Instagram or tadaa?

It seems that the big news of the day is Facebook's purchase of Instagram. There are many out there bemoaning this decision and who look to it as the death of their beloved photo sharing community. Many are looking around to find alternatives and I was lead to one today called "tadaa". It is similar to Instagram in that it is also a community in which you can upload your photo's and also use it for post production on your images before doing so. It is designed by a German based company and has produced and English version that is available on iTunes. As such it abides by German copyright and privacy laws. At first glance all seems to be in order and it looks like another fine app and community.

So what are my impressions after a first day of use? It has a very slick and clean design and look. As well the amount of filters and ways to massage ones photographs are nicer then Instagram. It is not as intuitive and since there are no instructions, it does take some time to get the feel of the app and how it is layed out. There does appear to be a lag time in when you post your photo's and to when it actually shows to your status as well as when you decide to follow someone. At this time you can only share your posts to Facebook and Twitter and not to Flickr, Tumblr, Posterous and Foursquare. The one real advantage that I do see in "tadaa" is that you are not limited to the square format that Instagram has. Not that this ever really bothered me as I am comfortable shooting square having worked with Hassleblad and twin lens reflex cameras for many years.

Now as many people look to jump ship fearing Facebooks possible destruction of Instagram do I think this is a viable alternative. Yes indeed, as it grows I can see tadaa becoming just as vibrant as Instagram. Will I stop shooting and posting to Instagram, No. In fact I see me using them as two distinct entities and I will shoot different images for each. Those who read my blog will get to see both. If you are a Facebook friend you will see each as well. If one is only following me on either of the formats, you will only see the images created for that app. I will still be doing my Instagram 366 project and am now adding what I call "tadaa Today" which will be at lest on photo specifically on tadaa.

As to my thoughts on Facebook's purchase of Instagram, good for both parties. The Instagram people are being rewarded for creating a wonderful app and community and Facebook will only make it easier to share and grow it. As to those who are upset about this I ask you, have you ever shared your Instagram images on Facebook? Do you have a Facebook page and following. If you have and do then chill out, do you think they would pay a Billion dollars for it and then run it over if they don't have anything better. Also with more money maybe we can see some more improvements to Instagram such as a greater selection of frames, filters and ways to enhance our images. I rarely post an image to Instagram with out first massaging it in Snapseed. It is my favorite app to get the look I want and then I will use RealCamera+, PhotoToaster, CameraAwsome, Pictureshow or others to get the final result I like before sharing it with the Instagram community. I may do this as well with tadaa as I learn it's strengths and weaknesses. So maybe we will see some real improvements as a result of this partnership.

Now as for today's Images posted here, the first is my Instagram 366 for today. The four that follow are the start of my "Tadaa Today". Hope you enjoy.