FoCal Mobile vs Black Lens
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FoCal Mobile
This app helps photographers calibrate and analyze their DSLR camera's autofocus system for sharper images. It offers automatic testing and tuning, with advanced features available through a subscription.
- Automatic DSLR autofocus analysis
- Camera and lens calibration
- Test setup verification
- One-tap autofocus testing
- Comparison database
- Historical data review
- Camera time synchronization
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FoCal Mobile brings Reikan FoCal's DSLR camera calibration and analysis tools to your mobile device! Connect your camera to your device* and FoCal takes control to analyse the performance of your autofocus system and tune it for better shots. The free FoCal Mobile app features: - Automatic control of all Canon and Nikon DSLRs and Mirrorless cameras which support AF tuning (AF Microadjustment/AF Fine Tune) - Automatic verification of test setup, including camera position, lighting, camera and lens settings and more - One-tap testing of autofocus system performance, with scores and crops to review - Camera time synchronisation With a FoCal Pro subscription or FoCal Pro (Desktop) license (within support), you can add: - Calibration of your lenses, tuning your autofocus for the best performance possible. Get the very best from your camera and lenses. - Check your autofocus with cameras that have already been calibrated. - FoCal Comparison Database: compare the performance of your kit with 1,000s of other users to find out how it compares to *real-world* use, NOT artificial lab tests! - Review historical data, recall tests and calibrations you've run to find out how your equipment is holding up. - Export data to FoCal Pro Desktop for more detailed analysis, charting, reports and more. - One-tap Time Sync - synchronise your camera time with one tap right from the first screen of FoCal. - Calibrate and analyse lenses with focal lengths over 400mm. * Connection is via USB or the Reikan Wireless Camera Control Module. - For iPhone and iPad with lightning connectors, you will require a Lightning to USB Adapter in order to connect a camera - further details are provided in the app help, but a standard Lightning to USB adapter will work in most cases. - For iPad with USB-C, you can directly connect to the camera with just an appropriate cable. FoCal requires the use of a FoCal Target, which you can download and print using links from within the app, or purchase from the FoCal store. You will need a FoCal account, which can be created for free from within the app. With a FoCal Pro (Desktop) license which is within the support period, you will have automatic access to all Mobile Pro features. FoCal can control the following cameras (a complete list and help with each camera is available at: https://reikanfocal.com/supported-cameras.html) Canon: - EOS-1D Mark III - EOS-1Ds Mark III - EOS-1D Mark IV - EOS-1D X - EOS-1D X Mark II - EOS-1D X Mark III - EOS 5D Mark II - EOS 5D Mark III - EOS 5D Mark IV - EOS 5DS - EOS 5DSr - EOS 6D - EOS 6D Mark II - EOS 7D - EOS 7D Mark II - EOS 50D - EOS 70D - EOS 80D - EOS 90D Nikon: - D3 - D3S - D3X - D4 - D4S - D5 - D6 - D300 - D300S - D500 - D600 - D610 - D700 - D750 - D780 - D800 - D800E - D810 - D810A - D850 - Df - D7000 - D7100 - D7200 - D7500 - Z30 - Z50 - Z50ii - Zfc - Z5 - Z5ii - Z6 - Z6ii - Z6iii - Z7 - Z7ii - Z8 - Z9 - Zf End User License Agreement available at: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Black Lens
This app offers an automated, eyes-free selfie experience using face tracking and haptic feedback. It guides users to the perfect shot with vibrations and spoken cues, even for rear-camera selfies or in bright sunlight. Designed for accessibility, it features a high-contrast interface and voice control.
- Automated photo capture
- Haptic feedback for framing
- Eyes-free operation
- Mask Mode for glare reduction
- Full voice control
- Optimized rear-camera selfies
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lackLens is an accessible camera app built for blind, low-vision, and fully sighted people who want better selfies without needing to see the screen. Designed by legally blind founder Steve Johnson, BlackLens uses face detection, spoken feedback, haptics, high-contrast visuals, and automatic capture to help you frame photos confidently — whether you are using VoiceOver, shooting outdoors in bright sunlight, wearing sunglasses, doing sport, or taking a higher-quality selfie with the rear camera. ◆ AutoCapture BlackLens can automatically take a photo when faces are detected, framed, and steady. No tiny shutter button. No guessing. Just hold the camera and let the app guide the shot. ◆ Headcount Taking a group photo? Turn on Headcount, choose how many faces you expect, and BlackLens helps make sure everyone is in frame before capture. ◆ Missile Lock When AutoCapture is off, Missile Lock gives you an audio lock-on cue. A tracking tone helps you frame the shot, then a lock tone tells you when you are ready to tap or press volume to capture. ◆ Haptic Framing Feel what the camera sees. • Gentle vibration means a face is near the edge • Stronger feedback means someone may be cut off • No vibration means the framing is improving This makes it easier to angle the phone without needing to inspect the screen. ◆ Mask Mode Mask Mode turns the screen into a bold, high-contrast framing surface. It is useful for low vision, bright sunlight, rear-camera selfies, and situations where the display is hard to see. Faces appear as clear visual targets: • Green means face detected • Red means locked and ready ◆ VoiceOver-Friendly Controls When VoiceOver is active, BlackLens provides dedicated accessible controls for key actions like switching cameras and toggling Mask Mode. Headcount can be adjusted with a simple VoiceOver swipe up or down. ◆ Simple Gestures • Tap anywhere to capture manually • Swipe up or down to switch cameras • Swipe left or right to toggle Mask Mode • Press a volume button to capture ◆ Better Rear-Camera Selfies Use the higher-quality rear camera with confidence. BlackLens gives spoken, haptic, and visual feedback so you can frame yourself even when you cannot see the display. ◆ Private and Simple No accounts. No subscriptions. No tracking. Just a focused camera tool designed to help more people take better photos.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Black Lens at 100% against FoCal Mobile's 0%. Black Lens also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.8) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). FoCal Mobile's advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and device support (3 vs 1). On update cadence and ads 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
FoCal Mobile is free to download; Black Lens costs $1.99 up front. FoCal Mobile sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $19.99 per year. Black Lens asks for nothing beyond the download.
Black Lens holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of FoCal Mobile's written reviews are positive against 100% of Black Lens's.
FoCal Mobile ships an update every 6 weeks, Black Lens every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FoCal Mobile | Black Lens |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 3.8 (17 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 111 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Reikan Technology Ltd | Steven Johnson |
Customer experience
FoCal Mobile
Black Lens
In-app purchases
FoCal Mobile
- FoCal Mobile Pro$19.991 Year
Black Lens
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is FoCal Mobile free?
Is Black Lens free?
Which has better reviews, FoCal Mobile or Black Lens?
Do FoCal Mobile or Black Lens have ads?
Which is updated more often, FoCal Mobile or Black Lens?
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