HSB Light vs Obscura
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HSB Light
This app generates custom light colors for photography and videography. Users can select colors via sliders or a pre-set library to create specific lighting effects and reflections.
- Customizable light colors
- Slider controls
- Color swatch library
- Photography lighting
- Reflection effects
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HSB Light creates light of any given color for photography purposes, creating reflexes, for example. You can use sliders or choose from a swatch library.
Obscura
This camera app offers advanced manual controls for photography and videography. It provides a range of capture formats, live filters, and viewing aids to enhance your creative process. An optional subscription unlocks premium features.
- Manual exposure, focus, and white balance controls
- RAW, ProRAW, HEIC, and JPEG capture formats
- Live filters and custom preset creation
- Grid, histogram, and focus peaking view aids
- Video and Live Photo recording
- Integrated photo library browsing and editing
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Obscura V is a camera app packed full of features to help you take incredible photos. Obscura pairs a stunning design with intuitive controls that make taking photos a delight. — Over its 10+ years on the App Store, Obscura has been featured numerous times around the world, including as Editors’ Choice and App of the Day. — Design Obscura squeezes a bunch of powerful features into simple controls anyone can master. The interface balances aesthetics, ergonomics, and intuitiveness. You won’t want to use anything else. Controls can be reached with one thumb, and gestures and haptics combine to create a tactile experience that lets you stay focused on your subject. — Capture Modes & Formats Obscura captures photos, videos, Live Photos, and portraits. Photos can be captured in RAW, ProRAW, HEIC, and JPEG (on supported devices, see http://obscura.camera/compatibility). Capture images in multiple different aspect ratios, or apply filters live in camera for a wide variety of styles. — Camera Settings Obscura gives you control over exposure, focus, white balance, ISO, shutter speed, and flash, with intuitive controls that make you feel in control of your device’s camera. — Live Filters Obscura includes a bunch of great filters to give your photos instant style but you can also create your own and use them live in-camera. It’s very cool and very powerful. — View Options Obscura lets you display a grid, a spirit level, a histogram, focus peaking, a focus loupe, and exposure clipping highlights to help you understand every detail of what you’re shooting. — Photo Library Obscura has its own interface for browsing, rating, editing, and sharing images, but it’s fully integrated with your system photo library, so images captured with Obscura are available everywhere. — Obscura Ultra Obscura is free to use, with an annual subscription for premium features. See http://obscura.camera/ultra for full details. — I hope you love using Obscura as much as I’ve loved designing and building it. If you do, please consider subscribing to Ultra, leaving a review, or just sharing with a friend. All the best, Ben ———— Privacy Policy: http://obscura.camera/privacy Terms of use: http://obscura.camera/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: HSB Light at 5.0 against Obscura's 4.1. HSB Light also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 5) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18). Obscura's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 32 months) and ratings volume (277 vs 4). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support 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. Obscura sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per 7 days. HSB Light asks for nothing beyond the download.
HSB Light holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Obscura has 277 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of HSB Light's written reviews are positive against 52% of Obscura's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
HSB Light ships an update every 32 months, Obscura every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | HSB Light | Obscura |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | 4.1 (277 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 52.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 277 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 32 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 0 MB | 174 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Veniamin Gribkov | Ben McCarthy |
Customer experience
HSB Light
Obscura
Bugs and requests
HSB Light
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Obscura
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes when trying to use Pro Raw mode
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between lenses
- Manual settings randomly resetting
- Photos not saving properly
- Freezing and black screen issues
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to save custom camera settings
- Variable zoom function in pro mode
- Separate manual control for exposure and ISO
- Dedicated selfie button
- Live audio capture for Live Photos
In-app purchases
HSB Light
No in-app purchases
Obscura
- Obscura Ultra - Weekly$1.497 Days
- Obscura Ultra - Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Obscura Ultra7 Days trial$24.991 Year
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- Obscura Ultra Upgrade1 Year trial$24.991 Year
- Obscura Ultra - One Time$74.99
Questions
Is HSB Light free?
Is Obscura free?
Which has better reviews, HSB Light or Obscura?
Do HSB Light or Obscura have ads?
Which is updated more often, HSB Light or Obscura?
Other comparisons
