Comparison

LensFlare Optical Effects vs Dramatic Black & White

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

Head to head
About

LensFlare Optical Effects

Enhance your photos with a wide array of realistic optical effects. Add professional touches like anamorphic flares, sun rays, and sci-fi light effects with just a few taps. Transform your images into stunning works of art.

Highlights
  • Over 70 optical effects
  • Anamorphic flares
  • Natural sunlight effects
  • Sci-fi flares
  • Moveable and interactive flares
  • Fully controllable light effects
Features
Read full description

Featured in Wired Magazine “...you don't know what you're missing until you try this app.” - Wired Magazine “...best iPhone app for adding realistic looking flares and optical effects.” - LifeInLofi.com User Reviews: "Incredibly powerful app. Very easy to use. Just a few taps and tweaks and your photos will pop with professional touches. Buy it." "Absolutely stunning. Thanks devs for sharing this with the community. Get it ASAP!!!" -------------------------------- Bring your photos to life with LensFlare. LensFlare is a must have app for any photographer or designer looking for the best in optical effects. With over 70 effects, you can choose from Holywood style anamorphic flares, sci-fi effects, sun rays, and more. Each flare has unique properties and is moveable and interactive. These aren't overlays but fully controllable light effects. Lens Types: - Anamorphic Flares - Natural Sunlight - Sci-fi Flares LensFlare will bring your photos to life turning them into works of art to share with friends and family. Tag your photos with #LensFlareApp for a chance to be featured!

About

Dramatic Black & White

Transform your photos into striking black and white images with adjustable light, contrast, and texture. Explore classic and modern styles, and use unique tools to create artistic compositions. Perfect for photographers seeking to enhance their monochrome vision.

Highlights
  • Black and white photo conversion
  • Adjustable light and contrast
  • Texture and shape controls
  • Ellipse spotlight tool
  • Classic, infrared, and HD styles
  • Grain and vignette effects
Features
Read full description

Make a Black and White Photo with Light Contrast Grit and Form --- MacWorld’s pick for the App Gems of the Year Award --- Everyone knows it doesn't get better than classic Black & White - it's the artistic soul of photography. Referencing one of our favorite Ansel Adams quotes: "Great Black & White photos aren't taken - they're made". Using Dramatic Black & White you can make your own black and white photographs, ones where light and contrast, grit and form come together to tell a story; ones where stone and sky, water and light transcend the material world and ascend to the Photographers’ Gallery. With Dramatic Black & White there are no mistakes you can't fix, no limits to your vision, no stopping until you're finished, nothing to hold you back from truly 'making your photos' and making them - Oh.My.Gosh. good! 

JixiPix's Dramatic Black & White app starts by leaving color in the rear view mirror, and enables you to make expert adjustments with easy-to-use, fully customizable controls to contrast and light, texture and shape. Before your eyes, watch your photo transform into the dramatic looks of the past and cutting-edge styles of the present.
 PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE
 • Black & White – Classic 
• Infrared Photo – Modern 
 • Dramatic Black & White – High Definition 

 FEATURES
 A one-of-a-kind ellipse spotlight tool will allow you to set up a light source on a subject in your composition. Fully customizable controls allow expert adjustments to contrast, light, texture and shape; and adjustments to spotlight size intensity. INCLUDES
 Spotlight, Black and White Filters, Grain and Vignette UNIVERSAL FEATURES
 All JixiPix Apps come with: Superior Customer Service, Support for High-Resolution Images & Output, Undo/Redo, Randomize Button, Quick Presets and the ability to create Custom Presets, Cropping with the ability to specify aspect ratio, Quick Preview, Email, Print, and the ability to post directly to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. We also have an online art gallery and invite our user’s to display their artistic creations on it: http://www.flickr.com/groups/jixipixcreations/


 *************** 

“JixiPix turns any photo into a masterpiece. All that is required of you is the appreciation — we’ll take care of the rest! ”

JixiPix.com “Creative Tools for Creative People”
 Photography | Artistic | Graphic Apps
 MAC • iPad • iPhone

Screenshots

LensFlare Optical Effects4 screens
Dramatic Black & White4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Dramatic Black & White at $2.99 against LensFlare Optical Effects's $4.99. Dramatic Black & White also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

LensFlare Optical Effects costs $4.99 and Dramatic Black & White $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for LensFlare Optical Effects against 4.8 for Dramatic Black & White. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 670 and 346 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of LensFlare Optical Effects's written reviews are positive against 84% of Dramatic Black & White's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LensFlare Optical Effects ships an update every 2 months, Dramatic Black & White every 4 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
LensFlare Optical Effects versus Dramatic Black & White: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLensFlare Optical EffectsDramatic Black & White
Price$4.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.8 (670 ratings) — better4.8 (346 ratings)
Positive reviews80.2% of reviews84.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings670 — better346
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJames GroteJixiPix, LLC

Customer experience

LensFlare Optical Effects

All ratings663 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral2.6%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews348 reviews
Positive80.2%
Neutral6.6%
Negative13.2%

Dramatic Black & White

All ratings345 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.7%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews319 reviews
Positive84.3%
Neutral5.6%
Negative10.0%

User reviews

LensFlare Optical Effects

From 670 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Awesome effects
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Realistic lens flares
  • 👍 Intuitive and powerful
  • 👍 Great for photography

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues
  • 🐛 Buggy and unstable
  • 🔍 Limited customization options
  • 🔍 Subpar UI/UX

Dramatic Black & White

From 346 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for B&W photography
  • 🎨 Lots of editing options
  • 💻 Works well on desktop
  • 🤩 Fantastic results
  • 🙌 Easy to use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🔍 Clunky UI/UX
  • 🔍 Annoying pop-ups
  • 🔍 Slow saving process
  • 🔍 Limited features

Bugs and requests

LensFlare Optical Effects

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on startup
  • Unable to load or edit photos
  • Flares not positioning correctly
  • Incompatible with newer iOS versions

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more lens flare options
  • Improve layer and masking capabilities
  • Enable rotation and resizing of effects
  • Optimize for larger image sizes
  • Integrate with video editing
Show 1 more
  • Provide AR functionality

Dramatic Black & White

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing on login screen
  • Incompatibility with newer devices
  • Inability to access camera

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to adjust individual color channels
  • Layers and masking tools
  • Remembering custom settings
  • Improved performance and stability

In-app purchases

None

LensFlare Optical Effects

No in-app purchases

None

Dramatic Black & White

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LensFlare Optical Effects free?
LensFlare Optical Effects costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dramatic Black & White free?
Dramatic Black & White costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, LensFlare Optical Effects or Dramatic Black & White?
LensFlare Optical Effects is rated higher. LensFlare Optical Effects averages 4.8 out of 5 from 670 ratings, while Dramatic Black & White averages 4.8 from 346 ratings.
Do LensFlare Optical Effects or Dramatic Black & White have ads?
Neither LensFlare Optical Effects nor Dramatic Black & White shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LensFlare Optical Effects or Dramatic Black & White?
LensFlare Optical Effects ships an update every 2 months, and Dramatic Black & White every 4 months. Most recently, LensFlare Optical Effects was updated on November 1, 2026 and Dramatic Black & White on November 1, 2026.

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