What's the best camera app for the iPhone?

September 21, 2016 11:43 AM

I have an iPhone 6s Plus, which has become pretty much my only camera for the last several months. I actually like it a lot and have been learning to get some photos out of it that I really like. However, I'd like to have more control over the camera settings than I get from the default app. Is there an app that does this well?

I'd like to have a level of control similar to what you'd get on a higher-end point-and-shoot; pretty basic stuff, I think. Here's what I'm looking for:

• Full automatic, camera-makes-all-the-decisions mode
• Aperture and shutter priority modes
• Full manual control option
• ISO setting
• Exposure setting
• White balance adjustment
• Ability to set focus and exposure points
• Aspect ratio setting
• On/off/auto for Flash
• On/off/auto for HDR
• Timer
• Ability to save settings presets

The app should also be camera-first, meaning that when I open the app I should be dropped straight into the camera rather than it being a tap or two further away. Photos should be saved directly to the camera roll, and when I take a photo I should still be in the camera ready to take another, rather than having to interact with the photo I just took in any way. I don't require any post-processing features, I have other apps for that. Any post-processing features that are present should not get in the way of taking photos.

I see that there are a variety of apps out there that purport to give me at least some of the things I want, but none of them look like a slam dunk and most of them cost a few bucks, so I'm not interested in trying out a bunch of them to find out what works. App review sites and app store reviews haven't been useful in finding out which app (if any) would suit my needs. I have Camera+, but it doesn't really do what I want. I know there must be other MeFites out there who have similar desires in a camera app, so what do you recommend?

posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The to Technology (6 answers total)

Response by poster: Sorry, you're absolutely right about that. Still, I'm looking for an app that gives me as much of that list as is actually possible.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 11:56 AM on September 21, 2016

Check out Pure Shot, it's really excellent.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 12:00 PM on September 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Well, Pure Shot comes with a 52-page manual explaining how to use it, so I like it already.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 12:55 PM on September 21, 2016 [4 favorites]

A lot of the photographers I follow on Instagram use VSCO; I downloaded it last week and like it a lot, so far. It meets the majority of your requirements, and it's free with in-app purchases but I haven't needed to buy anything yet.
posted by stellaluna at 1:17 PM on September 21, 2016

I bought manual, and it's one of the only apps i've ever actually paid for and felt like it was worth it. I like it a lot, and it does almost everything on your list.

For all automatic modes, i find the default camera app to be more fluid, reliable, and able to kick in to high ISO/special modes the camera is capable of on its own than any of the other apps i tried. The auto-ness of it just feels a lot more confident.

I use VSCO, but strictly as a digital darkroom/editing app. As an actual picture taking app i found it meh. It always felt like those microwaves that are also a toaster oven. It also has its own weird photo storage thing that isn't the camera roll, which cheesed me off.

There doesn't seem to be any "slam dunk" does-it-all app. I'm still waiting for either that, or apple to just make a "pro mode" for their default camera app.
posted by emptythought at 9:27 PM on September 21, 2016

One or two UI quirks aside, I've been quite satisfied with ProShot, which does (I think) all of the things in your list...
posted by rodeoclown at 9:38 PM on September 21, 2016