Comparison

Flashback Camera vs Thumbs

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

Head to head
About

Flashback Camera

Experience the magic of film photography with a digital camera. Choose film types, connect to your camera, develop photos, and save them to relive moments.

Highlights
  • Film camera simulation
  • Selectable film types
  • Connect to camera
  • Photo development
  • Save photos
Features
Read full description

The soul of a film camera reborn in a digital era. Choose your favourite Flashback film type. Connect to your Flashback camera, develop your photos and save them for later. Start living in the moment with the magic of film.

About

Thumbs

Features
Read full description

Culling is the part of photography that keeps you at a desk. Thumbs moves it to your phone. Send a shoot from Adobe Lightroom Classic with the Thumbs plugin, and it appears on your phone as a deck of cards. Swipe right to keep, left to reject. Tap a star while you're at it. When you're done — on the couch, on the train, on a flight — Lightroom pulls every decision straight back onto the right photos in your catalog: reject flags, picks, and star ratings, exactly where a desk session would have put them. BUILT FOR THE FIRST PASS • One card at a time, full attention on one frame • Swipe to decide, tap to skip forward or back • Press and hold for a loupe — slide it across faces in a group shot in one gesture • Haptic tick on every decision; a burst when the roll is done • Undo, revisit, and finish in any order — progress syncs across devices WORKS WHERE YOU ARE • Download a shoot over wifi, then cull with no signal at all — airplane mode included • Decisions made offline sync back when the network returns • Nothing to charge, install, or carry beyond the phone already in your pocket PAIRING WITHOUT ACCOUNTS • No email, no password, no sign-up • Lightroom shows a 6-character code, you type it once, and the phone is paired • Photos travel as reduced previews; originals never leave your computer TRY IT BEFORE PAIRING • A built-in demo shoot of 43 frames works with no setup at all • Or pick 20–30 photos from your own camera roll and swipe those — they never leave the phone Thumbs requires the Thumbs plugin for Adobe Lightroom Classic on your computer to sync real shoots. The demo and camera-roll modes work without it. Thumbs is not affiliated with or endorsed by Adobe. Adobe and Lightroom are trademarks of Adobe Inc.

Screenshots

Flashback Camera3 screens
Thumbs4 screens

Verdict

The call

Flashback Camera and Thumbs are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Flashback Camera versus Thumbs: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlashback CameraThumbs
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (522 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews39.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings522 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size145 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTykeeDavid Maizil

Bugs and requests

Flashback Camera

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • App freezes during photo unloading process
  • Photos fail to transfer from camera to app
  • Camera won't connect to app after initial use
  • Filter selection doesn't change or persist
  • App crashes when accessing developed photos
Show 11 more
  • Development timer resets unexpectedly
  • Camera firmware update loops infinitely
  • Photos appear completely black or white
  • Cannot reload new film after unloading
  • Bluetooth/WiFi connection drops frequently
  • Text size settings cause app malfunction
  • Upload process gets stuck mid-transfer
  • Camera reset button erases all photos
  • App requires manual restart to complete processes
  • Device unlinking option missing from app
  • Feedback prompt non-functional

Requested features

15 requests
  • Reduce development time to 2-5 hours maximum
  • Allow concurrent development of multiple rolls
  • Enable local on-device photo processing
  • Add ability to unload partial rolls before completion
  • Implement progress bars and status indicators
Show 10 more
  • Add photo saving/export to device storage
  • Increase exposures per roll beyond 27
  • Add more diverse and accurate film filter options
  • Enable background processing without keeping app open
  • Add notifications when rolls finish developing
  • Implement automatic camera-to-app unlinking
  • Add landscape mode support
  • Improve filter preview accuracy
  • Add ability to adjust camera settings
  • Implement offline mode for travel

Thumbs

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Flashback Camera

No in-app purchases

None

Thumbs

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Flashback Camera free?
Flashback Camera is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Thumbs free?
Thumbs is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Flashback Camera or Thumbs have ads?
Neither Flashback Camera nor Thumbs shows ads.

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