Smartphone cameras, especially iPhones, have gotten a lot better over time. More specifically, the photos captured by the new iPhones like the iPhone 11 Series devices are sometimes just as good as some of the best point-and-shoots. But if there’s one thing which we wish was better, then it’s got to be the iPhone camera app. The stock camera app that ships with all the iPhones and iPads, is still quite basic, despite some well-timed improvements of late. But bother not, this is where the best iPhone camera apps from third-party come into play. So, whether you are willing to amp up your mobile photography game or thinking to snap stunning pics to get plenty of traction on social media, this meticulous curation of the smart camera apps for iOS can prove to be a proverbial shot-in-the-arm for you!
1. Halide
Halide is one our favorite third-party camera apps. In fact, a lot of iPhone users here at Beebom use it as our primary camera app. It’s one of those apps that ticks a lot of boxes. It offers manual controls, has a simple and easy-to-use interface, and a whole lot more. It also lets you do things like focus peaking, capture RAW images, capture depth info, etc. Halide is a well-designed app. Right from the typography to the yellow accents used to highlight the options, everything looks very elegant. It also a black background, that might remind you of the design of, say, a Leica camera. It also takes full advantage of the ‘notch’ area on the newer iPhones to show things like histogram and exposure compensation.
2. ProCam 7
If you are a technology enthusiast and know your way around professional cameras or Pro mode, then you might want to try ProCam 7. It’s an excellent choice for a more advanced photography enthusiast. It has over seven shooting modes including Night mode, Burst mode, Slow Shutter, 3D photos, and more. It also offers photo shutter release options like self-timer, anti-shake, interval, etc.
3. VSCO
VSCO is yet another popular app that’s primarily known for its photo editing tools and filters. However, it’s also one of the best free camera apps that you can use with your iPhone as it offers some granular controls like manual focus control, shutter speed, ISO, and more.
4. 645 Pro Mk III
If you use DSLR cameras, then this app will make you feel right at home with your iPhone camera. The app comes with a DSLR-like interface, with all the knobs and switches you’re used to. You can use multiple camera modes, such as auto, manual, portrait, etc. The app will also let you manually control the ISO values, and the shutter speed, so you can take photos exactly the way you want.
5. Adobe Lightroom CC
Adobe Lightroom, for the most part, is a picture editor. However, the built-in camera has some good features. With RAW support having arrived on iPhones, Lightroom can now let you click pictures in RAW format. This means that you have full control over the ISO, exposure, and other settings even after the picture has been taken. So, you get a lot of editing power later on.
Another one of favorite iPhone camera apps of mine is the Camera+ 2, the updated version of the original Camera+ app, which is a simple looking camera app that offers some advanced features. In terms of the features, the Camera+ 2 offers pretty much everything that you can expect from VSCO. The manual controls include the ability to change the shutter speed, ISO, white balance, exposure and more.
Ever since Google introduced the new Night Sight camera mode, taking Night mode photographs are all the rage right now. The iPhones apart from the Pro models, however, offer no mode for night photography, which is why third-party cameras like Night Camera are gaining popularity.
Night Camera offers a set of manual controls that let you tweak settings like exposure and ISO. You can also see things like luminance, luminosity and RGB histograms in real time that’ll help you get an idea of over and underexposed parts of an image in real time. Other noteworthy features of the app include 6x digital live zoom, landscape and portrait mode, etc.
Obscura Camera is yet another popular camera app for iPhone that offers an extensive set of customization options. The app lets you choose what happens when you single, double, or triple-tap the viewfinder. Other options offered by Obscura Camera, however, are fairly similar to what you get with apps like Halide. You can shoot RAW images, tweak photos settings like exposure, ISO, etc. in the manual mode. One of my top features of this app is a variety of professionally-designed filters that are ideal for a wide range of scenes. It’s worth noting that not all features are available on every iPhone. For instance, only iPhone 6s or later supports RAW capture and the depth capture is available on iPhones like iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone X, and iPhone 11.
9. ProCamera
ProCamera., as the name suggests, is a third-party app for iPhone that lets you tweak a number of settings and get the perfect picture. The app has intuitive camera controls with which you can precisely control focus and exposure. Talking about ‘Pro Controls’, ProCamera. gives you controls that are similar to an advanced DSLR camera. You can set specific values for exposure time, ISO sensitivity, white balance, and more.
10. Focos
If you are looking for a camera app that can let you shoot pics with DSLR-like shallow depth of field effect, do not miss out on Focos. What makes this app so handy is the ability to simulate large apertures to create impressive bokeh effects. Taking advantage of computational photography technology, you can add multiple lights in 3D space and even fine-tune aperture to snap good-looking pics. Another feature worth taking note of is that Focos also lets you customize the bokeh effect. Perfect for the times where you aren’t pleased with the images snapped by the app or wish to tweak the shallow depth of effects later just to make them look to your heart’s liking. Do not that unlocking all those cool tools will cost you $0.99/month as the freemium version is limited.
PureShot is another app developed by the developer of 645 Pro Mk III. The app offers a similar DSLR interface. It comes with various settings, such as auto mode, manual mode, selfie mode, and more. You can use the Auto mode if you don’t want to fiddle around with the settings that the app offers. However, manual mode is where you can actually harness the power of the app.
Unlike its more powerful counterpart, the 645 Pro Mk III, PureShot is meant solely for no-filter photography on the iPhone. It does not offer any of the multiple filters, and lenses that 645 Pro Mk III does, but it offers a similar, powerful DSLR interface that will allow you tweak almost every setting for your iPhone camera. The PureShot viewfinder displays a ton of information about the picture you’re about to click, including the ISO value, exposure, as well as shutter speed. All these settings are manually controllable, so you can adjust them to your liking. The slow to fast shutter speeds offer limitless possibilities for the types of pictures you can take with the app.
Are you after a smart manual camera app for your iPhone? If yes, RAW+ could be one of the better picks. As the name itself suggests, the app delivers manual exposure and supports RAW format so that you can snap pro-looking images using your iPhone. Moreover, it also offers quick ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) controls and custom white balance settings. Features like grid and level overlays as well as RGB histogram further enhance its reputation as a pro-grade manual camera app for iPhone. With that said, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, RAW+ will let you snap only 100 shots for free, after that you will need to upgrade to the pro version that comes for $4.99. And second, RAW supports only iPhone SE and 6s or later.
Bonus: Selfie SelfPortrait Camera
For the folks who are willing to get a cool selfie camera app, “Selfie SelftPortrait Camera” appears to be a great choice. The app sports a pretty minimal interface and comes with a range of attractive camera filters. So, just in case you love to share pics on social media to win plenty of hearts, those filters could come into play. Not just that, it also features a useful self-timer so that you can snap stunning selfies without last moment shake. And if you ever wish to preserve any of your memorable pics, you can print them right from this selfie camera app.
