The smartphone camera has become an indispensable tool for capturing life’s moments. However, sometimes, the built-in camera app falls short, lacking the features or finesse to achieve that perfect shot. Fortunately, with a bunch of Best camera apps for Android, capturing stunning photos is easier than ever. In this guide, we’ll explore the best camera apps for Android that offer a plethora of functionalities to elevate your mobile photography game. These apps cater to both budding photographers and seasoned enthusiasts.
8 Best Camera Apps for Android in 2024
Most of the default camera apps fail to provide the desired quality, despite the best efforts of the manufacturer. Because of this, users are turning to popular third-party apps to get the most out of their Android camera. Below are some of the best camera apps for Android:
1. Open Camera: Free, Open-Source Powerhouse
Open Camera is one of the popular and best camera apps for Android for those seeking high-quality images. This open-source app features extensive manual controls, such as adjusting exposure, white balance, ISO, focus, and shutter speed with precision. It supports RAW capture and is a perfect app for photographers who want maximum control in post-processing. Additionally, advanced features like – timelapse, burst mode, and HDR (High Dynamic Range) capabilities further enhance your creative possibilities.
Key Features
- The auto-level option ensures your photos are always straight
- You can unlock your camera’s full potential: adjust scene modes, colors, white balance, ISO, exposure, and take HD videos
- You can choose from various grids and crop guides to help compose your shots
- It allows you to add GPS location tags to your photos and videos, including compass direction for photos
- You can add date, time, location, and custom text to your photos, even as video subtitles
- You can capture panoramas, even with the front camera.
- There are advanced features like HDR, Exposure Bracketing, and support for RAW (DNG) files.
- Utilize Camera2 API for manual controls, burst mode, slow motion video, and more.
- Tools like on-screen histogram, zebra stripes, and focus peaking aid in composition.
- Focus bracketing mode for capturing multiple shots at different focus points.
Pros
- Free and open-source
- RAW capture support
- Timelapse, burst mode, and HDR
Cons
- Interface might be overwhelming for beginners
- It lacks built-in editing tools
2. VSCO Cam: The King of Aesthetic Filters
VSCO Cam is considered one of the best camera apps for Android by photography enthusiasts. It’s renowned for its collection of high-quality filters and presets that emulate classic film stocks and popular aesthetics. Beyond filters, VSCO offers basic editing tools for fine-tuning your photos. The vibrant community further fuels creativity, allowing users to explore and share their work for inspiration.
Key Features
- You can customize presets to capture the exact mood you’re looking for with detailed control
- It allows users to enjoy full-featured mobile and desktop tools in VSCO Studio for professional photo finishing
- You can access advanced editing tools unique to VSCO, including a mobile video editor, film effects, and Recipes for an instant look application
- You can add authentic film grain to your digital images and experiment with live camera effects like double exposures and prism effects
- It helps in creating rich compositions with text, graphics, effects, and more with the Collage feature
Pros
- It has an extensive collection of premium filters and presets
- There is an active community for sharing and inspiration
- It has basic editing tools for quick adjustments
Cons
- The free version offers limited filters and editing tools
- You need a subscription for full access
3. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom: All-in-One Powerhouse for Photography
Adobe Lightroom is a powerful photo editing app for Android that allows users to edit, organize, and share their best photos with ease. It’s a comprehensive suite with a powerful camera module alongside top-notch editing tools. It allows users to capture stunning photos with intuitive controls, leveraging features like selective adjustments and presets for quick beautification. Moreover, the seamless integration with Lightroom’s editing suite ensures in-depth post-processing, helping you transform your photos into stunning images.
Key Features
- It incorporates AI technology to make photo editing remarkably easy, which helps users to achieve amazing results effortlessly
- Users can edit photos on their iPhone, iPad, or Android devices, which helps them to work on their photos in real-time
- It has over 150 hand-crafted free and premium presets that users can apply with just a single tap
- Users can easily remove unwanted background distractions or blemishes from their photos with the help of Healing Brush tool
Pros
- It has a powerful camera with user-friendly controls
- It is integrated with an editing suite with advanced features
- It has an extensive preset library for quick edits
Cons:
- One requires an Adobe subscription for full editing features
- In some devices, it can take up a lot of resources and
4. ProCam X – Lite: Versatility for Photos and Videos
ProCam X – Lite is a free photography app for Android with a plethora of features to improve your photography and videography experience. With its user-friendly interface and advanced manual controls including – ISO, focus, white balance, exposure settings, etc. – you can capture professional-quality photos and videos easily. Moreover, there are various shooting modes, burst mode, customizable shutter speed, and real-time filters, which help you unleash your creativity while shooting or taking pictures. Additionally, the ProCam X mobile app for Android supports 4K video recording and has advanced anti-shake technology to ensure stable footage.
Key Features
- It has tons of filters and effects that help enhance your photos and videos
- There are multiple modes like – portrait, landscape, and burst shooting for taking professional-quality images and videos
- You will have complete control over your photos, as it allows you to adjust ISO, focus, white balance, and exposure settings manually
- You can seamlessly adjust the shutter speed to capture the perfect click
- You can easily set custom video bitrates for high-quality video recording
- It has an optional audio recording feature to record videos in 4K quality
- You can save post-editing time by applying filters in real time while capturing photos and videos
Pros
- The easy-to-use interface is suitable for both beginners and experienced users
- It has an extensive collection of manual controls for capturing HD photos and videos
- The live filters can be used to give a creative touch during the capture
Cons
- The free version has limited features. You need to go for the paid version to unlock the full potential
5. Manual Camera: Unleash Your Inner DSLR Pro
As the name suggests, Manual Camera mobile app for Android is suitable for photographers who prefer DSLR-like control over their shots. It’s like the Pro Version but with limitations on photo resolution (up to 8MP), video resolution (up to 1080p), and video recording time (up to 5 minutes). Even with these limitations, you can get full control over advanced settings like ISO, shutter speed, exposure, and focus, just the same way on a real camera.
Key Features
- It offers accurate adjustments for white balance, ISO, exposure compensation, and focus distance.
- Users can capture images in RAW format, which helps in maintaining image quality
- It allows users to capture multiple shots at different exposure levels
- One can easily take well-balanced and straight images with grid lines
- It has a wide collection of shooting modes including portrait, landscape, and night mode
- Users can easily capture time-lapse sequences by taking photos at specified intervals
- It has GPS coordinates, which help users to track the location
Pros
- It offers comprehensive manual controls to capture that perfect shot
- One can integrate an external microphone while taking videos
Cons:
- The interface can be difficult for beginners
- It lacks built-in editing tools
6. Foodie: The Ultimate App for Food Photography
Foodie is a niche mobile app that is designed specifically for food photography. It offers a wide collection of filters and effects to enhance the visual appeal of your culinary creations. For example, you can apply filters like “Fresh” and “Bright” to emphasize the vivid colors of your dish. These filters add flair and style to food photos, making them visually appealing and memorable. This is one of the best camera apps for Android that allows for manual focus adjustments to ensure your food is the star of the show.
Key Features
- The app offers more than 30 live filters, including Yum, Positano, Tropical, Picnic, Sweet, Fresh, BBQ, Romantic, Crispy, Chewy series, and more
- The easy and accurate smart guide feature in the Foodie app helps capture top-down photos of food easily
- You can use live filters to add vibrancy to your dining
- It allows users to turn bland cuisines/dishes into delectable masterpieces by using different filters
- The timer feature helps you capture the perfect moment. It is ideal for taking selfies or photos of food.
- It has a mute option that helps you take discreet photography in quiet restaurants.
- You can instantly share on social networks including Instagram, LINE, Facebook, KakaoTalk, WeChat, VSCO, Weibo, and more
Pros
- It offers specialized filters and effects to enhance the quality of your food photography
- It has manual focus control for emphasizing your subject/food/cuisine
- The easy-to-use interface is perfect for capturing delicious dishes
Cons
- It has a limited use case when compared to general camera apps
- It also lacks advanced editing features
7. SODA: Fun and Trendy Edits for a Younger Audience
SODA is a perfect camera app for the younger demographic who enjoy playful and trendy edits of their photos. This is amongst the best camera apps for Android with a broad range of filters, stickers, and effects loved specifically by Gen Z. From adding cute animal ears to experimenting with trendy color palettes to exploring text overlays and personalizing your photos, it offers a lot for capturing the perfect picture.
Key Features
- You can take pictures and record videos with the selfie camera
- It allows you to apply beautiful filter effects and styles to make the photos more eye-catching
- You can edit photos and videos with various filters to achieve the desired aesthetic
- It enables easy sharing of photos and videos on social media accounts directly from the app
Pros
- It has numerous trendy filters, stickers, and effects for a youthful audience
- It supports text overlays and has basic editing tools for personalization
- The easy-to-use interface is perfect for quick edits and social media sharing
Cons:
- The Soda app has a limited range of features and manual controls
- The free ads disrupt the user experience
8. HedgeCam 2: Finding the Balance Between Control and Ease
HedgeCam 2 emerges as one of the best camera apps for Android with a compelling mix of features for photographers looking for a feature-rich and user-friendly app. It provides a good range of manual controls, including – adjusting focus, white balance, ISO, exposure compensation, and even shutter speed for greater control over your shots. Additionally, the app offers advanced features such as RAW capture, HDR mode, and focus bracketing mode so that users can capture high-quality photos in different situations and conditions. In short, it offers a good balance for those comfortable exploring manual settings and capturing creative photos.
Key Features
- This app supports various focus modes, scene modes, color effects, white balance, ISO, and exposure compensation
- It has an advanced selfie mode with options for a timer, face recognition, or voice commands to start shooting
- The face detection feature helps in capturing portraits with great accuracy
- The automatic image alignment based on accelerometer data ensures perfectly leveled horizons in photos
- It supports exposure bracketing, HDR (High Dynamic Range), and DRO (Dynamic Range Optimization) photo modes for capturing dynamic scenes
Pros
- The user-friendly interface is suitable for both beginners and advanced users
- It has customizable presets so that users can quickly access preferred settings
Cons:
- It has limited editing options compared to dedicated photo editing apps
Conclusion
These eight best camera apps for Android have completely changed how we take photos with our phones. With these apps, you get great photo quality and cool editing tools that are easy to use. Once you try them, you won’t want to go back to your old ways. They give you so many ways to be creative and take amazing photos wherever you are. And if you want to go even further, try out augmented reality (AR) apps to add cool virtual stuff to your photos.
So, grab your Android phone and start exploring the awesome world of mobile photography with these fantastic camera apps for Android!
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FAQs: Best Camera Apps for Android
Q. What are the top 10 camera apps for Android?
A. Some of the top 10 camera apps for Android include Camera MX, Open Camera, Google Camera, Camera FV-5, ProShot, Camera Zoom FX, and more.
Q. What is the best DSLR camera app for Android?
A. There are several DSLR-like camera apps available for Android, such as Camera FV-5 and Manual Camera.
Q. Which is the best camera app for landscape photography on Android?
A. For landscape photography, you can pick some of the best camera apps for Android like ProShot and Camera Zoom FX.
Q. What is the best night mode camera app for Android?
A. Popular apps like Night Camera and Night Vision Camera offer good low-light performance on Android.
