Apps To Make You a Better iPhone Photographer
These handy apps will help you take your mobile photography up a notch.
By Stefan Vazharov
Apple's iPhone has one of the most capable cameras in its class, yet avid photographers complain of its bare-bones interface with limited controls. We've rounded up several third-party apps that will give users more control over your device's snapper.
ProCam 3
$5, available for iOS
The ProCam 3 is arguably the best third-party camera app for iOS. It gives users a full set of manual controls and the option to change the aspect ratio of the photos, as well as the ability to easily adjust the video recording resolution (by default, it's quite a process on the iPhone). Several in-app purchases can add even more feature to the app, including the ability to capture 4K video on iPhones that are older than the iPhone 6s. ProCam 3 has a companion app for the Apple Watch, too.
More: 9 Essential Photo-Editing Apps for iOS and Android
Hydra — Amazing Photography
$5, available for iOS
This iPhone camera app is designed specifically to enable users to capture quality photos even in conditions with less than perfect lighting. In addition to excellent HDR mode for still images and video, Hydra offers a dedicated low-light mode, real-time zoom, as well as the ability to upscale images up to a whopping 32 megapixels. An Apple Watch companion app is also on board.
Camera+
$3, available for iOS
Camera+ is yet another excellent option for the iPhone. It offers a wide array of advance editing tools, various scene modes, as well a host of photographic effects, among other features. The app also features a separate exposure button, which allows shutterbugs to easily manage the light in their photos.
NightCap Pro
$2, available for iOS
The NightCap Pro camera app for iOS, as its name suggests, is designed for low-light photography. It will help your iPhone capture clearer photos at night or in dark places with the help of artificial intelligence. The latter tinkers with the ISO and exposure of the shots, ensuring optimal results at all times.
ProCamera +
$5, available for iOS
The ProCamera + iPhone app features an elaborate set of manual controls. filters, and live editing effects, covered by a sleek and intuitive interface. Like some of its competitors, the app offers a neat Apple Watch app. Even more features are available via in-app purchases.
VSCO
Free, available for iOS
VSCO is a highly rated iPhone camera app with a cool minimalist interface and a social twist. In addition to giving users extensive manual controls, the app allows them to also explore and find curated photographic content from a vibrant international community. More VSCO features are available via an in-app purchase.
Smartphone Lab Test: iPhone vs. 7 Top Wireless Wonders
Click around below to see if Apple's "Jesus phone" makes the grade in our extreme testing conditions!
By Glenn Derene
How intelligent does a phone have to be to deserve the title of "smartphone"? Should it be able to retrieve your e-mail? Probably, but not necessarily. Should a smartphone take high-resolution pictures, and play music and movies on the go? Many do--but then again, some don't. "Smartphone" is a nebulous term that is as much marketing spin as it is a distinct category of mobile phone.
Nevertheless, smartphones in one form or another have been around for over a decade, bringing e-mail and productivity software to anyone busy enough to carry their office around in a pocket wherever they go. In recent years, companies such as Palm, Research In Motion (maker of the ubiquitous BlackBerry) and Microsoft (which created the Windows Mobile operating system that works on dozens of third-party phones) have created cheaper devices with more entertainment functionality built in to attract nonbusiness users. The current generation of smartphones is as much about music, movies and multi-mega-pixel photos as it is about e-mail and spreadsheets.
But the slow evolution of smartphones from business tool to cool got a turbo boost recently because of a single new entry in the category. That machine is, of course, Apple's iPhone, and its revolutionary capabilities (click here for video) include everything from Google mapping to weather widgets to graphically displayed voice mail.
One of the common observations about the iPhone since its launch in June is that it wouldn't have seemed so innovative if it weren't for the fact that other smartphones are so frustratingly difficult to use. Anecdotally, we at PM can Âconfirm this, as we review dozens of different phones each year. But until now, we had never tested smartphones head to head. Nor had we ever had such a ballyhooed "ringer" (pardon pun) as the iPhone to put the category in perspective. So immediately after the iPhone's June 29 launch date, we got to work on a showdown between the smartphone wunderkind and seven competing devices. Our selection included phones from all four major cellular providers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless) as well as one startup (Helio, which actually runs on Sprint's network). For good measure, we threw in one unlocked Nokia smartphone that runs on either AT&T or T-Mobile.
The main goal of our test was to assess the functionality and ease of use of each device. So we asked seven people who had little to no experience with smartphones to analyze our test devices alongside PM's experts. Our testers evaluated photos from each phone's digital camera, walked around with the devices in their pockets to deliver a "comfort" rating and then sat for a series of grueling time trials for the various functions of each phone. With no practice and no user's manual, testers tried to make a call, send an e-mail, take a photo, play a song and load a Web page on each phone.
Stopwatches don't lie. Apple's intuitive interface guided our testers to songs, photos and Web pages and to most other multimedia destinations in less than half the time of the nearest competitors. E-mail was a different story. The iPhone came in third after Samsung's BlackJack and Palm's Treo. Surprisingly, the photos from the iPhone's 2-megapixel camera came in dead last in our blind evaluation, because of a lack of white balance that gave interior photos a blue cast. Photos from the Nokia N95's 5-megapixel camera rivaled many point-and-shoot stand-alone cameras.
Still, when price was considered, choosing the smartest phone for the money became a close call. Testers liked the Samsung BlackJack and Apple iPhone best overall, with RIM's BlackBerry and Palm's Treo tied for a close second. It turns out smartness comes in all shapes and sizes.
Data Features: E-mail and Internet
D Composing an e-mail was sheer agony. And, even with the N95's Wi-Fi, Web surfing was awkward.
Multimedia: Music, Photos, Etc.
A- The N95's 5-megapixel camera and Tessar lens delivered the best photos in the pack. Plus, dedicated music buttons made songs easy to play.
Pocketability
B Compact, but with sharp, uncomfortable corners.
Price of Phone*
$749 (no contract; works with AT&T and T-Mobile).
Price of Service
Price depends on the provider and plan you choose.
Overall
C The N95's stellar camera couldn't offset its high price and lack of keyboard.
* Cellular service providers offer many variations and discounts on both plans and phones. These discounts change frequently. Check with carriers for the latest prices.
Helio Ocean | C- The dual-slide keypad baffled some users. When closed, the Ocean's external buttons go dead.
Data Features: E-mail and Internet
B- The Ocean offers a full qwerty keypad, but its tiny space bar got a collective thumbs down.
Multimedia: Music, Photos, Etc.
B The Ocean has an easy interface for music and photo taking, but photos from its camera scored badly.
Pocketability
D Is that a Helio Ocean in your pocket? Unfortunately, it is.
Price of Phone*
$295 (with 2-yr. contract from Helio).
Price of Service
Voice and a la carte data plans start at $40/month; voice and unlimited data plans start at $65/month.
Overall
C+ The Ocean's dual-slider is designed to be versatile, but many of our testers found it confusing.
* Cellular service providers offer many variations and discounts on both plans and phones. These discounts change frequently. Check with carriers for the latest prices.
LG enV | A With its extra keypad on the front for dialing, the enV won this test.
Data Features: E-mail and Internet
C- The enV's clamshell qwerty keypad makes it a great texting device, but its OS makes it terrible for e-mail and the Web.
Multimedia: Music, Photos, Etc.
C Verizon's V Cast service works much harder at selling you music than playing your own. The 2-megapixel photos scored low.
Pocketability
B- The enV's narrow profile almost offsets its thick frame--but not quite.
Price of Phone*
$200 (with 2-yr. contract from Verizon Wireless).
Price of Service
Voice plans start at $40/month; V Cast music service adds $15/month; messaging plans add at least $10/month.
Overall
B- Easy on the outside, difficult on the inside, the clamshell enV's focus on pay-for-play services kills the experience.
* Cellular service providers offer many variations and discounts on both plans and phones. These discounts change frequently. Check with carriers for the latest prices.T-Mobile Wing | C+ Onscreen dialing was awkward, but not impossible.
Data Features: E-mail and InternetB- It uses the same OS as the BlackJack, but testers found the Wing's e-mail harder to navigate. Web surfing, though, was smooth.
Multimedia: Music, Photos, Etc.B The Wing's 2-megapixel photos scored high with testers, but Windows Mobile multimedia apps were buggy.
PocketabilityC+ Despite its airy, delicate name, the Wing is a big brick of a phone.
Price of Phone*$500 (with 2-yr. contract from T-Mobile).
Price of ServiceVoice plans start at $40; unlimited data plans add at least $30/month.
OverallB No one loved the Wing, and no one hated it. But 500 bucks is a lot to pay for ambivalence.* Cellular service providers offer many variations and discounts on both plans and phones. These discounts change frequently. Check with carriers for the latest prices.
Blackberry 8830 | A- The BlackBerry's big buttons helped it come in second in our time trials.
Data Features: E-mail and InternetB The BlackBerry scored in the middle on both our e-mail and Internet time trials but the learning curve was quick.
Multimedia: Music, Photos, Etc.C- Booo! No camera whatsoever on the BlackBerry 8830. Music from micro SD cards worked only half the time.
PocketabilityB+ Unlike the chunky B-Berrys of old, the 8830 is slim and trim.
Price of Phone*$400 (with 2-yr. contract from Verizon Wireless).
Price of ServiceVoice and unlimited data plans start at $80/month.
OverallB+ For heavy corporate e-mail users, nothing beats a BlackBerry--but it came up short in the fun category.* Cellular service providers offer many variations and discounts on both plans and phones. These discounts change frequently. Check with carriers for the latest prices.
Palm Treo 755p | B Dialing can be done via touchscreen or hard keys, but too many menus slowed users down.
Data Features: E-mail and InternetA The Treo is the mobile data king. Its dedicated e-mail button made e-mails easy, and Sprint's network sped Web pages to the screen.
Multimedia: Music, Photos, Etc.B Straight middle-of-the-road for the Treo's entertainment features. Okay photos, so-so music applications. We sorta liked it.
PocketabilityC The Treo packs a lot of functionality into its big, uncomfortable frame.
Price of Phone*$430 (with 2-yr. contract from Sprint).
Price of ServiceVoice plans start at $30; unlimited data plans add at least $15/month.
OverallB+ Testers thought the Treo was a solid phone and data device. Perhaps a bit too solid.* Cellular service providers offer many variations and discounts on both plans and phones. These discounts change frequently. Check with carriers for the latest prices.
Samsung BlackJack | B Numbers share keys with letters, but dialing wasn't difficult.
Data Features: E-mail and InternetB+ Subjects whizzed through e-mails on the BlackJack, but Web content on its 2.5-in. screen was less satisfying.
Multimedia: Music, Photos, Etc.B+ The 1.3-mega-pixel camera delivered great photos, but the Windows Mobile music and photo apps got middling scores.
PocketabilityA- The superslim BlackJack barely bulged pockets.
Price of Phone*$200 (with 2-yr. contract from AT&T).
Price of ServiceVoice plans start at $40/month; data plans add at least $10/month.
OverallA It didn't excel at any one task, but the BlackJack's nice price made it one of the testers' favorites.* Cellular service providers offer many variations and discounts on both plans and phones. These discounts change frequently. Check with carriers for the latest prices.
Apple iPhone | B+ It takes a few extra steps to dial the iPhone, but it didn't slow our testers down.
Data Features: E-mail and InternetB+ The iPhone's onscreen keypad made e-mailing a bit tough, but Web pages look fantastic.
Multimedia: Music, Photos, Etc.A- Despite taking terrible interior photos, the iPhone earned top ranking for multimedia flexibility and ease of use.PocketabilityA+ Superslim and buttonless, the iPhone disappears in a pocket.
Price of Phone*4GB, $499; 8GB, $599 (with 2-yr. contract from AT&T).
Price of ServiceVoice and unlimited data plans start at $60/month.
Overall A The most hyped phone in our test didn't disappoint. E-mail functionality is limited, but the fun factor is not.* Cellular service providers offer many variations and discounts on both plans and phones. These discounts change frequently. Check with carriers for the latest prices.
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