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Since every camera-equipped Android telephone comes with a camera app, most people volition never look further. Only some OEMs exercise a better job than others at creating great apps for photography, and in that location are also lots of interesting and mayhap important features that can only be establish by using a third-party camera app. Whether you're actively looking for one, or are simply curious near what you might be missing, here's our guide to some of your all-time options.

We'll start with some things to keep in mind when selecting a photographic camera app (or apps). Commencement, Android comes in myriad versions, and each OEM implements them differently, on unique hardware. So, an app that works great on 1 device might exist buggy, have poor performance, or not work at all, on another. So y'all'll need to test out whatsoever apps y'all're considering for yourself. 2nd, while many are free, some cost a few dollars. If that bugs you, look for their Lite or Trial versions to go a feel before you spring for the full version. Finally, photography on smartphones is a moving target. OEMs release firmware to upgrade their camera'south operation that can in turn affect improver camera apps. Android too continues to evolve. For instance, Google has now fabricated it possible for add together-on apps to use its HDR+ capability on some phones, just each camera app has to be updated to take advantage of it.

Beneath are some of my get-to options for camera applications on Android. I've placed their user rating from the Google Play shop in parenthesis after each, where it is bachelor.

Stock Photographic camera Apps

Google's own Camera app has a simple interface but lots of powerful options under the hoodThe "stock" camera apps that come with your phone vary widely past OEM and by specific device. Typically they don't offer a big number of features, then you may find them limiting. If yous're reading this article, presumably you're interested in what else is possible. On the upside, though, the OEM's own app often takes all-time advantage of the phone'due south specific capabilities, like a 2d camera for Zoom or Portrait mode, HDR+ in the example of Google, and Monochrome on some Huawei models. So it is worth learning what your stock Camera app does particularly well, as you may want to switch back to it for specific situations.

For the adventurous, Google'due south Photographic camera app (stock on its Pixel phones) has been ported to a diverseness of other high-end and even some midrange phones. Typically, though, only some functionality works, and the ports are of varying quality. They're easiest to observe in the forum for your device on xda-developers.com. I've used several incarnations of it on my OnePlus 5, and it's been a mixed purse. I got to use some previously Pixel-specific features, just they didn't always work right, so I sometimes had to switch to another camera app. Not always fun if you lot're trying to apace capture a special moment.

Camera FV-5 (iii.8)

Camera FV-5 provides a very DSLR-like interfaceIf you lot're yearning for the controls on your DSLR, and so FV-five may be for you. Information technology not but offers many of the same manual controls you go on a standalone camera, but even uses similar icons to represent features like exposure bounty. Some squeamish extras are a long exposure mode and an intervalometer. The information overlays, including an optional RGB Histogram, are as well helpful if you want to get the most out of your camera. FV-5 was my "goto" camera app until recently when I got addicted to the RAW HDR capability of the Lightroom Mobile Camera and the simplicity of Google's ain HDR+ point and shoot for quick captures.

Open Camera (iv.3)

If you want to feel involved with your photographic camera app, Open Photographic camera is unique every bit a total-featured, open source camera app for Android. Similar many open source projects, it includes a variety of funky features like being able to use your voice to capture images — call up "Cheese!" Because the app is a small donationware effort, information technology doesn't get tested on every smartphone, so you'll have to come across if it works on yours.

Lightroom CC Mobile (4.iii)

If y'all're an Adobe Cloud or Lightroom user, the Lightroom app's Camera is a corking pick. First, it offers the aforementioned RAW HDR capability, which provides remarkable dynamic range in the class of a high-bit-depth (really floating point) RAW file automatically created from as many individual frames every bit are needed to capture the highlights and shadows in a scene. Right now only Adobe's own tools seem to be able to edit these files, and so yous'll probably demand to use either Lightroom or Photoshop with them. They as well take a little longer to capture than Google's HDR+ photos, so they're more than sensitive to movement in the scene or of the camera.

Images you shoot with the camera in Lightroom are likewise automatically synced to your desktop version of Lightroom, and to your other mobile devices that utilise Lightroom. I had expert success pairing a Pixel ii with a Pixelbook as a complete mobile workflow, for example. Annotation that in the Play Store the app is chosen Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC.

A Ameliorate Camera (iii.8)

This app's name is a pretty practiced description of its capabilities. Information technology comes with tons of features, and rafts of settings screens to customize its various modes. For a while it was my go-to camera app, but it seems to have fallen behind. For example, I couldn't get it to record RAW (.DNG) captures with either a OnePlus 5 or a Pixel 2, even though both those phones clearly support that capability.

VSCO (4.4)

VSCO has nearly endless sets of looks and presets you can purchase as add-on packs for the main appMore than than most of the other camera apps, VSCO focuses on options for editing your images after you capture them. Its editing tools aren't quite as powerful as those in Lightroom Mobile, but go beyond just most any other mobile app. Film photography buffs will appreciate its diverseness of film-look presets besides.

More than chiefly, VSCO really wants you to exist role of its photograph storage and sharing community ($20 per yr). If you're already hooked on Google Photos, or Lightroom'southward cloud, then the last matter yous need is some other app tied to its own dorsum end. But if you're looking for a sharing solution, and don't similar your other options, VSCO may be worth exploring.

Camera Zoom FX Premium (4.iii)

Many camera apps focus on either lots of shooting options, or a bunch of stylized mail service-processing filters. Camera Zoom FX Premium does both. It has a highly customizable user interface and all the controls you'll need. If you miss the tiled interface of Windows Mobile, you'll see it echoed in the settings controls. 1 very slick feature it includes is a "Stable Shot" mode, where y'all press the shutter and the camera waits until a period when the telephone is steady, and then captures the paradigm. It also has a "All-time Shot" mode, which captures a burst of images and selects one for you.

Special Mention: Huawei Photographic camera

The camera app on the Mate 10 Pro takes full advantage of the phone's monochrome cameraEqually far as stock camera apps go, the Huawei Camera app on its Mate 10 Pro is peculiarly good. It combines a clean interface with like shooting fish in a barrel admission to manual controls in its Pro fashion for starters. Just it also offers quite a variety of specialty modes, many of which use the phone's dedicated AI fleck for enhanced processing. For example, information technology does a great task of zooming in using its two cameras and multi-frame processing for improved resolution. There's fifty-fifty a Monochrome mode that takes advantage of the device'due south unique 20MP black and white sensor, and a "wide-aperture" way that allows refocusing afterwards the fact. The only drawback is that I oasis't constitute a style to shoot RAW with the monochrome camera yet. Information technology also looks like in that location may be more specialty modes planned, as an interface for loading additional ones already features a few "goodies."

Summary: Horses for Courses

If you're serious about using your smartphone for more than just taking a few snapshots, yous're likely to wind up with more than i Camera app. In that location are literally dozens to choose from, and each one has different strengths and weaknesses. Their relative merit tin also change quickly, depending on whether they continue upward with the latest Android features, or take reward of the unique capabilities of your detail phone. The good news is that almost of them have a free version y'all tin attempt, and about all of them price less than $5, even for their premium version. And so it isn't hard to experiment with a few and see which i or ones best run into your needs.

[Image credit: David Cardinal]