Comparison

Lens Buddy vs Remote Camera Control via Air

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

Head to head
About

Lens Buddy

This app allows you to take hands-free photos and videos using a customizable timer. It's ideal for solo photoshoots, group pictures, and content creation, offering features like a photo booth mode and high-quality capture.

Highlights
  • Customizable timer
  • Photo Booth mode
  • High-quality photo capture
  • Video recording
  • Built-in gallery for rating and organizing
  • RAW photo support
  • Burst mode
Features
Read full description

Your ultimate handsfree camera experience is here! You take your own photos. Lens Buddy is a simple yet powerful timer camera app that will take pictures of you and your loved ones without the need to press buttons or even hold the device. Just set your desired time interval between the shots and let the camera roll! Leave your Bluetooth clicker home and do your own photoshoot! Take your social media presence to the next level! Once you finished taking your photos you can easily rate your pictures within the app that will help you to keep or export the best ones. Stop taking screenshots from videos - Lens Buddy offers higher quality photos and and easier way to take them! Want to take a group photo without having someone left out? Is there no one around to take a picture of you? Are you a content creator or a solo traveler? In need of building your Instagram feed? Do you need the best self timer app available? Simply put down your device on a safe place and let Lens Buddy make your perfect shot! FEATURES * [NEW] Photo Booth mode * 48MP capture * Video * Save photos to the app to keep your camera roll clean and use the built-in gallery to view, rate and organize your photos * Camera roll integration: save, sort into albums, view and manage your photos in the camera roll just like with the system camera app (optional, requires paid subscription) * RAW photo support (requires iOS 14.3, and available on Pro devices starting from iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max) * High quality photos * Live photos * Portrait mode * A clean, yet familiar and easy to use interface * Fully customizable timer * Sounds: Numerous sound effects and announcements help your photoshoot * Burst mode for super fast photography * Zoom, focus, exposure control * Aspect ratio: You can now snap your photos in either square or wide dimensions * Tracking focus: even if you move around the focus will follow you * Toggle between auto/on/off flash modes * Framing tools: Grid, level * Dark mode support Comments from you: "I love this app! I use is all the time for work and personal." "Just what I needed!" "Super easy and amazing!" "It’s literally perfect when you’re home alone and still want a cute outfit pic!" "This app is really helpful! Especially for those who are content creators like myself and take our own photos for work." Do you like Lens Buddy? Please don't forget to rate it in the App Store! It helps a lot. EULA https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Remote Camera Control via Air

Control your iPhone/iPad camera remotely using another device. Features manual settings, various photo and video formats, and advanced grid overlays. Save media to external drives or custom folders.

Highlights
  • Remote camera control
  • Manual camera settings
  • Camera preview on second device
  • Multiple photo/video formats
  • Customizable grid overlays
  • Save to external drives
  • Time-lapse and slow-motion video
Read full description

The app for remote control of an iPhone/iPad camera using another iPhone/iPad. The two devices use peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, which allows the devices to communicate directly, even if they are not on the same Wi-Fi infrastructure network. This technology is used by AirPlay, AirDrop, etc. In other words, Internet access or a Wi-Fi router is NOT needed. The maximum distance at which a connection can be maintained between two devices is about 20 foot. The app has the following features: • Control the iPhone/iPad camera using another iPhone/iPad. • Show the camera preview image on another iPhone/iPad. • You can enable the use of the device's camera when the same device acts as a screen. Disabled by default. • Manual camera settings, including frame rate settings. • Save camera settings to a list of settings for different situations. Read more about this below. • Lock camera settings with one button. • Select video format from 144p to 4K. • Pause during video recording. • Capturing photos in video recording mode. With the dimensions of the selected video format. • Save photos in HEIC, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, Apple ProRAW formats (if supported by the device). • Taking photos at 48 MP resolution. If the device has cameras that support this resolution. • Various grid options, including the ability to display your own PNG grid file. PNG file must have a transparent background. It is possible to select the thickness of the grid lines. The overlay grid image of the PNG file can be shifted. The PNG file image shifting feature is made for adaptation to the Video Telescope Collimation proposed by Dr. Leon Palmer (https://rigelsys.com/video collimation.html). • A series of photos with a custom time interval between photos and the number of photos in a series. • Overlay photos for subsequent combination of different photos or videos. To overlay a PNG file grid, you need to use a different function in the grid settings. • Averaging a series of frames to remove moving objects. • Slow motion video. • Time-lapse video. • Cinematic video stabilization. • Mirror image flipping on the device acting as a screen. • Timer. • Selecting a location to save photos and videos (including an external drive). In the photo library of the "Photos" app. In the folder of this app or any other app that has a folder in the "Files" app. On an external drive connected to the iPhone/iPad, while the external drive can be encrypted. You can even record video to an external drive, but for this, the write speed to the external drive must be high enough. When saving to something other than the photo library of the "Photos" app, you can create and change subfolders for saving within the already selected location for saving photos and videos. Use the text input field "Subfolder for saving". Using the "/" symbol, you can write several nested folders. For example: "Subfolder/Subsubfolder/SubSubSubfolder/". The nesting level of folders is not limited. • Customize the file name when saving to something other than the photo library in the "Photos" app. Sequence number, date and time, prefix, suffix. • Control the camera "shutter" using the volume buttons or "shutter" remote control button (a selfie stick button, a bluetooth "shutter" remote control button). • Silent mode. • Selecting a camera if the device has several cameras. The frame rate of the device acting as a screen is also adjustable. By reducing the frame rate, you can reduce energy consumption and, therefore, battery life. This is especially important if you are using a very old iPhone/iPad with a weak battery as a screen. The app can be used without a second device, for taking photos and videos with manual camera settings. In the app settings, you can configure the app to launch as a camera, without having to select. The app can work on iOS 12 and newer. This makes it possible to use old iPhones starting with the iPhone 5S and newer as a screen. IMPORTANT!!! SEE THE "HELP" SECTION IN THE APP!

Screenshots

Lens Buddy4 screens
Remote Camera Control via Air4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Lens Buddy at 4.9 against Remote Camera Control via Air's 4.0. Lens Buddy also leads on ratings volume (34K vs 22) and review sentiment (94% vs 73%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Lens Buddy sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Remote Camera Control via Air sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lens Buddy holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lens Buddy has 34K ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of Lens Buddy's written reviews are positive against 73% of Remote Camera Control via Air's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lens Buddy ships an update every 2 weeks, Remote Camera Control via Air every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Lens Buddy versus Remote Camera Control via Air: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLens BuddyRemote Camera Control via Air
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (34K ratings) — better4.0 (22 ratings)
Positive reviews94.4% of reviews — better72.5% of reviews
Number of ratings34K — better22
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#157 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLens Buddy Selfie Timer Photo Video Filter Camera LLCDmitriy Kharutskiy

Customer experience

Lens Buddy

All ratings34,046 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral1.3%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews994 reviews
Positive94.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.8%

Remote Camera Control via Air

All ratings22 ratings
Positive72.7%
Neutral4.5%
Negative22.7%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive72.5%
Neutral7.5%
Negative20.0%

Bugs and requests

Lens Buddy

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Photos not saving in order
  • Inconsistent photo count between app and export

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to invert camera view
  • Option to only save liked/approved photos
  • Zip/batch photo export
  • Apple Watch integration as a viewfinder

Remote Camera Control via Air

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Lens Buddy

Subscriptions12
  • Weekly PRO3 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Weekly PRO2 variants$2.997 Days
  • Weekly PRO$4.997 Days
Show 9 more
  • Monthly PRO2 variants$4.991 Month
  • Monthly PRO$9.991 Month
  • Special$14.991 Year
  • Special$19.991 Year
  • Yearly PRO3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Yearly PRO$29.991 Year
  • Yearly PRO7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Yearly PRO3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Yearly PRO7 Days trial$39.991 Year
1 purchases

Remote Camera Control via Air

One-time1
  • Full version$2.99

Questions

Is Lens Buddy free?
Lens Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Remote Camera Control via Air free?
Remote Camera Control via Air is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lens Buddy or Remote Camera Control via Air?
Lens Buddy is rated higher. Lens Buddy averages 4.9 out of 5 from 34K ratings, while Remote Camera Control via Air averages 4.0 from 22 ratings.
Do Lens Buddy or Remote Camera Control via Air have ads?
Neither Lens Buddy nor Remote Camera Control via Air shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lens Buddy or Remote Camera Control via Air?
Lens Buddy ships an update every 2 weeks, and Remote Camera Control via Air every 2 months. Most recently, Lens Buddy was updated on September 26, 2026 and Remote Camera Control via Air on September 19, 2026.

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