On Thursday, May 2nd we looked for free camera apps for smartphones. How do we know if they are legit? It’s best to get them from the Google Playstore (Android) or Apple’s App store (iPhone) – since the apps on these sites have been vetted.
Chris had installed HD camera for Android: Xcamera on her cheap Android phone. The app had good reviews: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=xprocamera.hd.camera&hl=en&gl=US This app is free, though supported by advertising. Chris used a link on the Google Playstore site to check out the company which promotes it “Simpledesign. ltd” and found that it’s a Hong Kong-based company which specialises in “healthy living” apps https://simpledesign.ltd/… so it seemed a bit odd that it also promotes a camera app. The company also calls itself Abishkking https://abishkking.com/ and markets apps in many languages. In April 2024 it made $90,000 from sales and advertising revenue from 55 apps .. Interesting ! https://app.sensortower.com/android/publisher/simple-design-ltd/Simple%2BDesign%2BLtd. Anyway, it seems legit enough!
She had also installed Opencamera https://play.google.com/store/search?q=Opencamera&c=apps&hl=en&gl=US which is a free, open-source app for Android. There isn’t a version for iPhone, though there are some alternatives: https://alternativeto.net/software/open-camera/?platform=iphone most of which seem to be paid-for apps. https://petapixel.com/best-iphone-camera-apps/ One recommended app with free Android and iPhone versions is Adobe Lightroom, which tweaks images after they have been shot. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.lrmobile&pcampaignid=web_share
Chris highlighted the importance of the quality of the optics, light sensors and image processing in your particular make of phone. This site, GSMarena.com is a great site for comparing the detailed specifications of an enormous range of smartphones and also provides a useful glossary of the components of a smartphone camera: https://www.gsmarena.com/glossary.php3?term=camera .
Megapixels aren’t everything – there’s much besides! Here are the camera specs of Chris’s budget Motorola G50 – released in 2021 (€200)
| MAIN CAMERA | Triple | 48 MP, f/1.7, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF 5 MP, f/2.4, (macro), 1/5.0″, 1.12µm 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth) |
|---|---|---|
| Features | LED flash, HDR, panorama | |
| Video | 1080p@30/60fps |
Compare this with the camera specs of the iPhone13 Max Pro, also released in 2021,(€1300) which was used to shoot the short movie “Life is but a Dream” which we looked at a few weeks ago. https://javeacomputerclub.com/2024/04/12/yes-you-can-shoot-a-cinematic-movie-on-an-iphone/
| MAIN CAMERA | Triple | 12 MP, f/1.5, 26mm (wide), 1/1.7″, 1.9µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS 12 MP, f/2.8, 77mm (telephoto), PDAF, 1/3.4″, 1.0µm, OIS, 3x optical zoom 12 MP, f/1.8, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/3.4″, 1.0µm, PDAF TOF 3D LiDAR scanner (depth) |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama) | |
| Video | 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 10-bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), ProRes, Cinematic mode (1080p@30fps), stereo sound rec. |
You gets what you pays for…
The main differences between the default camera app (Camera) on Chris’s phone, Xcamera, OpenCamera and Lightroom were:
- User Interface – Open Camera had the brightest and boldest interface
- Range of settings and features – both Open Camera and the phone’s default app had image stabilisation for videos. We couldn’t find it (yet) in Xcamera which has useful grids and guidelines. However Xcamera asks users to submit ideas for additional features. Open Camera seemed to have the best range of features for a serious photographer. All the apps had a High Dynamic Range (HDR) setting.
- Preset Filters – The phone’s default app and XCamera had preset filters applied when the photo is shot. Xcamera was keen on filters to improve the yummy appearance of meals and Chris liked its “smooth” de-wrinkler tool for taking youthful selfie portraits! Lightroom has some very good and customisable presets to apply to photos after they have been taken. It can work on photos on your device or download them from the cloud for editing.
- AI features – The default camera app had a “cut out” setting to take portraits without the background and cutesy AR stickers for videos. Lightroom had many AI features but the most powerful were available through the paid version.
- Ads – XCamera kept trying to get you to sign up for TikTok. The other apps were ad-free.
Chris had previously experimented with trying to install the Samsung camera app (via an APK file) on her Motorola phone, but no luck. Perhaps the Samsung app is closely integrated with the Samsung hardware!
Chris Betterton-Jones – Knowledge Junkie