FAQ

Below are answers to frequently asked questions about OSnap!. If you have an idea for a question that you think should appear here, don't hesitate to get in touch with us.

Why review OSnap! in the App Store?

By leaving a positive review in the App Store, you help make OSnap! better! OSnap! is an independent project and your support is both critical to the app's success and immensely appreciated! Go hit 5 stars in the App Store! Okay, we're done begging!

OSnap! vs. OSnap! Pro?

With OSnap! Pro you get the following important additional features:

• Shoot in HD: 1080p, 4K, Max Photo Resolution
• Unlimited projects
• Ability to saved locked camera settings between sessions
• No watermark in videos
• Add timestamps to projects

My landscape photos appear small on playback. Why?

If your project's orientation is set to 'Portrait' your landscape photos will be squeezed and letterboxed in order to fit (ditto for portrait photos in a 'Landscape' project). You can adjust the orientation of your OSnap! project by navigating to your project's settings and locating General > Orientation and choosing 'Landscape'.

Why do I receive an error when attempting to export photos or videos to my iOS Photos app?

The vast majority of errors that occur when attempting to export content to the iOS Photos app are caused by permissions settings. In most cases OSnap! will recognize this problem and alert you to the need to adjust your settings; once in a while, however, the error information returned can be nonspecific or misleading. If you are encountering errors when attempting to export content, please insure that OSnap! has proper permissions (iOS > Settings > Privacy > Photos > OSnap!).

How do I import photos?

Please be aware that the Photo Import feature requires a one time In-App purchase of $2.99. To purchase Photo Import: from the OSnap! home screen tap the Shopping Cart button in the upper left and then choose Photo Import.

Once the In-App purchase is complete, the Photo Import option will appear. There are two different spots in OSnap! where you can import photos:

1. On the project summary screen of an empty OSnap! project (i.e., before the project contains any photos)
   
2. On the project Frames screen

Please see the screenshot below for illustration (red circles indicate Photo Import button).

How can I import photos from Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.?

Make sure that you have your chosen external cloud service (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) installed on your iOS device. Navigate to any screen that allows you to import photos, tap the import button, and then choose "Import JPGs From Other Sources". From the Browse screen, ensure that your cloud service is enabled by tapping the Menu icon (a circle with three dots in the upper right) and choosing 'Edit'.

I am encountering problems or bugs when attempting to import photos from Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. Do you have any tips?

Importing photos using 3rd party extensions such as Google Drive, Dropbox and others can sometimes result in bugs or issues such as the photos failing to import or the UI becoming unresponsive, particularly when attempting to import a large number of photos at once. Unfortunately, these extensions are created by 3rd party developers and are outside of the control of OSnap! (The Dropbox extension in particular is notoriously buggy). If you encounter issues, following are some tips and workarounds:

• Do Not Cancel the Import: Resist canceling the import operation before it has finished. Some extensions do not display progress indicators and may be in the process of downloading your photos from the cloud; depending on the extension, the UI can sometimes look as if nothing is happening. Give it time. Canceling in the middle can cause hangups and make the extension unusable afterwards.
• Import Smaller Batches of Photos: Selecting a very large number of photos, especially when the photos have not yet been downloaded directly to the device (i.e. they are stored in a cloud service with only the file icons being displayed), can result in failures. Try importing a series of smaller batches of photos, one after another.
• Pre-Download Photos to the Device: Try opening the native app that supplies the extension (e.g. the Dropbox app if you are using the Dropbox extension), locating the photos and choosing "make available offline" or the equivalent. Then, once all of the photos have downloaded, return to OSnap! and attempt to import the photos again.
• Reinstall the App or Restart the iOS Device: If the extension has become unresponsive, try uninstalling and reinstalling the iOS app associated with the extension. As an example, if the Dropbox extension has become unresponsive, try uninstalling and reinstalling the Dropbox app (which will uninstall/reinstall the extension). Alternatively, you can try restarting the iOS device which will also often work.
• Use iCloud Drive: If all else fails, try using Apple's iCloud Drive to store and import your photos. Unsurprisingly, Apple's very own extension seems to be the most reliable.

How can I trigger photo captures without touching the device?

One way you can do this is to enable OSnap! Listening Mode by tapping the Sound icon on the toolbar of the OSnap! camera screen. Once Listening Mode is enabled, OSnap! will snap a photo anytime you make a loud sound (e.g, clapping your hands). Another great method for triggering photos without touching the device is to use a pair of headphones with volume controls attached to the wire; plug the headphones into your device and use the volume+ button to capture photos.

Additionally, if you are using OSnap! Pro 2 you can do either of the following:

Voice Commands: From the camera screen tap the Sound icon on the toolbar and choose 'Use Voice Commands' which will initiate a display with instructions. You can then speak commands aloud such as 'Snap Photo' and 'Start Timer' to control OSnap! using your voice.

OSnap! WiFi Assistant: Using OSnap! WiFi Assistant, activate Live Photo Capture and then use the 'Snap Photo' button in WiFi Assistant to capture photos.

How can I turn the shutter sound off when I am taking photos?

iPhones have a mute switch on the side of the device that you can use to silence the shutter sound while taking pictures. Recent iPad models can be muted by swiping down to access the control panel. Unfortunately, iPods lack a convenient method to mute the device; you can, however, achieve the same effect by plugging headphones into your device. Some countries do not allow the shutter sound to be silenced when taking photos; in these cases none of the above solutions will work. Programmatically silencing the shutter sounds is not allowed by Apple.

How can I capture Photo Bursts?

Photo Burst is a new feature available in OSnap! Pro 2. Make sure Photo Burst is enabled (OSnap! Project Settings > Photo Capture > Photo Burst Enabled). From the camera screen press and hold the capture button; OSnap! will begin a continuous photo burst until the button is released. Please note, all photos captured with a Photo Burst will be captured with Photo Quality Priority set to 'Speed'.

How do I use OSnap! WiFi Assistant?

In OSnap!, navigate to your project settings and then choose WiFi Assistant > Transfer Pics & Videos via Wifi. Follow the instructions from there. Please be aware that OSnap! WiFi Assistant requires a one time In-App purchase of $3.99.

Where can I download the OSnap! WiFi Assistant?

Download it here.

Why won't the OSnap! WiFi Assistant connect to OSnap! on my iOS device?

If you have double checked, tripled checked and checked again that you have entered your OSnap! Connection ID exactly as it appears on your iOS device, then the possibility exists that it could be an issue with your WiFi network. Some home WiFi routers employ Access Point (AP) isolation by default, also known as "client isolation". AP isolation disallows connected devices from 'seeing' each other on the network. You can read more about AP isolation here. AP isolation must be disabled on your wireless router in order for OSnap! WiFi Assistant to function.

The photos I downloaded using OSnap! WiFi Assistant have incorrect orientation on my Windows PC. Why?

Don't panic, the embedded EXIF orientation of the photos is correct. Some older versions of Windows do not honor embedded EXIF orientation data in JPEG files and therefore photos can appear to be rotated incorrectly. If you open and view the same photos using most image viewing/editing software (e.g. Photoshop) you will see the photo orientation is actually correct. You can read more about Microsoft's decision to exclude JPEG data on this Microsoft Community thread.

What resolution will OSnap! render my final video at?

Rendered video resolution is dictated by the FIRST image in the sequence. If you are rendering video from a project that contains many different photos of varying resolutions, make sure that the FIRST photo in the sequence is high resolution in order to achieve a correspondingly high resolution video. OSnap! will always render videos at the maximum possible resolution given your device capabilities, but will not render at a higher resolution than the FIRST photo in the sequence. Maximum resolution varies depending on the device you are using. Below is a table containing max OSnap! video resolutions for common iOS devices:

How can I move my existing OSnap! projects to a new device?

If you have just purchased a new iOS device and are using Apple's regular migration process to move your data from your old device to the new device, all of the projects and data in OSnap! should be transferred without issue. Having said that, there may be times when you are in a different situation and want to move your OSnap! data to a different device. Follow these steps to do so:

1. On the original device, export all of your project photos to Apple Photos. Beforehand, select Create Albums when Exporting in your project's settings if you want to automatically create albums to keep your photos separate between projects.
2. On the new device, download OSnap! from the App Store and restore any In-App purchases you may have made.
3. On the new device, recreate all of your original OSnap! projects with the same settings you had before. You can modify project settings at any time, so you can do that part at the end if you like.
4. Import the photos you originally exported in Step 1. above back into each of your newly created OSnap! projects.

I keep receiving a Warning: "A camera error has occurred. This has likely resulted from a timer interval that is faster than your device camera can handle." What Can I Do?

OSnap! captures high resolution camera generated still photos (not video frame captures like many other apps with similar functionality). Although this creates high quality images, it can also put a heavy load on the camera hardware of your device during rapid capture sessions. Following are some fixes, each of which in isolation will probably remedy the issue:

1. Slow down your camera Timer Interval (e.g. if your interval is 0.25 seconds, make it 0.5 or 0.75)
2. Choose a lower shooting Resolution (e.g. if you are shooting in 4K, try choosing 1080p instead)
3. If you are using the camera flash and absolutely need it, choose Torch instead
4. If you are using OSnap! Pro 2 and shooting in RAW or Apple ProRAW, choose a different Capture Format
5. If you are using OSnap! Pro 2 change your Photo Quality Priority to 'Speed'.

Why does OSnap! suspend photo shoots and other operations when the battery level reaches 5%?

OSnap! uses a local database to keep track of all of the information in your OSnap! projects. Although unlikely, attempting to write to that database in the middle of a device battery failure could potentially result in catastrophic corruption and a complete loss of information, photos and videos. Because users can spend months and even years working on their OSnap! projects, a scenario like the one mentioned above is simply not worth the risk. Additionally, the battery information reported by the system is not particularly precise and 5% ends up being the lowest feasible target.

Using the camera flash with fast timed shooting intervals is resulting in erros. What can be done?

Your device camera flash can only fire so fast. If you are shooting with fast timed intervals and need artificial light, use the 'torch' instead of the flash.

How can I import music from Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.?

Make sure that you have your chosen external cloud service (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) installed on your iOS device. Navigate to your OSnap! project's home screen and tap the Music Note icon at bottom, and then choose "Select Other Audio File". From the Browse screen, ensure that your cloud service is enabled by tapping the Menu icon (a circle with three dots in the upper right) and choosing 'Edit'.

What is the Photo Quality Priority Setting?

Photo Quality Priority is a new feature available in OSnap! Pro 2 that can be set to 'Quality' or 'Speed'. See explanations below:

• It's the default: 'Quality' is the default setting and will guarantee the best photo capture quality, including reducing noise, preserving detail in low light, and freezing motion
• Takes longer to process each photo: If you are shooting at very fast capture intervals, 'Quality' might result in camera errors due to the extra hardware processing required
• Image file metadata variability: If you have manually set shutter, ISO, focus or white balance, the metadata recorded in the resulting image file may vary from the settings you specified because the hardware will make quality optimized adjustments in the background. The resulting photo will be equivalent, but the metadata recorded in the image file may not exactly mimic your manual settings. For most users this should not be an issue.

• May slightly reduce photo quality: The 'Speed' setting may reduce photo quality ever-so-slightly, but in a great many cases the difference will be imperceptible or nonexistent
• Processes photos fast: It's a great choice for fast camera intervals (0.25 - 0.5 seconds) because it places less stress on the camera hardware and helps prevent camera errors
• Image file metadata fidelity: If you have manually set shutter, ISO, focus or white balance, the metadata recorded in the resulting image file should be consistent with your settings
• A note on photo burst shooting: All photos generated via a Photo Burst will be captured using the 'Speed' setting

Timed capture sessions really drain my battery. What can be done?

Keeping the device camera readied and snapping photos for long periods of time expends a lot of energy; there's currently no easy way around this. Make sure you have OSnap!'s "Darken Screen to Save Battery" option selected to help combat this problem. For timed photo shoots that run for many hours, however, you will most likely need to plug your device into an external power supply.

While shooting, I have received an "Insufficient Disk Space" message from OSnap! but I still have some available space on my device. Why?

Although OSnap! may appear to suspend a photo shoot well in advance of exceeding your hard drive limit, keep in mind that thumbnail and preview images may still need to be generated for each photo taken and, consequently, additional hard drive space will be required. Also, OSnap! does not want to fill your iOS hard drive completely to the brim (which can often cause unforeseen problems), so it takes a relatively conservative approach in this area.

Why doesn't OSnap! render videos at the full resolution of the original photos (e.g., 4032x3024 for iPhone 11 back camera)?

This would be a really cool idea in theory. The problem is it doesn't work. Once you start getting resolution up above the figures specified above, you start running into system errors with saving, playing and exporting videos. You can, of course, export your photos at full resolution and import them into a desktop video editing program in order to create very high resolution videos.

OSnap! is taking a long time to render my video. Why?

Depending on the specifics of your project and device, OSnap! can sometimes seem to take its sweet time rendering videos. OSnap! places a lot of emphasis on rendering your videos at very high quality, so that the result is extra smooth, vivid and clear. The app uses high resolution camera generated still photos (not video frame captures), and also takes special care to mimic and accommodate your chosen frame rate in the video output. OSnap!'s live playback feature is designed to allow you to tweak your project to perfection before rendering so that you only have to render once. If you are looking for ways to cut down on video rendering time, effective strategies include: 1) shooting with lower resolution photos; and 2) lowering the frame rate of your project (both of which require up front planning of course).

I have a great idea for a new feature! I would really like OSnap! to have [insert your feature here]. When can you make this happen?

If you have a great idea for a new feature, drop us an email at or feel free to post on our Facebook page. We keep a running list of all of our feature requests, and OSnap! continues to evolve and improve as a result of user input. Having said that, if you are interested in seeing OSnap! updates, one of the most important things you can do is to leave us a positive review in the App Store. The success of the app is due in no small part to user reviews, and the more momentum OSnap! gains, the more we are able marshal the resources necessary to design and implement new features.

When uploading my video to YouTube the final output seems slightly jerky. The original video I rendered was silky smooth. Why?

The human eye is an amazing thing, capable of detecting subtle difference in video even at very high frame rates. Because of this OSnap! uses special processing algorithms to maintain fidelity to your chosen frame rate, outputting H.264 video at non standard frame rates in order to ensure there are no differences between your live playback preview and your final video. If we were to mindlessly drop frames in order to render video at a more standard frame rate, you would certainly be able to tell the difference. YouTube does exactly this, converting and standardizing your video frame rate to something close to 30 FPS. This standardization, combined with YouTube compression, can sometimes result in a slightly 'jerky' video, usually only noticeable in situations where video smoothness is important such as cloudscapes or sunsets. To date, the best way to mitigate this effect is to try and plan for a frame sequence that is 30 FPS which, when uploaded to YouTube, should undergo less of a drastic frame rate change.

My rendered video contains artifacts/noise/horizontal lines.

Although very rare, a few reports of this problem have surfaced as a result of extremely low device storage space at the time of video render. If this happens to you, you should check your remaining device storage space (iOS > Settings > General > Usage > Available).

I have an promo code. How can I redeem it?

On your iOS device tap this link, then select 'Enter Code Manually' and then enter your code.