Obscura vs (Not Boring) Camera
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
(Not Boring) Camera
Capture unique, honest, and inspiring photos with a playful camera interface. Offers professional-level controls, natural image processing, and customizable color grading with LUTs. Enjoy a tactile, 3D interface and one-second capture from lock screen.
- SUPER RAW™ capture
- 3D LUT color grading
- Customizable camera interface
- HDR support
- 3D camera interface with haptics
- Manual pro controls
- One-tap fast capture
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"The most fun camera app I've used in forever." — The Verge "My go-to for iPhone photography" — Washington Post "It’s so fun to use." —MKBHD Capture unique, honest, inspiring photos like the Pros in a fun, playful camera. SUPER RAW™ No AI or over-processed photos. Just natural grain, sharper images, & film-like exposures. Save Raw digital negative files (DNG) for processing in other tools like Darkroom, Lightroom, or Photoshop. Or capture using Apple's professional-level ProRaw. SKIP THE EDITS From snap to share. !Camera is the first camera app to enable professional color grading with 3D LUTs (”lookup tables”) used in high-end workflows by professional photographers to achieve realistic film simulations and unique cinematic looks. Use !Camera’s presets, add LUTs from your favorite creators, or make & import your own! New Styles and pro collaborations released every season. MAKE IT YOURS Customize every part of your camera to fit your vibe. Share colorways with others. HDR Extend your photo’s dynamic range with HDR to save additional highlight detail and color depth. LOVE THE FEEL Click. Tick. Snap. First fully-3D camera interface with dynamic lighting, sounds, & custom haptics that evokes the feel of holding a real camera. PRO CONTROL Use Auto mode for easy captures or switch to Manual for full control over exposure, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and focus with pro-level tools like focus peaking, histogram, and zebra stripes. ONE-TAP FAST From lock screen to first snap in under 1 second. Add shortcuts to your lock screen, home screen, widgets, camera control, control settings, wherever. 100% PRIVATE We collect nothing. We store nothing. We share nothing. Plans: https://notbor.ing/plans Support: https://notbor.ing/support Terms: https://notbor.ing/terms Privacy: https://notbor.ing/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: (Not Boring) Camera at 4.6 against Obscura's 4.1. (Not Boring) Camera also leads on review sentiment (69% vs 52%) and ratings volume (5.5K vs 277). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 and (Not Boring) Camera sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
(Not Boring) Camera holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: (Not Boring) Camera has 5.5K ratings behind it against 277, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Obscura's written reviews are positive against 69% of (Not Boring) Camera's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.
| Parameter | Obscura | (Not Boring) Camera |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (277 ratings) | 4.6 (5.5K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.5% of reviews | 69.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 277 | 5.5K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | — | #143 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18 — better | 18.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 174 MB | 191 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ben McCarthy | Not Boring Software LLC |
Customer experience
Obscura
(Not Boring) Camera
User reviews
Obscura
From 277 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful manual controls
- 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
- 🎨 Customizable presets and filters
- 💡 Unique camera gestures and UI
- 🎥 Supports video recording
Room to improve
- 💰 Subscription-based model
- 🔒 Locked features behind paywall
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🤔 Unintuitive controls and settings
- 🤷♂️ Lack of support for newer iPhone lenses
(Not Boring) Camera
From 5.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Customizable camera experience
- 🎨 In-camera processing with LUTs
- 🎥 Satisfying and natural film-like photos
- 🔍 Excellent manual controls
- 🎨 Aesthetically pleasing UI
Room to improve
- 🔍 No digital zoom
- 🎥 No video or slow-motion mode
- 🔥 Phone gets too hot during use
Bugs and 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
(Not Boring) Camera
Reported bugs
1 issue- Inability to focus on nearby subjects
Requested features
2 requests- Video and slow-motion mode
- Brightness matching between viewfinder and final image
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
(Not Boring) Camera
- Super !Boring Monthly$7.991 Month
- !Camera Plus Yearly$14.991 Year
- !Camera Plus Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Super !Boring Yearly$29.991 Year
- !Camera Plus Lifetime$59.99
Questions
Is Obscura free?
Is (Not Boring) Camera free?
Which has better reviews, Obscura or (Not Boring) Camera?
Do Obscura or (Not Boring) Camera have ads?
Which is updated more often, Obscura or (Not Boring) Camera?
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