The 6 best camera apps for iPhone in 2026

Halide is the camera app we would install first on an iPhone. It is for anyone who wants stills that look less like a phone took them, with real manual control when a shot needs it. Shoot a street at golden hour with Process Zero and the file comes back soft and grainy, closer to film than to a phone.

It runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 18 or later, with no Android version. Halide shoots stills only, because Lux sells video as Kino and long exposure as Spectre, two separate apps. It is also slower to launch and save than stock Camera. Pick something else if you want video in the same app, if most of your photos are taken after dark, or if $69.99 once is more than a camera app is worth to you.

Process Zero: film-like in daylight, grainy at night

It captures a single 12 MP RAW frame and skips the multi-frame processing Apple runs on every shot, Deep Fusion and Smart HDR included. In daylight and mixed light the picture is softer, less saturated, and grainier than stock Camera's, and a HEIC or JPEG is saved beside the RAW for sharing.

At night it falls apart. There is no Night Mode path, so indoor shots come back mostly grain. Once the sun is down, open stock Camera.

Manual controls and Photo Lab

You get shutter, ISO, white balance, focus peaking, a loupe, a histogram, a waveform, and Shutter and ISO Priority. On iPhone 18 Pro it sets any aperture from about ƒ/1.48 to ƒ/4.0. Photo Lab redevelops a RAW later with Looks such as Rembrandt and Chroma Noir, so a shot can stay neutral today and turn black and white next week.

What Halide costs

Halide is free to download, but you cannot take a photo until you pay. The US App Store lists the full app at $19.99 and at $9.99 with no billing period on either, plus $69.99 once. Most coverage reads $19.99 as yearly, and that plan starts with a 7-day trial. Read the purchase sheet before you tap.

Obscura is the manual camera for people who shoot video too, and who want to run it with one thumb. Exposure, ISO, and shutter sit on dials that tick under your finger in 1/3-stop steps, with separate reticles for focus and exposure. Photos, video, Live Photos, and portraits all live in one app, where Halide sends video to a second purchase. Lens switching jumps to each camera's native zoom, so you stay on the sharp optical steps instead of soft digital crops. A spirit level, peaking, and a loupe sit on the same screen.

It is free to download, with a capture limit the store listing does not state. You find out when the counter moves. Ultra adds RAW, ProRAW, 48 MP, video, full shutter and ISO, and filters. On the US App Store Ultra is $1.49 a week, $3.99 a month, $24.99 (yearly, per the store copy), or $74.99 once. The same Ultra covers the Obscura Studio editor, and filters you build there run live in the camera. It needs iOS 18 or later and also runs on iPad and Apple Watch. Its App Privacy label lists analytics and diagnostics as collected, which Halide's does not. Store reviews report crashes and long videos that never save, so test a long clip before a shoot that matters. If you only shoot stills, Halide is the better camera.

(Not Boring) Camera is the one we open for fun. The body is a 3D camera with moving shadows, click sounds, and a haptic tick on every notch. Its Styles are film-like looks applied live in the viewfinder, such as Cinematic and Mono Tokyo, so the photo is ready to share the moment you take it. It suits people who never get around to editing. It was also a 2026 Apple Design Awards finalist for visuals and graphics.

The free version shoots with built-in Styles, Auto and Manual, and SuperRaw, a single-frame mode that skips Apple's multi-frame processing. Plus adds HDR, up to 48 MP, HEIC plus DNG saves, and your own .cube LUTs, for $14.99 a year or $59.99 once on the US App Store. Super !Boring, $29.99 a year, adds the studio's other apps, such as weather and habits. Manual has a focus ring with peaking, a histogram, and zebras, but shutter and ISO move together, with no shutter priority. SuperRaw saves often look different from the preview, and the 2x and 8x zoom steps switch to Basic processing. Photo Lab can redevelop a SuperRaw frame later and change a Style's strength. Capture is slower than stock Camera, and the phone warms up in long sessions. Stills only, iOS 18.2 or later, and no data collected.

Moment Pro Camera is for people who take video as seriously as stills and do not want another subscription. Apple Log, Open Gate, ProRes, waveform, audio meters, and live LUTs sit in the same app as shutter and ISO priority for photos. If you own Moment lenses, it handles them too, including anamorphic de-squeeze.

It is $9.99 once on the US App Store, and Family Sharing covers it. The camera has no subscription. This is Pro Camera II, a separate app from the older Pro Camera by Moment, so owners of the first one pay again at a discount. Natural Processing starts from RAW and skips Apple's multi-frame processing, now at up to 24 MP. The catch is speed. A Natural shot can take several seconds to finish, and leaving the app too soon can lose it. The viewfinder shows Apple's processed feed, so the saved file can look darker than what you framed. iPhone only, iOS 18 or later.

Leica LUX is for people who want Leica's color on an iPhone. Its Looks come out less sharpened and less contrasty than stock Camera, and black and white is where they stand out. Aperture mode simulates Leica lenses. The 28 mm and 35 mm Summilux give a more natural background blur than Apple's Portrait mode on street and travel shots.

The free tier is usable: Automatic and Aperture modes, the 28 mm Summilux, and five Looks. Pro is $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year on the US App Store, with no lifetime option. It adds the other lenses, Artist Looks, full manual control, a histogram, peaking, and RAW or ProRAW. Aperture mode cannot shoot RAW or full manual, so the lens look and manual exposure never meet in one shot. There is no video. The $395 MagSafe LUX Grip adds a two-stage shutter, a dial, and a year of Pro. It needs iOS 26.

Lapse is a disposable camera in an app. You shoot, the photo gets a fixed film look, and it stays hidden until it develops hours later. You cannot crop or regrade it in the app. That is the point: you stop checking every shot and look at the day once it is over.

It is free, with no ads and no paid plan, on iPhone with iOS 17 or later. Lapse used to be a social app. The friends feed, profiles, and chat are gone, and developed photos now sync to your photo library, though a few screens still talk about friends. You sign up with a phone number, and deleting the account needs that number, so losing it locks you out of your photos. There is no recently deleted folder. Android apps called Lapse are made by someone else.