You like to take photos on your iPhone. But you find that the default Camera app is limited in some ways. Maybe you want more power and control the photos you take. No problem: various apps can enhance your phone’s camera skills.
Camera + 2 offers a range of advanced and easy to use manual controls. ProCamera gives you multiple layers of control and functionality for your photos and videos. Halide provides many manual controls and settings that can be adjusted and customized. Obscura 2 provides a range of advanced controls in a user-friendly package. The ProCam 5 is the ultimate camera app with enough features to satisfy even more stubborn photographers.
At this point, you might ask why you can download more software when you only need to use the built-in free iOS camera app. Third-party applications provide manual control and advanced tools and features that you can usually find only in a dedicated digital SLR camera.
You can manually adjust the exposure and focus to override the automatic settings. You can fine tune the exposure by setting the white balance, adjusting the ISO number, and changing the shutter speed. Some applications provide a screen histogram so you can better observe the exposure settings. You can arrange your photos using grid lines and straighten them with the leveling function. You can choose a specific image format, such as JPG, TIF or RAW. You can use special shooting modes, including slow shutter, continuous shooting mode and time lapse.
But why not adjust your iPhone photos by using a good editing application? This is always an option. But a dedicated camera app helps you control and refine your photos so you don’t have to spend time editing the app.
In addition, some of the errors and weaknesses in the photo are not easily fixed in the editing room. However, if you need to adjust your photos after taking a photo, many camera apps will include your own built-in editor.
The features and options offered by third-party camera applications vary by iPhone model. This software can help you get the most out of the dual lens in iPhone X, iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus. They can also use the portrait mode on these iPhones to better highlight the foreground subject.
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Best iPhone camera app
Camera + 2
As a sequel to the original camera + app (which is still there), then $ 2.99 for the camera + 2 attempts to surpass its predecessors for more convenient control, updated filters, integrated lightboxes and an easier way to switch the camera mode. The app provides a friendly home screen with easy access to all major controls.
With a single click, you can jump into macro view or portrait mode. You can bounce between telephoto and wide angle. The sliders on the screen allow you to zoom in and out easily. You can change the aspect ratio from portrait to landscape. You can choose to save your photos in RAW format. Other convenient settings include grid lines, levelers and geo tagging.
Tap the screen with two fingers to adjust the exposure and focus separately for two different controls. From here, you can set the white balance, adjust the shutter speed and change the ISO. Camera + 2 offers some cool shooting modes, including a smile to detect if the subject is smiling; the stabilizer can only shoot when your hand is stable; slow shutter, long exposure; and burst to shoot a The series of shots to score the best one.
Once you’re done shooting, go to the light box to share your photos or view their metadata. As a bonus, you can edit them from here. In addition to resizing, cropping, exposure and brightness, you can play different color temperatures, apply filters and use the photo frame to adjust the photo. There is even a dedicated RAW editor.
ProCamera ($5.99) is another advanced shooting app with lots of bells and whistles. On the home screen, you can control the flash, take a photo with the selfie, adjust the exposure with the on-screen dial, or choose from a variety of preset camera modes, such as High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Low Light. You can zoom in and out by moving the slider button.
Another faucet opens the room and displays a series of manual controls that let you set the white balance, adjust the ISO and shutter speed, enable anti-shake, turn on the grid lines and lock the focus and exposure. You can also convert the format from JPG to TIF format to HEIF format. You can even reveal a histogram to fine tune the exposure level. On an iPhone with dual lenses, it is easy to switch between wide lens, telephoto and dual mode. You can also check Free Photo Editing App .
ProCamera helps you when you’re shooting a video. In video mode, you can click on a few manual controls that can be used for taking photos. You can also adjust the resolution from VGA (480p) to HD (720p) to HD + (1080p) to 4K (2160p) and play at different frame rates from 24 to 240 frames per second. Those with Apple Watch will enjoy some cool options. With the ProCamera Apple Watch app, you can capture photos remotely, adjust and trigger timers, set image formats, switch between photo and video modes, and even preview the last photo.
I like the smart tricks in ProCamera. You can adjust focus and exposure separately with dedicated on-screen controls. I also recommend trying full screen mode, where you can click anywhere on the screen to take a photo. On the Settings screen, you can manage various functions and options such as focus and exposure, stabilization, file format and geotagging. The advanced settings screen helps you adjust the focus and stabilization options of your video lens.
When you’re done capturing your photos, you can edit them within the app to easily play size, color, contrast, temperature, filters and effects. If you are an Adobe Creative Cloud subscriber, you can send photos directly to Creative Cloud for more advanced editing.
Halide ($5.99) starts with a short tutorial, a useful touch, because the screen may look confusing. With bats, you can easily adjust the exposure by moving your finger across the screen. You can also turn on the histogram to measure exposure adjustments.
Next, try jumping from auto focus to manual focus by swiping left and adjusting the screen dial. With the touch of the screen and the pinch for exposure control, you can click on a button to bounce between the phone and the wide-angle view on an iPhone with dual lenses. From here on, you can set the white balance and adjust the ISO number to further fine tune the exposure.
Slide the main joystick up, the quick bar, to uncover more tools. With the second round of controls, you can adjust the flash, turn on the timer, enable RAW mode and turn on the grid lines. You can also customize the controls accessed through the quick bar by dragging and dropping. There is a unique feature here: on dual-lens iPhone, the depth peak control shows the 3D depth of the subject so you can see what the camera is scanning.
With a range of advanced settings, you can choose how to process and save RAW images, tell the app when to use JPG or TIF when posting photos on Facebook or Instagram, and limit location sharing. With Halide Apple Watch’s companion app, you can trigger a shot remotely, turn on the timer and preview the last photo. Halide doesn’t include an editor, there are some other camera apps, but it does provide photo reviewers. Click on the thumbnail of the photo to access the camera roll. For each photo, the app displays key metadata such as date, time, shutter speed, ISO, and image format.
Some advanced camera apps are plagued by confusing and messy screens. Obscura 2 ($4.99) offers a more simple and simple method. Each core manual control works the same way. Click the exposure button and rotate the dial to adjust the exposure. Use the Focus button to do the same to manually adjust the focus. Repeat these steps for ISO and shutter speed control.
Take the icon of the other key controllers on the control wheel. You can change the image format from JPG to HEIF. You can switch from telephoto to wide angle on a dual lens phone. You can also set up the flash and self-timer, turn on gridlines and levels, and apply any of the 19 filters, from mono to wood to crease to clear. If you really enter the filter, you can purchase seven filters in black and white or seven filter simulators.
Swipe down to access settings where you can adjust preferences for filters, image formats, control wheels, and metadata. You can also access your camera roll to see the photos you took. The app displays all key metadata including aperture settings, shutter speed and ISO. You can share, delete, copy or hide photos. There are very few editing options, only one option is available for applying filters.
Looking for the ultimate adventure in the manual camera app? ProCam 5 is available. For $5.99, this app will contain all the advanced controls you need. Start ProCam 5, but don’t be afraid. Yes, the screen looks scary, there are lots of controls and settings that can be seen from the bat, and even more. I have to spend a lot of time on the app before I can do more. To help you, ProCam displays the prompts that appear when you first try to use a feature or control. On the bottom bar of the main screen, slide the dial to set white balance, ISO, focus, exposure and shutter speed. At the top, you can use the flash to play, set the image format and switch lens on the dual-lens iPhone. The other toolbar at the top shows the current settings of the app, such as flash and exposure levels, so you know what you’re getting.
Click the arrow at the bottom to display more settings. You can now adjust the aspect ratio, display any of the three sets of grid lines, and turn on the leveler to maintain a straight line. You can also try different shooting modes, including portrait, slow shutter, continuous shooting mode and time lapse. With a dual-lens iPhone, you can even create 3D shots and save your photos as videos or videos in GIF format.
Next, click on the Settings icon to display the settings for all key features, from exposure to focus to format to histogram. If you’re a cameraman with an iPhone, you can shoot videos at 48 to 240 frames per second using 720p, 1080p and 4K apps. With the companion Apple Watch app, you can use your watch to take photos remotely and trigger a selfie.
ProCam provides one-click access to your camera roll, where you can call up specific photos to share or delete photos. A handy information pane shows you the metadata on the photo, such as resolution, size, shutter speed, ISO and aperture. Want to edit your photo? no problem. With the built-in editor, you can adjust the size, crop and exposure of your shots. You can try different filters and color temperatures. You can play with certain lens effects such as fish eyes, wormholes, ripples and halftones. I can’t imagine the features that ProCam excludes. If you want to master the app, just be prepared to do your homework.
Best of the best
Which of the five is the “best” application? The answer to this question depends on your skills, awkwardness and comfort, as well as the speed at which your fingers work. The answer will vary depending on what you are shooting and how much control you want to exercise. I tend to switch between these applications depending on factors such as the subject and shooting conditions. If I want to shoot quickly, I might use an application that doesn’t require too much manual patching. If I’m shooting something static and want to be artistic, I might choose an app with more fine-tuning manual controls. In other words, my first choice among the five apps is Obscura 2: it provides a clean and simple interface, consistent and easy-to-access controls, advanced settings and options, and some very cool filters.