Instagram snaps up camera app to upgrade video
With the addition of Luma's team and video stabilization tech, the Facebook-owned app hopes to help members capture higher-quality footage.
Facebook-owned Instagram is absorbing the technology and team behind Luma, a camera application specializing in cinematic video stabilization, filters, and effects. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"We're excited to announce that we have been acquired by Instagram," Luma announced Friday. Facebook confirmed the acquisition to CNET but declined to comment beyond the statement posted to Luma's Web site.
Eighteen-month-old Luma seems like a wise addition to Instagram and its video offering, which already comes with a "cinema" feature for auto-correcting shaky footage. Luma's iPhone application, which is being shuttered at the end of the year, was designed to smooth out footage and remove handshake from videos shot on mobile phones.
As Instagram and Vine rival each other in the mini mobile movies niche, both companies have been introducing features to distinguish their products from the other. While Vine has ripened into a place where 40 million registered users go for loopy entertainment, Instagram has focused on features to make shooting and sharing high-quality video as easy as possible.
An example of Luma's stabilization technology can be seen in the video embedded below.