Comparison

Manual Camera vs illumeter

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

Head to head
About

Manual Camera

Take full control of your mobile photography with manual adjustments for focus, ISO, shutter speed, and white balance. Achieve professional-looking shots with reduced noise and creative motion blur effects.

Highlights
  • Manual focus control
  • Adjustable ISO sensitivity
  • Variable shutter speed
  • Customizable white balance
  • Long exposure photography
  • RAW photo capture
Features
Read full description

With mcamera you can control parameters that are not available in the standard camera app: - Focus distance - ISO sensitivity - Shutter speed - White balance With manual control of shutter speed you can keep ISO as low as possible which will give you less noise on the photos. Long shutter speed would also give you opportunity to take photos with smeared elements such as car lights or smooth river water. Terms of service: https://vdugnist.com/mcamera_tos.html

About

illumeter

This app functions as a portable light meter, allowing users to measure exposure values like aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. It offers features for logging shots with location and settings, and provides customization options for a personalized user experience.

Highlights
  • Exposure measurement (Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO)
  • Tap-to-focus exposure lock
  • Exposure compensation
  • Frame logging with location and settings
  • List and map view of logged frames
  • Customizable settings and appearance
Features
Read full description

illumeter, The Simplest Light Meter in Your Pocket. Exposure Meter • Choose the value you want to measure from Aperture, Shutter Speed, or ISO. • The selected value automatically adjusts based on changes in the other two settings. • Tap a specific point on the screen to lock the exposure to that area. • An exposure compensation feature is provided to help you handle various challenging lighting conditions. Frame Logging • Log your frames by composing your shot and pressing the shutter button. • Location, date and time, EV value, and settings are recorded with each frame. • Review your recorded frames in a list and on a map. • Easily delete or edit incorrect frames. Settings & Personalization • Easily toggle various features on or off. • Deactivate or remove unused values. • Customize the app's appearance and feedback to your preference.

Screenshots

Manual Camera3 screens
illumeter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: illumeter at 100% against Manual Camera's 58%. illumeter also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). Manual Camera's advantage is ratings volume (440 vs 11) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Manual Camera sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per year. illumeter asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

illumeter holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Manual Camera has 440 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Manual Camera's written reviews are positive against 100% of illumeter's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Manual Camera ships an update every 4 weeks, illumeter every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and July 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Manual Camera versus illumeter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterManual Cameraillumeter
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (440 ratings)4.6 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews57.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings440 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVladislav DugnistSeunghun Yang

Customer experience

Manual Camera

All ratings440 ratings
Positive83.9%
Neutral4.5%
Negative11.6%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive57.8%
Neutral2.2%
Negative40.0%

illumeter

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Manual Camera

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Unable to save photos
  • Aspect ratio not saving correctly in free version
  • Slow shutter not working as expected
  • App crashes
  • Cannot access selfie camera
Show 3 more
  • EXIF data not displayed in native Photos app
  • ISO value discrepancy between slider and display
  • Cannot save photos due to photo access settings

Requested features

8 requests
  • Ability to turn on macro focus mode
  • Option to switch to selfie camera
  • Longer exposure times (e.g., 30 seconds)
  • Support for ultra wide and telephoto cameras
  • ND filter for daylight slow shutter speeds
Show 3 more
  • Ability to change lenses on iPhone 12Pro
  • More settings and controls
  • Fix alignment issue with aperture symbol

illumeter

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Manual Camera

Subscriptions2
  • Manual Camera PRO7 Days trial$5.991 Year
  • Manual Camera PRO7 Days trial$11.991 Year
None

illumeter

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Manual Camera free?
Manual Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is illumeter free?
illumeter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Manual Camera or illumeter?
illumeter is rated higher. Manual Camera averages 4.3 out of 5 from 440 ratings, while illumeter averages 4.6 from 11 ratings.
Do Manual Camera or illumeter have ads?
Neither Manual Camera nor illumeter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Manual Camera or illumeter?
Manual Camera ships an update every 4 weeks, and illumeter every 2 weeks. Most recently, Manual Camera was updated on September 23, 2026 and illumeter on July 18, 2026.

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