Profoto Camera vs Lightphase
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Profoto Camera
This app empowers ambitious creators to produce stunning images using their iPhone and Profoto lights. It offers two modes: Smart Mode for intuitive control over flash effects and mood, and Classic Mode for full manual control over settings and multiple flash units.
- Smart Mode with Contrast and Warmth controls
- Classic Mode for full manual control
- Flash power and color temperature adjustment
- Support for multiple Profoto flash units
- Computational photography enhancements
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We developed the Profoto Camera for ambitious image creators who want to create amazing images using iPhone and Profoto lights. Key features*: Profoto Camera has two different modes, each one optimised for different needs. That way it will work better for you in different situations. SMART MODE: INNOVATIVE EASE OF USE Helps you create professional images with two innovative controls, powered by computational photography: - Go between natural and dramatic flash effect with “Contrast” control. - Control the mood of your photos with “Warmth” control. CLASSIC MODE: UNLEASH YOUR CREATIVITY Profoto Camera app gives you also full manual control over all features, such as flash power, color temperature, and camera settings. It also supports using multiple flash units simultaneously. Ultimately, Profoto Camera lets you be as creative as you can be. The world of smartphone photography just got bigger. LOOKING FOR PROFOTO CONTROL APP? Looking for remote control functionality when shooting with your traditional camera? Search App Store for “Profoto Control” and start using it! Please send your feedback and feature ideas to hello@profoto.com! Love, Profoto team. * Supported Profoto products: Profoto C1 Profoto C1 Plus Profoto A10 Profoto B10-series lights Profoto Pro-11
Lightphase
This app predicts and displays the timing of various light phases, including golden hour, civil twilight, and astronomical twilight. It helps photographers and outdoor enthusiasts plan their activities around optimal lighting conditions, offering detailed information and countdowns.
- Predicts golden hour and twilight times
- Counts down to next light phase
- Displays six distinct light phases
- Visualizes the day's light curve
- Interactive scrubbing through the day
- Watch complications and widgets
- Offline functionality
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Lightphase is a clock for natural light. It tells you which light you are standing in, the minute it changes, and how long you have left. Shooting the overlook at golden hour? Lightphase gives you the minute it starts and the minute it ends. Hiking back after sunset? It tells you when Civil Twilight runs out, the last light you can walk by without a headlamp. Waiting for a dark sky? It shows when night begins, which is often more than an hour after sunset. Every phase of light, named Lightphase divides the day by the sun's angle into the phases photographers and hikers plan around, and names each one in plain words. Daylight. The sun is high, the light is flat and the shadows are short and hard. 35° Window. Low enough for directional light, with fuller color and more contrast than golden hour. The long, workable stretch of morning and afternoon. Golden Hour. Warm, low sun from the horizon to 6 degrees up. Long shadows and raking side light. Civil Twilight. The sun has set and the sky is still bright. Enough light to walk by, or to shoot handheld. Nautical Twilight. Deep blue sky over a faint horizon. Most of what people call blue hour happens here. Astronomical Twilight. The last glow before full dark. The stars are out, and a long exposure still picks up the horizon. Night. Full dark, with no usable light from the sun. The answer comes first The top of the screen holds the answer: the light you are in, when it began and ends, and how much of it is left. Below it sit the next golden hour and the next sunrise or sunset, with the time it gets dark or the first light before it. See the whole day at once Behind the answer, the screen takes the color of the sky at the sun's height where you are, with today's light drawn as a curve across it. Drag the sun along the curve and every reading follows your finger. Find out what the light will be doing at six before you decide where to be at six. Glance without opening anything The Home Screen widget shows the sky, the light you are in and how long it lasts. The medium size adds the next golden hour. On the Lock Screen, a widget shows the phase and when it changes. On your wrist, too The watch app comes with three complications. One names the light you are in and when it changes. One counts down to a light you choose, with a ring that empties as it runs. One draws today's arc with the sun where it stands right now. Readable in direct sun A light palette for bright sun and a dark one for dusk. Every phase is spelled out in words, so you never have to tell one color from another. Times that match the almanac Sunrise and sunset are timed to the sun's upper edge meeting the horizon, and the twilights use their standard angles. Almanacs use the same definitions, so the times agree with the ones you already trust, and the app shows where every number comes from. Works where the signal does not Lightphase works out the light on your iPhone from where you are and the time of day. It keeps working in airplane mode, in a canyon, and anywhere the bars run out. Your location stays on your iPhone, where only the latest position is kept for your widgets and complications. One price, everything in it One purchase covers the iPhone app, the watch app, every widget and every complication. There is no subscription and nothing to buy inside. The sun does not charge a monthly fee, so neither do we. Every light Lightphase tracks Sunrise, sunset, golden hour, blue hour, first light, last light, civil twilight, nautical twilight, astronomical twilight and night.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Lightphase at 100% against Profoto Camera's 39%. Lightphase also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.3) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). Profoto Camera's advantage is price (Free vs $4.99) and ratings volume (38 vs 2). On ads, in-app purchases 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
Profoto Camera is free to download; Lightphase costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Lightphase holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Profoto Camera has 38 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of Profoto Camera's written reviews are positive against 100% of Lightphase's.
Profoto Camera ships an update every 3 months, Lightphase every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Profoto Camera | Lightphase |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 3.3 (38 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 39.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 38 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 77 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Profoto | Onyx Mueller |
Customer experience
Profoto Camera
Lightphase
In-app purchases
Profoto Camera
No in-app purchases
Lightphase
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Profoto Camera free?
Is Lightphase free?
Which has better reviews, Profoto Camera or Lightphase?
Do Profoto Camera or Lightphase have ads?
Which is updated more often, Profoto Camera or Lightphase?
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