10 awesome alternatives to Instagram

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Available On: iOS (Normally $1.99, on sale for $0.99)

The beautifully designed Camera+ app gives users more shooting options and better effects than they'll find with the native iOS Camera app. The app's area of expertise is in shooting the best photo possible, which it does with the aid of shooting options like the stabilizer, timer, burst mode, and separate exposure and focus points. Like Instagram, users can add borders and choose from a plethora of effects, which can be added to existing photos as well. Users can share their photos on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr, or e-mail them within the app.

Available On: Android and iOS (free)

Though there is a shooting mode, Adobe Photoshop Express 2.0 is more about touching up and enhancing images after they've been shot rather than adding extra shooting modes the way apps like Hipstamatic and Camera+ do. Adobe Photoshop Express features editing basics like cropping and exposure adjustment, as well as a number of impressive effects. Unfortunately, a few of the app's best features require an in-app upgrade purchase ($4.99). Though it doesn't offer the photo-based social network you get with Instagram, Photoshop Express does offer online galleries on Photoshop.com for any photos you edit with the app. You can also upload it to Facebook or TwitPic.

Available On: iOS and Android (free)

Streamzoo adds a social-gaming element to an otherwise ordinary Instagram-like photo-filtering app. Users can follow popular "#streams" with the use of a hashtag, and as their photos become more popular, they earn badges and compete against others. Streamzoo offers 14 filters, including Lomo, C-41, Toy Hipster, Old School, Masterpiece, and Sunshine; 15 borders, including Old Vignette, Viewfinder, Dusty, Retro, and Film; and six crop shapes. Users can share their photos on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr, and can add long item descriptions—divided into a title and a body—to use Streamzoo for micro- and photo-blogging.

Available On: Android (free)

Lightbox is more than just another filter app; it's also a social network. Users can share pictures to sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Foursquare, but the unique thing about Lightbox is that it pulls in photos from all of these social networks to display a constantly-updating stream of 200 of your friends' photos. These photos will also be accessible whether you have a network connection or not. Users can also have their own Lightbox webpage under the URL of "Username.lightbox.com." Here, photos you mark as public will be displayed for anyone to see, like, comment on, and share with other apps. Lightbox has 17 filters, including Fisheye, 8-bit, Lomo, Ansel, and Retro, and also lets you do basic editing like cropping, rotating, and mirroring.

Available On: Android and iOS (free)

The popular social photo site Flickr offers a mobile version which lets you shoot, upload, and geotag your photos. The app has an easy-to-use interface and acts as a simple tool for storing photos you shoot on your phone in the cloud. Additionally, the Flickr app lets you apply a few filters and a caption, and also lets you share with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or e-mail. It doesn't have as many editing bells and whistles as some of the other Instagram alternatives, but if you're looking for a simple photo-sharing app that offers basic photo enhancements, this is the app for you.

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