Comparison

Classic Camera by Hipstamatic vs Alpha Linker

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

Head to head
About

Classic Camera by Hipstamatic

This app offers a unique analog-style photography experience on mobile devices. It provides a variety of vintage camera simulations, advanced editing tools, and the ability to create and share custom presets. Users can capture and edit photos with a focus on artistic expression and authentic visual aesthetics.

Highlights
  • Analog-style camera simulations
  • Manual camera controls
  • Extensive editing suite
  • Customizable presets
  • Multiple exposure feature
  • RAW format capture and editing
Features
Read full description

Hipstamatic is a world-class photography app and Apple’s original App of the Year! Shoot beautiful authentic photography and become part of the world’s most creative community, exclusively on iPhone. • Apple’s very first App of the Year • The original photo filter app • The inventor of square filtered mobile photos • Plus, all of the features below :-) — CLASSIC CAMERA Digital photography has never looked so analog. Shooting Classic provides beautifully rendered skeuomorphic cameras that transform your experience as you swipe through lenses, flashes, and films. ■ Use Multiple Exposure to shoot multiple images in one shot and get amazing artistic results ■ — PRO CAMERA For the mobile photographer looking for a minimal capture interface with maximum control, shooting Pro gives you ultimate creative control. ■ Manually control focus, white balance, exposure, shutter speed, ISO, and aspect ratio ■ — DARKROOM EDITING SUITE A full editing suite including over 20 professional adjustment tools and 12 signature presets. • Classic Lens, Film, and Flash • Crop • Straighten & Rotate • Skew • Exposure • Clarity • Definition • Exposure • Clarity • Definition • Highlights • Shadows • Vibrancy • Fade • Curves (RGB + Red + Green + Blue) • Temperature • Tint • Depth of field • Texture • Grain • Vignette • Before & After view by holding down image in edit view • Undo & Redo by swiping left and right ■ Choose the overall mood of your image with Hipstamatic's signature Lenses, Films, and Flashes, then fine tune with extensive editing tools ■ — FAVORITE PRESETS Create your own Favorite Presets and even share your signature look with others. If you are looking for inspiration hit the shuffle button and explore a world of serendipitous beauty. • 12 World-class presets • Customize and edit presets • Save new presets • Presets are synchronized across your devices with iCloud • Share any favorite preset with other photographers ■ Define your signature looks, then quickly apply them to your photos with Copy/Paste support ■ — NATIVE WORKFLOW Hipstamatic is fully synchronized with your photo library. Tap on any photo to instantly edit it, and see and organize your photos in either Hipstamatic or Apple Photos. • Runs natively on iPhone and iPad • No need to import, just tap and edit • Quickly Favorite or Delete photos • Always full resolution • Save as Separate Files (default) and keep your originals untouched • Save as non-destructive Versions and streamline your photos with the original safely embedded within the Hipstamatic version (works best with iCloud Photo Library) • Browse folders created in the Photos app • Fully synchronized with Photos app and iCloud Photo Library • View detailed metadata • View shared image details across social networks (likes, comments, etc.) • Capture and edit in RAW format ■ Shoot on iPhone and edit on iPad with fully native support and synchronized Favorite Presets via iCloud ■ — HipstaMart™ Shop Browse amazing filter packs available for purchase via the In-App store created by the world’s most talented photo makers. Collaborations from top fashion and street photographers to famous artists like Salvador Dali with new packs available monthly. PrintLab™ Get real physical prints delivered straight to your door. We built this service in 2010 because no service would print square photos, and today PrintLab is still the best square format printing service in the world. Shipping to over 200 countries! • Print Prints (4”, 7”, 10”) • 30” Gallery Prints • Aluminum Prints (10” or 20”) • Birch Wood Prints (10” or 20”) — LET'S MAKE BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS TOGETHER Help us make Hipstamatic the best app ever. Send your thoughts & comments to feedback@hipstamatic.com or message us anywhere @Hipstamatic Thanks and welcome to the HipstaFamily!

About

Alpha Linker

Wirelessly transfer photos and videos from your Sony camera to your phone. Browse, select multiple items, and download JPG, HEIF, MP4, and MTS formats. Supports quick connection and multitasking downloads.

Highlights
  • Wireless photo and video transfer
  • Browse camera content
  • Select multiple items
  • Concurrent downloads
  • Supports JPG, HEIF, MP4, MTS
  • Quick camera connection
Features
Read full description

Alpha Linker is a specialized tool for Wi-Fi wireless photo transfer for Sony cameras. With this tool, you can wirelessly transfer photos and videos from your camera to your phone. It supports browsing and downloading of JPG, HEIF, MP4 and MTS format photos and videos. It also supports quick camera connection, swipe to select multiple photos, and multitasking concurrent downloads. Currently supported Sony camera models: Alpha series (A7 II, A7 III, A7R, A7R II, A7R III, A7R IV, A7S, A7S II, A9, A9 II) Alpha series (A5000, A5100, A6000, A6100, A6300, A6400, A6500, A6600) Cyber-shot series (RX1R II, RX10, RX10 II, RX10 III, RX10 IV, RX100 II, RX100 III, RX100 IV, RX100 V, RX100 VA, RX100 VI, RX100 VII) Cyber-shot series (HX30, HX50V, HX80, HX90V, HX95, HX99, HX400V, WX220, WX350, WX500) Other models (NEX-5, NEX-6, NEX-7, ZV-1) - Connect Easily configure for a quick connection. - Browse Browse photos on your camera and preview video thumbnails. - Select Swipe to select multiple photos and quickly add them to the download list. - Download Download multiple items concurrently and save them to the system album. --------------- Legal: Sony is a trademark of Sony Corporation. This product uses the Camera Remote API by Sony. Terms of Use: https://solotechstudio.com/terms/english Privacy Policy: https://solotechstudio.com/privacy/english Contact Us: If you have any questions, please email support@solotechstudio.com :)

Screenshots

Classic Camera by Hipstamatic4 screens
Alpha Linker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Classic Camera by Hipstamatic at 63% against Alpha Linker's 16%. Classic Camera by Hipstamatic also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and chart position (#101 vs unranked). Alpha Linker's advantage is price (Free vs $4.99). On ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Alpha Linker is free to download; Classic Camera by Hipstamatic costs $4.99 up front. Classic Camera by Hipstamatic sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Alpha Linker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Classic Camera by Hipstamatic holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.6K and 3.8K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Classic Camera by Hipstamatic's written reviews are positive against 16% of Alpha Linker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Classic Camera by Hipstamatic ships an update every 3 months, Alpha Linker every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Classic Camera by Hipstamatic versus Alpha Linker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClassic Camera by HipstamaticAlpha Linker
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (4.6K ratings) — better4.3 (3.8K ratings)
Positive reviews63.1% of reviews — better16.4% of reviews
Number of ratings4.6K — better3.8K
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#101 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size90 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHipstamatic, LLCHangzhou Yuhang Solo Tech Studio (Individually Owned Business)

Customer experience

Classic Camera by Hipstamatic

All ratings4,546 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews1,659 reviews
Positive63.1%
Neutral9.0%
Negative27.9%

Alpha Linker

All ratings3,802 ratings
Positive80.4%
Neutral4.5%
Negative15.1%
Written reviews238 reviews
Positive16.4%
Neutral6.3%
Negative77.3%

User reviews

Classic Camera by Hipstamatic

From 4.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful creative tool
  • 👍 Versatile lens/film combinations
  • 🎨 Unique vintage-style photography
  • 💡 Ability to edit existing photos
  • 👍 Reliable and consistent performance

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
  • 🤔 Confusing interface changes
  • 🙁 Inability to restore purchases

Alpha Linker

From 3.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Works well with Sony cameras
  • 🚀 Easy to use and connect
  • 💡 Helpful user guide

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connectivity issues and disconnects
  • ⏱️ Slow transfer speeds for larger files
  • 💰 Paywall for core features
  • 🤷‍♀️ Lack of technical support and ownership of issues

Bugs and requests

Classic Camera by Hipstamatic

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Photos not saving properly
  • Viewfinder not aligning correctly
  • Inability to change ISO settings without crashing
  • Purchased items disappearing from the app
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for iPhone 14 Pro camera
  • Improve RAW file handling
  • Implement batch photo editing
  • Provide better organization for purchased items
  • Introduce an undo/redo function

Alpha Linker

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inconsistent performance after initial use
  • Inability to redownload photos after initial transfer
  • Incorrect image quality and resolution on export

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to select and download photos in batches
  • Support for higher resolution image transfers
  • Improved video transfer capabilities

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Classic Camera by Hipstamatic

One-time10
  • Williamsburg Starter HipstaPak$0.99
  • Portland HipstaPak$0.99
  • Shibuya HipstaPak$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Camden HipstaPak$0.99
  • Mission Hipstapak$0.99
  • Dali GoodPak$0.99
  • Soho HipstaPak$0.99
  • Bondi HipstaPak$0.99
  • Wicker Park HipstaPak$0.99
  • RetroPak One$1.99
1 purchases

Alpha Linker

One-time1
  • Alpha Linker Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Classic Camera by Hipstamatic free?
Classic Camera by Hipstamatic costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Alpha Linker free?
Alpha Linker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Classic Camera by Hipstamatic or Alpha Linker?
Classic Camera by Hipstamatic is rated higher. Classic Camera by Hipstamatic averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.6K ratings, while Alpha Linker averages 4.3 from 3.8K ratings.
Do Classic Camera by Hipstamatic or Alpha Linker have ads?
Neither Classic Camera by Hipstamatic nor Alpha Linker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Classic Camera by Hipstamatic or Alpha Linker?
Classic Camera by Hipstamatic ships an update every 3 months, and Alpha Linker every 2 months. Most recently, Classic Camera by Hipstamatic was updated on October 30, 2026 and Alpha Linker on October 30, 2026.

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