom, where it gained a cult following for producing excellent film reproductions. It's these same skills that have been brought to bear in the mobile app. And if you don't feel like paying for the preset filters, you can do plenty with the manual editing controls, and there are frequently free filters released as part of collaborations with fashion labels. Currently, there are collaborations available with Street Etiquette and Levi's.

For a look at the photos being made with VSCO Cam, check out the company's own sharing system, the VSCO Grid.