10 Apps To Upgrade Your Phone's Built-In Camera
There’s one point phone manufacturers focus on when selling the latest edition of their product...the camera! What if we told you that you can take your current camera phone and turn it up a notch? We’ve put together a list of apps that will enhance your camera phone’s current features and unlock several new features. Get ready to step into a photographer’s world and upgrade your social media posts. Here are 10 apps to upgrade your phone’s built-in camera.
MuseCam (Free, iOS)
The perfect combination of a manual camera and image editor. Set your custom exposure, shutter, ISO, white balance, and focus. Adjust your camera colors and even create your own filters with MuseCam! For someone who doesn’t have a strong background in photography and is focused on stepping up their Instagram page, this app is for you!
Manual ($3, iOS)
The iPhone camera provides you with many options, but there are also many key elements it leaves out. With Manual, you can get shutter speed, ISO, white balance, focus and exposure. Images are captured in RAW and you have the option to switch lenses. You may also frame and review shots with the easy-to-use histogram and photo map, giving you the ability to get the perfect shot every time. But wait, there’s more...black or white themes, rule-of-third grids and an EXIF viewer! Play with all of these features and more as you discover the camera phone photographer you were meant to be.
Camera FV-5 ($4, Android)
Essentially, Camera FV-5 is the Manual for Android. Ten composition and nine crop guides are the special perks this app provides. You also get exposure, white balance, ISO, shutter speed, RAW images, EXIF viewer, and more with this app. It allows you to capture a photo with the exact image you had in mind.
Moment (Free, iOS)
This app was designed with their own Moment lenses and Moment case in mind, but it still provides you with an ample amount of features to utilize. It provides manual controls, RAW photos, focus/light adjustments, and 3D shutter!
Focus (Free, iOS)
The name is the game. Focus is geared towards focus peaking. With this app, you have the ability to single out your focus and provided another tool to edit the background and enhance the focus even more. For example, you can use a bokeh background blur or high-resolution TIFF on the background while highlighting your focal point. Along with these special features, it provides shutter speed control, fill flash, exposure compensation, white balance adjustment, and a live light meter. As if that’s not enough, there’s also an app for the Apple Watch to use as a remote control!
Camera 360 (Free, Android)
Being one of the most popular camera apps on Android doesn’t stop Camera 360 from adding to its’ catalog of features. The app is geared towards social features (funny stickers, Instagram-style filters, and editing tools). The perk here is you can use one of their many filters while taking the photo, eliminating the process of choosing one afterward. Although the focus with Camera 360 is editing and tweaking, you may also appreciate the quality of the camera. It’s slightly better than your standard camera photo without the app, but including the added filters and more it will give you a final photo that you set out for.
ProCam 5 ($5, iOS)
Deemed one of the best third-party camera apps for iOS. ProCam 5 provides an entire set of manual controls. You can change the aspect ratio of your photos. It gives you the ability to set the video recording resolution and upgrade 4K video on iPhones older than a 6s. They also have an app to pair with the Apple Watch. Adding in-app features will give you more room to play with settings, features, and high-quality effects.
Camera+ ($3, iOS)
A veteran among all of the newer camera apps, yet still among the best. Camera+ has one of the neatest interfaces, along with a slough of professional photography features that are easy to find and utilize. The features include many filters, high-quality HDR mode, lightbox, exposure controls, and more. The quality of the images and the editing features provided make this app a solid go-to.
ProShot ($3-$4 Android, iOS, Windows 10 mobile)
Are you ready for this one? ProShot provides RAW export, white balance adjustments, grid overlays, custom aspect ratios, shutter speed settings, exposure control, and more. The only con here is that there are so many features, someone without a background in photography may find themselves overwhelmed by them. Aside from that, the interface is fairly simple and easy to navigate through. ProShot is easily one of the best camera apps for a photographer, and it’s available for Android, iOS, and Windows.
Halide ($2.99, iOS)
Detail is important here. If you’re a photographer with a keen eye, Halide’s for you. With the app, you have full manual control of ISO, exposure, and white balance. You can also shoot in either manual or automatic mode. Halide’s easy to use and provides stunning images right off of your iPhone.
YouCam (Free, iOS)
Presenting: The camera app that was entirely made for selfies. There are filters you can incorporate while taking your selfies, along with an “auto-beautify” mode. YouCam does all of the post-editing work for you WHILE you take your photo...with the help of your desired settings. You also have the luxury of taking a photo with just the wave of your hand, a special feature the app includes. The feature is a newfound replacement for the set timers most place to take selfie videos or full-body selfies.
