Comparison

Lightning Lens vs TapShot

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Lightning Lens

This camera app offers advanced manual controls and remote shooting capabilities. Capture photos in various formats, including RAW, with customizable settings for intervals, timers, and default views. Take pictures remotely using a smartwatch.

Highlights
  • Custom interval shooting
  • Automatic photo capture count
  • Adjustable photo timer
  • Configurable default camera settings
  • Remote photo capture via Apple Watch
  • RAW, JPG, and HEIF output formats
Read full description

Lightning Lens is a premium camera app for photographers. With powerful features and lightning speed, it is easy enough for anyone to pickup and use. Features: - Custom interval setting so you can choose how fast your photos will be taken. - Ability to choose how many photos to automatically capture. - Timer to delay photo capturing at a set amount you choose. - Ability to configure default camera view settings. - Remotely take photos from your Apple Watch. - Ability to choose output format including RAW, JPG, and HEIF.

About

TapShot

Capture sports action with intuitive one-finger zoom and instant photo capture. Pause video recording mid-game and add your logo directly to photos. Offers advanced manual controls and depth capture for enhanced photography.

Highlights
  • One-finger zoom and instant tap capture
  • Pause video recording
  • Add logo to photos
  • Manual ISO, shutter speed, and white balance
  • Depth capture mode
  • Automated selfie sets (Autoshots)
Read full description

ONE FINGER ZOOM FOR SPORTS Drag one finger up or down to zoom in and out. Immediately tap your finger wherever it is to capture a photo. Perfect for volleyball, basketball, and all your kid's sporting events. Faster and easier to use than the standard pinch gesture. If your iPhone is in the horizontal orientation you can even drag up and down at the side of the screen so your finger doesn’t block the subjects you are taking photos of. NEW: PAUSE VIDEO RECORDING Record the game without the timeouts and stoppages. Less stitching videos together and editing. JUST TAP TO SHOOT Tap anywhere on the image preview to take a photo or start/stop video recording while in video mode. No tiny shutter button. This is so much easier for taking selfies while your arms and hands are fully extended — just focus on framing the shot and tap away. 48 MP APPLE ProRAW AND HEIF For iPhones that support it. CUSTOM FOCUS POINTS Long press for half a second where you would like to set the focus point while maintaining exposure settings. CUSTOM ISO, SHUTTER SPEED, WHITE BALANCE & EXPOSURE BIAS ADJUSTMENTS ToolPod has Auto and Manual modes for toggling between fully automatic photo capture and making manual adjustments to ISO, Shutter Speed and White Balance. ADD YOUR LOGO WHILE TAKING PHOTOS Import your brand or school sports team logo and have it placed on your photos while taking them! No need to use another app afterwards. Choose from 9 locations and set the size and space from the edges. Supports alpha transparency when importing a PNG from iCloud Files. DEPTH CAPTURE MODE On capable iPhones and iPads, use Depth mode to capture and embed depth data to your selfies and rear camera photos. Open and edit with the native Photos app to apply lighting effects and adjust depth of field settings. 4x3 OR 16x9 PHOTO ASPECT RATIOS Traditional 4x3 size or wider 16x9, ideal for social media and video projects. SNAP TO OPTICAL ZOOM POSITIONS Drag with two fingers up or down to snap to the available optical zoom positions of your iPhone. This ensures you are only shooting at the optical zoom positions of your iPhone for best quality. CLEAN VIEW MODE Tap with 2 fingers to hide UI controls for an unobstructed image preview. Tap again with 2 fingers to restore them. PERSONAL PHOTO BOOTH WITH AUTOSHOTS Automated selfie sets. Because no one takes just one selfie — TapShot can automatically take a set of several photos, seconds apart. It means less physical coordination and you can keep your eyes on the screen to frame the perfect poses. If you just need one photo, there is a traditional simple countdown timer as well. BEAUTIFUL COLOR THEMES Choose from 20 different color themes to make your photo and video capturing experience match the color of your iPhone or case. EASY CAMERA SWITCHER The camera switcher always tells you which camera you are using, the current zoom factor, and if you’re at the optical zoom factor for that camera to use the best quality possible. VIDEO RECORDING PRESETS We made it easy to get the right level of quality versus file size. You don’t kneed to know complex video and photo terminology. And you don't need to leave the app to change any settings. 4K, 60FPS, HDR – if your device supports it you can use it in TapShot. COMPLETE PRIVACY No usernames, passwords or logins. We don’t collect a single thing about you or how you use the app. Nothing whatsoever is transmitted from your device to us. Your photos are saved directly to your iPhone’s camera roll so you can use the Photos app to manage and share. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://tapshot.app/privacy

Screenshots

Lightning Lens4 screens
TapShot4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Lightning Lens at 75% against TapShot's 0%. Lightning Lens also leads on price (Free vs $5.99) and device support (4 vs 2). TapShot's advantage is rating (4.0 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Lightning Lens is free to download; TapShot costs $5.99 up front. Lightning Lens sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. TapShot asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TapShot holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of Lightning Lens's written reviews are positive against 0% of TapShot's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lightning Lens ships an update every 5 months, TapShot every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Lightning Lens versus TapShot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLightning LensTapShot
PriceFree — better$5.99
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)4.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings24 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDevante McFarlaneEmotive Engines, LLC

Customer experience

Lightning Lens

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

TapShot

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Lightning Lens

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$0.99
None

TapShot

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lightning Lens free?
Lightning Lens is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TapShot free?
TapShot costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lightning Lens or TapShot?
TapShot is rated higher. Lightning Lens averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while TapShot averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Lightning Lens or TapShot have ads?
Neither Lightning Lens nor TapShot shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lightning Lens or TapShot?
Lightning Lens ships an update every 5 months, and TapShot every 2 weeks. Most recently, Lightning Lens was updated on November 2, 2026 and TapShot on November 3, 2026.

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