The German startup behind the Tadaa iOS photo-sharing and editing app, which has built up a three million-strong user-base, have launched a new flavour of photo app: Tadaa 3D lets you add 3D layers to your photos before sharing them to a dedicated network where everyone can appreciate each others’ wobbly handiwork.
Browsing the Tadaa 3D photo-sharing network feels a bit like looking at Instagram after you’ve had one too many drinks and thinking you’ve fired up Vine instead. It’s certainly blurring one more line between photo- and video-sharing apps. Whether there’s huge appetite for a mildly sea-sick photo-sharing network remains to be seen, however. (That said, everyone loves animated GIFs.)
The app features a 3D editor (pictured below), with tools allowing you to mask portions of a photo to create the 3D effect. The best results appear to be on subjects that are pretty straightforward to mask with your finger, and which are snapped against a strongly contrasting background. There is an auto-detect feature when masking and erasing to help create an accurate mask but it’s by no means perfect so expect to have to spend a bit of time cleaning up your subject.
Once you’ve masked your cat — or whatever — it’s just a case of hitting ‘Done’ and the app generates the 3D level. Prior to upload you can also do a spot more photo-editing if you desire, with the app offering a range of Instagram-style filters, plus brightness, contrast and saturation adjustments, and a crop feature.
Saved Tadaa 3D photos can be uploaded to its public network where others users can comment, like and share the shots to other social networks. The 3D effect can be summed up as a slight wobble, with the masked subject sliding around over the static, lightly blurred background.
On mobile the wobble occurs when you tilt your device, but if sharing to the web Tadaa 3D shots animate automatically. Don’t expect a great deal of subtlety from the results, but it’s possible to produce something that looks pretty polished if you take a bit of time.
You could imagine brand marketing departments getting quite excited by the possibilities. If they aren’t already too busy Vining, Instagramming and creating animated GIFs of their products, that is…
The Tadaa 3D app is priced at $3.99/€3.59.