If you’re creative and enjoy photography, then AniGif is the app for you. The app is simple, yet it will allow you to create amazing animated GIFs that can be shared through email or Tumblr. A GIF is a type of file that contains many images, or frames, that will be displayed one after the other to create an animation. These files can be placed into documents and websites and will catch the attention of the user.

The app’s main page is a gallery that displays all of your GIF animations to view, edit or delete. From this page you can also start a new animation. Creating a GIF is as easy as adding photos already in your library, or taking new shots using the iPhone’s camera. There are two schools of thought on creating your GIF. You can keep your device stationary and take one photo at a time while manipulating your objects to create the frames. Or, you can keep an object steady and take several shots of it from different angles to get a sort of 3D effect. You can use special iPhone cases that will mount to a tripod to keep it steady. However, to create the best GIF possible, taking photos from a higher quality camera on a tripod will probably be the best choice. But, if you’re on the go and are suddenly inspired to create, then holding the iPhone by hand will work as well.

After you’ve taken all your shots, each frame is displayed with the options to delete or rearrange. You can also view the animation exactly as it will appear in documents or websites. In this preview screen, you can set the time delay between frames to be anywhere from .6 seconds up to 4 seconds. The shorter the delay, the faster the animation will look. A four second delay will yield more of a photo slideshow rather than an animation.

After setting your delay, you can send your GIF to an email address, Twitter account or Tumblr blog. Emailing and sending to Twitter worked just fine, but I did have problems with Tumblr. Each time I tried to post my GIF to Tumblr, it only displayed the first image in the animation. I couldn’t get the GIF to animate. The developer has recognized this problem and is currently working on a solution.

AniGif is definitely a fun application to play around with. You can basically create your own little stop-motion animations right from your iPhone. The interface works very well and the app makes the whole process simple. The only downside I see to it is the lack of features. Besides taking shots and reordering them, there really isn’t much more you can do to customize your GIF. It would be nice to add effects to some images to make the GIF more interesting. Also, text input could be useful as well. However, even with the basic functions, the app works well and I strongly recommend checking this one out.