Photon Camera vs SunSketcher
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Photon Camera
Transform your iPhone into a professional camera with full manual controls. Achieve DSLR-quality photos with advanced tools like focus peaking, live exposure, and RAW capture. Take creative control with AI processing options and a minimalist interface.
- Full manual control (ISO, shutter speed, white balance)
- Focus peaking and focus loupe
- Live exposure and histogram
- RAW, ProRAW, HEIF, and JPEG capture
- Adjustable AI processing (Process Control)
- Minimalist and intuitive interface
- Image browser with photo details
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Turn your iPhone and iPad into a powerful photography tool with Photon Camera. Ideal for passionate enthusiasts and those venturing into professional photography, Photon Camera ensures DSLR-quality captures with every tap. DSLR-Quality Photos with Professional Features Photon Camera brings DSLR-quality photos to your iPhone and iPad with professional features for full manual control. Adjust focus, ISO, shutter speed, white balance, and, on iPhone 18 Pro, aperture, to capture unbelievable images. The ultimate camera app for creative photographers. Minimalist, Intuitive Design Ditch the clutter and focus on your shot. Photon sports a sleek, minimalist design that puts essential features at your fingertips. Clearly labeled, high-contrast, easy-to-tap controls give you instant access to focus, exposure, and white balance, so you can capture the perfect shot every time. Powerful, Professional Tools Experience the best of professional photography on your iPhone and iPad. Photon Camera equips you with robust tools such as live exposure, histogram, level, a focus loupe, timer, exposure clipping, and focus peaking, ensuring you capture exactly what you want. A Native iPad Camera Photon is built for iPad. All your pro tools are there: manual controls, histogram, level, focus peaking, and loupe, with layouts designed for the larger screen. A dedicated editing sidebar gives your photos more room while keeping adjustments close at hand. Smart, Precise Editing Edit with the same precision you shoot with. Smart Selection lets you tap an object and adjust it independently: Photon detects its edges, so you can brighten your subject, cool the background, or give each its own look. Blur and Sharpen tools let you soften a background or bring out detail, across the whole image or just a selection. On iPad, a dedicated editing sidebar gives your photos more room while keeping adjustments close at hand. Smart Selection requires iOS 27. Take Creative Control with Process Control Go beyond the basics of RAW photography with Process Control. This innovative tool lets you select the level of AI processing applied to your photos on a scale from 0% to 100%. Whether you prefer unprocessed RAW purity, fully enhanced photos, or something in between, Process Control ensures your creative vision comes to life. Process Control photos open directly in the editor, ready for finishing touches. Seamless Image Browser Relive your memories in a swipe with our easy-to-use image browser. Browse through your recent captures, get detailed insights about each photo, move smoothly into the editor, and share or delete with a single tap. Why Choose Photon? Simple, clutter-free interface designed for focused photography A native camera experience on iPad Capture in any format you like, including True RAW, ProRAW, HEIF, JPEG, and JPEG XL (iPhone 16 Pro and later). Or combine RAW and non-RAW formats. Instant access to manual controls, including Best-on-iPhone focus tools and manual aperture on iPhone 18 Pro, also through Camera Control Smart Selection, Blur, and Sharpen for precise, targeted edits Professional tools like live exposure, histogram, level, focus peaking, loupe, timer, exposure clipping, reliable RAW burst shooting, and external storage (iPhone 15 Pro and later) A user-friendly image browser that doubles as your digital photo album Photon Studio companion app that shows a live preview as you shoot your photos! Free for all Photon Pro users. Join the community of aspiring photographers taking their iPhone and iPad photography to the next level with Photon. It is not just a camera; it is a tool to unleash your creative vision. Download now and start capturing the world around you in stunning detail. You can review terms of use at https://photon.cam/terms/.
SunSketcher
Capture crucial data during the Great North American Eclipse. This app automatically takes photos of the sun, helping scientists create a precise model of its shape and study solar interior flows. Participate in citizen science from your smartphone.
- Automatic eclipse photography
- Location-based timing for totality
- Data upload for scientific analysis
- Citizen science participation
- Contributes to heliophysics research
- No special equipment needed
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SunSketcher is a citizen science initiative anyone can use to photograph the April 8th, 2024 Great North American Eclipse. Mass participation will generate an incredible database of images that, when analyzed together, could allow scientists to more accurately model the Sun. "We don't know the shape of the Sun?" you ask. Nope. Well, not exactly. Scientists have a pretty good idea, but it's not nearly as precise as it could be. Our hope is to change that—to measure the Sun's oblateness to an accuracy of a few parts in a million! This app uses your location to determine the time that totality will start and end there. This allows it to automatically take photos chock-full of data of the eclipse while you don't have to worry about the precise details! After totality, you can choose to upload the photos that were taken, along with a few other details about your location at the time of the eclipse and what settings your phone's camera was using, to our data servers for scientific analysis. What is citizen science? Citizen science is a collaborative style of research involving volunteers from the general public. The contributions of these “citizen scientists” help researchers collect and analyze large datasets. Citizenship is NOT a requirement. How will this project contribute to heliophysics research? We are aiming to create the first large-scale database of Baily's Bead images, which will allow the Sun’s shape to be precisely determined to within a few parts per million. Just as the precise shape of the Earth’s ocean surface allows us to determine flows inside the Earth, the SunSketcher database will allow us to study flows in the solar interior. In addition, knowing the precise shape of the Sun will allow physicists to test against and possibly disprove different theories of gravity, including General Relativity! Are there requirements or qualifications needed to participate? Can I participate if I’m not a scientist? You do not need to be a scientist to participate. Our aim is to involve as large and diverse a group of SunSketchers as possible. Why should I participate in SunSketcher? The unique aspect of SunSketcher is that everyone with a phone can make a valuable contribution to a state-of-the-art science project. No special equipment is required, just a smartphone. And, if you register as a SunSketcher on our site, we will add your name to the list of contributors. You might even get mentioned as a Guinness World Record Holder! Where do I have to be on the eclipse day? Anywhere inside the path of totality. Will I be able to watch the eclipse at the same time that I'm using SunSketcher? YES!! In fact, we encourage you to view the eclipse on your own (with appropriate safety precautions at appropriate times) while SunSketcher is running on your phone. The scientific quality of the images obtained will be best if the phone is left untouched throughout the few minutes between the start and end of totality. The app will be finished with the nitty-gritty science stuff just a minute or two after totality ends, at which point you can pick up and begin using your phone again.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Photon Camera at 4.0 against SunSketcher's 2.6. Photon Camera also leads on device support (3 vs 1). SunSketcher's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (33% vs 24%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Photon Camera sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. SunSketcher asks for nothing beyond the download.
Photon Camera holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 64 and 23 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 24% of Photon Camera's written reviews are positive against 33% of SunSketcher's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Photon Camera ships an update every 3 weeks, SunSketcher fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Photon Camera | SunSketcher |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (64 ratings) — better | 2.6 (23 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 23.8% of reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 64 — better | 23 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 59 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LateNiteSoft S.L. | Western Kentucky University |
Customer experience
Photon Camera
SunSketcher
Bugs and requests
Photon Camera
Reported bugs
4 issues- Manual mode crashes
- Inability to access external storage
- Incompatibility with certain devices
- Unreliable photo saving and syncing
Requested features
5 requests- Bracketed HDR mode
- Customizable white balance controls
- Landscape orientation support
- Macro mode
- Integration with other photo apps
SunSketcher
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Photon Camera
- Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- One-time purchase$39.99
SunSketcher
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Photon Camera free?
Is SunSketcher free?
Which has better reviews, Photon Camera or SunSketcher?
Do Photon Camera or SunSketcher have ads?
Which is updated more often, Photon Camera or SunSketcher?
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