# HDReye — Make 360° HDRis on your phone

> Mobile app for creating 360° HDRi images for 3D lighting and compositing. (iPhone/iPad app by HDReye Technologies Inc..)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hdreye/id1566721813 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [HDReye Technologies Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1691298419)
- Category: Photo & Video, Utilities
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.50/5 from 765 App Store ratings · 185 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 90 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2021-06-10
- Data updated: 2026-08-28
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hdreye/id1566721813/reviews.md

## What is HDReye?

Finally, an app to shoot 360° HDRis with your phone.

HDReye is the first and only iOS app for creating custom 360° HDRi images for realistic 3D lighting and compositing.

Just select your desired dynamic range, follow the prompts to shoot a bracketed multi-exposure panorama of your location, and HDReye will stitch and generate a 32-bit (.EXR format) HDRi of your location.

HDReye is an essential app for combining 3D animation realistically with footage or capturing lightmaps of any location. What used to require an expensive 360° camera or chrome ball light probe, now can be done conveniently on your phone with HDReye.

Whether you are an independent 3D artist, VFX studio, AR developer, NFT artist, content creator, or just a hobbyist - HDReye is here to make your workflow simpler and renders more realistic.

HDReye is your image-based lighting solution. Compatible with all 3D packages and render engines including Cinema 4D, Blender, Houdini, Maya, 3D Studio Max, Adobe After Effects, Element 3D, OTOY Octane Render, Redshift, V-ray, Arnold, Unreal Engine, Unity, Spark AR, and more.

HDReye users also have access to the largest crowdsourced collection of HDRi images in the world.

HDReye also works well for capturing 360° panoramas similar to the Google Street View app.

Terms of Use: http://hdreye.app/terms/
Privacy Policy: http://hdreye.app/privacy/

## Key features

- Create 360° HDRi images
- Shoot bracketed multi-exposure panoramas
- Generate 32-bit .EXR files
- Realistic 3D lighting and compositing
- Image-based lighting solution
- Access to crowdsourced HDRi collection

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| HDReye Pro | $6.99 | per month |
| HDReye Pro | $39.99 | per year |
| HDReye Pro | $6.99 | per month |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Asset unlock | $2.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of HDReye?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 High-quality stitching
- 💡 Convenient for VFX work
- 🚀 Fast processing
- 👍 Intuitive workflow

**Cons**

- 🔒 Paywall to preview/download
- 🐛 Inconsistent stitching quality
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🐛 Crashes and server issues
- 🔒 No offline processing

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Account deletion issues
- Stuck on processing/uploading
- Disappearing credits

**Most requested features**

- Free trial or preview option
- Ability to stitch locally on device
- One-time purchase option
- Improved stitching algorithm

## Recent user reviews (10 of 185)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hdreye/id1566721813/reviews.md

### 1/5 — No preview without paying

*2026-08-10, version 4.1.6*

No way to see whether or not this app is any good no one free image or anything deleted the data wasted my time removing the app what garbage

### 3/5 — Convenient

*2026-08-03*

It’s very convenient to shoot a quick hdri image rather than do my usual multi bracketed fisheye shots that sometimes fail with photoshop stitching. This works every time.  My only issue is I have an iPhone 12. I didn’t see any pre sales warning about using older iPhones but it will only take 3 exposures instead of the 5 as advertised :/

**Developer response:** Thanks for the review — glad it’s been convenient! On older devices, the number of exposures can be limited by the camera hardware/processing pipeline, so some models may capture fewer brackets. If you email us your exact iPhone model + iOS version, we can confirm what’s expected and see if there’s anything we can improve. Please reach out to operations@hdreye.app for any further clarification or problems.

### 5/5 — Works great

*2026-07-14, version 4.1.6*

For lighting VFX in your own environments, so absolute precision not required, this works really well, and the convenience is worth some money.

### 1/5 — Can’t even do anything

*2026-07-10, version 4.1.6*

You must buy a membership, even to view your HDRI!

### 1/5 — Paywall app

*2026-07-09, version 4.1.6*

Used to be good, now everything is locked behind a paywall. £2.99 to download my existing old images!

### 2/5 — Greedy but functional

*2026-07-08*

With the amount of data they’re harvesting, the least they can do is reevaluate the price tag. $3 per hdri, WITHOUT A PREVIEW is insane. This is not an app, it’s a subscription to a web tool. 

That said, the tool does what it says. If it were a one off payment (or if I could just preview the HDRI generated before purchasing) this would be a different review. A stainless steel gazing ball is a one time $30 purchase, and can build the same thing without sending your photos into an ai black box. This tool doesn’t even save time over the mirror ball as you’ve still got to wait for the images to process. 

If you’ve got the extra cash, go for it. The tool works pretty well, and if you make enough HDRI’s I can see a subscription being worth it- but if you’re someone like me who only needs a handful for the occasional FX shot, the value just isn’t there.

**Developer response:** Thanks for the detailed feedback, and sorry for the frustration here. We understand wanting to preview the result before paying, especially for occasional use. We’re taking this feedback seriously. Please reach out to operations@hdreye.app for any further clarification or problems.

### 1/5 — Die

*2026-05-16, version 4.1.6*

Now

### 1/5 — Disappointing

*2026-05-07, version 4.1.6*

You can’t even review the stitch before paying for it.

### 1/5 — Free trial please

*2026-04-24, version 4.1.6*

Just allow people to do one capture

### 1/5 — Why do I have to pay for a preview?

*2026-04-02, version 4.1.6*

Why would you lock a preview behind a paywall? I’m not spending money on an app subscription that I don’t even know will work.

## Frequently asked questions about HDReye

### What does HDReye do?

HDReye allows you to create custom 360° HDRi (High Dynamic Range image) images directly from your phone. These images are used for realistic 3D lighting and compositing in various visual effects and rendering applications.

### How do I create an HDRi with HDReye?

You select your desired dynamic range and then follow the app's prompts to shoot a bracketed multi-exposure panorama of your location. The app then stitches these images together to generate a 32-bit .EXR HDRi file.

### Is HDReye free to use?

The app is free to download and use, but it offers in-app purchases. This suggests that some features or advanced functionalities might require a purchase.

### What 3D software is compatible with HDReye?

HDReye is compatible with a wide range of 3D packages and render engines, including Cinema 4D, Blender, Houdini, Maya, 3D Studio Max, Adobe After Effects, Element 3D, OTOY Octane Render, Redshift, V-ray, Arnold, Unreal Engine, Unity, and Spark AR.

### Who would benefit from using HDReye?

Independent 3D artists, VFX studios, AR developers, NFT artists, content creators, and hobbyists can all benefit from HDReye. It simplifies the process of capturing lightmaps and creating realistic renders, which previously required expensive dedicated equipment.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 4.1.8 — 2026-08-11

- Small bug fixes.

### 4.1.7 — 2026-08-11

- You can now hold your phone upside down to capture.

### 4.1.6 — 2026-03-17

- Fixes bug where subscriptions could become unlinked from account.

### 4.1.5 — 2025-08-27

- Performance improvements and bug fixes

### 4.1.4 — 2025-07-21

- Fixed critical crash when opening the Assets screen

## Apps similar to HDReye

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| [ReShoot 360](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/reshoot-360/id1480665802) | 4.0 (46) | Free | Photo & Video |
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## More apps by HDReye Technologies Inc.

- [Teleport: 360° Camera](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/teleport-360-camera/id6476905405)
- [Homescope: 360° Virtual Tours](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/homescope-360-virtual-tours/id6742132542)
- [StreetMap 360 Capture](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/streetmap-360-capture/id6800887047)

All apps by HDReye Technologies Inc.: https://appshunter.io/developer/1691298419

## Related topics

[hdreye](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/hdreye) · [hdri](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/hdri) · [crystal uhd](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/crystal-uhd) · [photosphere](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/photosphere) · [4dx](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/4dx) · [reyee](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/reyee)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-28.*