TEMPO.CO, Mountain View - Google has released a new app called Google Camera for Android, which is claimed to have a significant improvement from its predecessor as it has revamped shooting modes and the ability to selectively focus the camera.

Rumors about the app first started early this month after the company was reportedly testing a new camera app that would be released independently of the upcoming Android 4.4.3 update.

Google has also launched Lens Blur, a new effect which enables users to take pictures with a more shallow depth of field to selectively focus on certain parts of a picture. This is Google's first time to include that feature in its camera app.

"Achieving this optical effect has traditionally required a big lens and aperture, and therefore hasn’t been possible using the camera on your mobile phone or tablet," wrote Google software Engineer, Carlos Hernandez, in a blog post explaining how Google's research team created Lens Blur as quoted by Mashable today.

"Lens Blur replaces the need for a large optical system with algorithms that simulate a larger lens and aperture," he added.

The camera's panorama and portrait modes have also been improved with higher resolution. Google Camera is also the first time the company has portrait sphere, a shooting mode that enables 360 degree panoramas, available to non-Nexus devices.

This app also features an enlarged shutter button and viewfinder, so what users see in the viewfinder is what will come out on the shot.

Google Camera is available in Google Play Store and compatible with devices running on Android 4.4 (KitKat).

ERWIN Z | MASHABLE