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iPhone OS camera applications is always an ongoing topic of discussion between iLounge’s editors, all of whom love photography and enjoy playing with new cameras and photo editing tools. One of the most memorable discussions dealt with the original version of Nevercenter’s wholesale Camera Bag, an iPhone tool that filtered the grainy, low-resolution images from early iPhone and iPhone 3G cameras, transforming them into faux Polaroids, as well as high- and low-contrast images similar to ones from other classic cameras. Now there’s a separate version for the iPad called Camera Bag for iPad ($3, version 1.9.1), and our internal discussion has turned into a debate: is an app like this really necessary, particularly as a more expensive standalone version rather than as a universal update to the highly similar iPhone and iPod touch original?

The critical difference between the iPad and the iPhone is that iPad users don’t have a camera—grainy or otherwise—built into that device, so the only photos they’re dealing with are ones taken by separate cameras, most often point-and-shoots with far better capabilities than the iPhone. So whereas the idea of devolving a cell phone-quality image into a 1974 or silver-tinged picture makes sense, doing so with a higher-quality image is arguably less valuable, and could easily be just one feature in a more capable iPad photo CF card reader editing application. In fact, filters like these are only a small part of Photogene, which offers considerable additional editing power at a similar price.

Wholesale Camera Bag is much, much simpler. You load it, choose an effect, a frame, and an aspect ratio, and hit a “vary” button to try different levels of strength for the filter. You can save and share filtered images. That’s it. The interface is easy to understand, but the app’s functionality is so limited that it shouldn’t be difficult. Are the results nice? They’re as good as your original pictures, stripped of some or all of their additional color, then downsampled as necessary for saving. If that appeals to you, give this app a shot, but from our perspective, this app makes a lot more sense on the iPhone at a lower price. A universal app for all of Apple’s iPhone OS devices would have been a better idea.