# iLightningCam 2 — Lightning Strike Photography > Real-time lightning strike photography app with automatic and manual ISO controls. (iPhone/iPad app by Florian Stiassny.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ilightningcam-2/id1016445476 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Florian Stiassny](https://appshunter.io/developer/425886734) - Category: Photo & Video, Weather - Price: $1.99 - Rating: 4.00/5 from 92 App Store ratings · 120 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 9.0 · 16 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2015-07-17 - Data updated: 2026-08-27 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ilightningcam-2/id1016445476/reviews.md ## What is iLightningCam 2? iLightningCam 2 - The Second Generation - Real-time lightning photography with iPhone made easy. It enables everyone to take spectacular pictures of real lighting strikes with an iPhone or iPad! After three years of development, iLightningCam 2 follows the unique iLightningCam, which was the only app with ISO control since 2012 with more than 160 000 users. iLightningCam 2 features: - Full AUTO Mode! No user input needed! The app changes automatically between day and night mode Continuous calculation of best ISO settings based on the last strikes - Original Photo Resolution, no tricks, no interpolation! - Much better detection! - Double-shot , + one image as blend of first and second shot! - New modern design! - For experts: ISO ranges are fully manually adjustable, if wished! iLightningCam 2 uses true real-time recognition of lightning strikes. Once recognized, your iPhone takes a picture of the recognized lightning in up to full resolution. And yes - your iPhone or iPad is fast enough! You only need a good view on a real thunderstorm. The app works free hand. Just point your iPhone towards the scene/part of the sky/thunderstorm where you expect the next lightning, start the iLightningCam 2 and wait, the app will automatically press the trigger if a lightning is detected in your view. Warning: Lightning storms are life threatening for you and your phone!!! Take care using this app! Do not take any risks and avoid exposure to thunderstorms! Use this app only in lightning and storm protected places. You are solely responsible for your actions and adverse consequences. Read full safety warning in the instructions page, before using this app. Who is it not for: It is not for children and it is not for mentally handicapped persons, as they may have not the ability to protect themselves against lightning or the associated storm. ## Key features - Real-time lightning detection - Full AUTO mode - Manual ISO adjustment - Original photo resolution - Double-shot blending - Modern design ## Chart rankings - #79 in Top Paid · Photo & Video (US App Store) ## What do users think of iLightningCam 2? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 📸 Captures amazing lightning - 🚀 Works automatically - 👍 Easy to use - 🤩 Creates stunning photos - 💰 Worth the price - 💯 Reliable for lightning shots - ✨ Produces high-quality images - ⏱️ Fast capture speed - 📱 Compatible with newer iPhones - 💡 Innovative for its purpose **Cons** - 🐛 Blurry photos on newer iPhones - 🐛 White/gray bars on photos - 🐛 Overexposed photos - 🐛 Misses many lightning strikes - 🐛 Outdated UI - 🐛 Not user-friendly - 🐛 Focus issues - 🐛 App freezes - 🐛 App not working well recently - 🐛 Consumes battery - 🐛 Duplicate photos - 🐛 Captures street lights instead of lightning - 🐛 Rolling shutter effect - 🐛 Sensitivity to movement **Commonly reported bugs** - White bar across the top of the image - Pictures are blurry on newer iPhone models - App captures nothing or everything is overexposed - Auto setting not getting lightning, only brightness and out of focus - Large lightning setting gets nothing - Misses a lot of strikes, ones caught are out of focus - Constantly out of focus on 13 pro max - Only 2x zoom works, other cameras are blurry - White bar showing up - App takes 4 pics but captures nothing - Weird pink light but no lightning strike - Focus not working on iPhone 12 max pro - Took a lot of blank pictures and lots of duplicates - Out of focus on iPhone 12 - Every photo is out of focus on 13 pro max - App freezes - Not triggering camera on newest version - Tells user to upgrade to iOS 10 when on iOS 11 - App freezes after a minute - App not saving photos despite access rights - App not working well on iPhone 5 - App not capturing lightning bolts, only sheet lightning **Most requested features** - Vertical mode - RAW format output - More control over aperture and shutter speed - Higher resolution output (24MP) - HEIC or RAW format saving - Option to choose more than 2 shots for composite - Timelapse/Video/Live Photo mode - Way to review shots within the app - 5x zoom - Daytime lightning capture - German language support - Tutorial for settings - Improve UI/UX - Higher resolution camera optimization - Fix bug with x0.5 lens focus ## Recent user reviews (10 of 120) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ilightningcam-2/id1016445476/reviews.md ### 1/5 — Löst nicht aus *2026-07-13* Die App löst einfach nicht aus. Da waren mehrere richtig fette Blitze auf dem Display zu sehen, aber sie hat kein Foto gemacht. Hab dann einfach die 120fps Funktion der normalen Kamera App benutzt und Videos gemacht, aus denen ich dann die Frames raus gespeichert habe. ### 4/5 — Update *2026-05-19* Please update to the latest devices. I want vertical mode. обновите пожалуйста до актуалтных устройств. и хочется вертикальный режим ### 5/5 — My all time favorite app *2025-08-22* I’ve been using this since version 1 back in the 2011, I LOVE THIS APP. Over those years I’ve captured thousands of amazing lightning pictures that I cherish and even got my parents and colleagues to download the app and get into lightning photography. Thank you so much Florian and team you guys are rockstars! ### 4/5 — Toll aber alt. *2025-07-20* Die APP hat tolle Features, wird nur leider nicht mehr weiterentwickelt. Die Bedienung könnte man sicher verbessern oder die App auf aktuelle Geräte anpassen. Vor allem ein RAW Format wäre gut. ### 4/5 — White streak on photos *2024-09-26* Has been excellent but just had a storm and looked at images and they have a white bar across the top of the image, please can you fix this issue? ### 1/5 — Versagen auf ganzer Linie *2024-08-29* Die tollsten Blitze, riesengroß und superlang - und alles, was die App bewerkstelligt hat, waren Bilder von einem partiell helleren Wolkenhimmel. Hab die App geschlossen und ganz normal fotografiert, so habe ich doch noch einen guten Schnappschuss bekommen. ### 5/5 — Although not updated since 2 years… *2024-08-14, version 4.0* …still the benchmark lightning cam for iPhone (now running on 14 Pro with iOS 17.6). The UI comes a little bit clumsy and old-fashioned, but it does its job very well. I hope that it will still be working with upcoming iOS versions. ### 4/5 — Good app, a must have *2024-08-01* One of my best investment in an app ever, compatible with iPhone 15 Pro. Works well, and takes beautiful shots of lightnings. But… I really wish it was a bit improved. The auto mode is pretty good, manual mode lacks a bit of controls, only ISO, but nothing about aperture and shutter speed. Output is limited to 12MP saved as JPG, while I think it could take photos within my phone capabilities, i.e. 24MP and saved as HEIC or even RAW. It takes 2 shots, and saves a composite as a third, but I would love to choose more. A sort of Timelapse / Video / Live Photo mode could be appreciated. The app lacks a way to review the shots and doing it in the iOS app is kind of a pain, since you may have to go through thousands of shots. The user interface feels old, and hard to handle particularly when a storm is coming and it starts to rain, it’s easy to make mistakes with wet fingers (and end up with a bunch of blurry photos). And finally, I think there is a bug with the focus function, I did not find a way to set the focus for the x0.5 lens, only x1 and x2 is set. Anyway, update or not, I will continue to use it EVERYTIME a thunderstorm starts to flash. Thank you for this ! ### 1/5 — Not user friendly *2024-07-22, version 4.0* Could not get it focused and not very user friendly. Would not waste your money ### 5/5 — This app works *2024-07-22* I have been using ilightningcam 2 for four years now and it really does work it picks up lightning you won’t be disappointed ## Frequently asked questions about iLightningCam 2 ### What does iLightningCam 2 do? iLightningCam 2 is designed to capture real-time photographs of lightning strikes using your iPhone or iPad. It automatically detects lightning and triggers the camera to take a picture, preserving the moment in high resolution. ### How does the automatic mode work? The Full AUTO Mode requires no user input. The app intelligently switches between day and night modes and continuously calculates the best ISO settings based on detected lightning strikes, making it easy to use. ### Can I manually control the camera settings? Yes, for expert users, iLightningCam 2 offers fully manual adjustment of ISO ranges. This allows for greater creative control over your lightning photographs if you wish to fine-tune the settings. ### Is this app compatible with all iPhones and iPads? The description states that the app works with iPhone or iPad. While specific iOS version compatibility is not detailed, it is designed for modern iOS devices capable of real-time image processing. ### What are the safety precautions for using this app? Lightning storms are dangerous. The app strongly warns users to take extreme care and avoid exposure to thunderstorms. It is recommended to use the app only in lightning and storm-protected locations and to read the full safety warning before use. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 4.0 — 2021-08-27 - Support for all 3 lenses on Pro devices - Better focusing at night - Improved manual in English and German - Bug fixes ### 3.6 — 2019-08-20 - Bugfix for some users who experienced problems with saving images - Focus bugfix - New and redesigned picture preview ### 3.5 — 2019-07-09 - Support for telephoto lens - Pictures are now saved in an iLightningCam Album in your camera roll (for devices newer than iPhone 6) - Bug fixes and improvements ### 3.2 — 2018-11-05 - Support for new iPhone XS, XS max and XR - Support for new iPad Pro - Bug fixes ### 3.1 — 2018-07-09 - UI improvemts for iPhoneX - Better detection ## Apps similar to iLightningCam 2 | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Artista Impresso](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/artista-impresso/id947875208) | 4.7 (501) | $4.99 | Photo & Video | | [Circular Tiny Planet Editor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/circular-tiny-planet-editor/id845737955) | 4.7 (650) | $4.99 | Photo & Video | | [Distressed FX : Plus](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/distressed-fx-plus/id1441905750) | 4.8 (1,234) | $19.99 | Photo & Video | | [Bimostitch](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bimostitch/id1598709872) | 4.5 (33) | $7.99 | Photo & Video | | [Lightning Camera: ThunderCatch](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lightning-camera-thundercatch/id6736884627) | 4.2 (37) | Free | Photo & Video | | [Image Blender](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/image-blender/id414544492) | 4.9 (3,391) | $3.99 | Photo & Video | ## More apps by Florian Stiassny - [iLightningCam 2 Lite](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ilightningcam-2-lite/id522096043) All apps by Florian Stiassny: https://appshunter.io/developer/425886734 ## Related topics [ilightningcam 2](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/ilightningcam-2) · [ilightningcam 2 lite](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/ilightningcam-2-lite) --- *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 2026-08-27.*