Comparison

Image Blender vs iLightningCam AI

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

Head to head
About

Image Blender

Easily combine multiple photos into a single image using masks and various blend modes. Create unique visual effects, add textures, or even watermark your creations with this intuitive tool.

Highlights
  • Image blending
  • Masking tools
  • Multiple blend modes
  • Multi-exposure effects
  • Add textures and overlays
  • Watermarking
Features
Read full description

A simplistic and creative app for combining images with masks and different blend modes on your iPhone and iPad. While the use and basic idea is very simple, there's almost an endless list of things you can do with it. Some things worth highlighting are: - Multi Exposure - Choosing where and how much to apply of filter from other apps. - Adding or replacing objects. - Adding textures. - Creating your own personalised filters with overlays - Watermarking or adding logos Image Blender outputs the full resolution without any limits to the size of your source image. If you have any questions before buying, need help to get started or just want to share your work, don't hesitate to send a mail to blender@jhnd.me and I'll do my best to help.

About

iLightningCam AI

Capture stunning lightning strike photos in real-time with your iPhone or iPad. This app automatically detects and photographs lightning, offering both fully automatic and manual ISO controls for expert users. Enjoy high-resolution images without interpolation.

Highlights
  • Real-time lightning detection
  • Full AUTO mode
  • Manual ISO adjustment
  • Original photo resolution
  • Double-shot blending
  • Modern design
Features
Read full description

iLightningCam AI – photograph lightning without pressing the shutter. Set up your iPhone and point it at the storm. The app watches the camera image and takes the shot automatically at every strike. Each detected strike appears as a card with all images of that moment and a combined image that brings all phases together. Save the images you choose to the Photos app. iLightningCam AI is the successor to iLightningCam 2 and to iLightningCam, the first lightning app for iOS, available on the App Store since 2011. Existing owners of iLightningCam 2 receive iLightningCam AI as an update. Why “AI”: the parameters for lightning detection and for post-processing in the Studio were determined with artificial intelligence, using thousands of real lightning images from iLightningCam 2 and iLightningCam AI. iLightningCam AI is a genuine photo app. It uses no generative AI to create images. The Studio, too, only optimizes and enhances your own shots and never creates artificial lightning. WHAT THE APP DOES • Real-time lightning detection, day and night, with images at photo resolution • More phases per strike: high temporal resolution captures how a strike develops across several individual images • Much improved detection, especially in daylight against a bright sky, with few false triggers • Higher image quality thanks to the new engine and the HEIC format • Automatic exposure, frame rate and capture mode, tuned for lightning and for your iPhone • Modes for every storm: Auto, Normal, Near Lightning, Distant Lightning, Sheet Lightning and Manual, with your own ISO range • Horizon line: nothing below it is analyzed, so cars and streetlights don’t interfere • Focus calibration for every lens, optimized for storm photography • Detailed in-app manual in eight languages, including the basics of lightning photography iLightningCam Studio (in-app purchase) The optional add-on brings editing tools to the app: • Choose the best phases of a strike and combine them into an image of your own • Lightning Repair: bring out the bolt, remove dark edges along it, soften the bright horizontal band the camera can produce. Many image defects can be reduced considerably this way, but not all. • Crop and fine-tune light and color • Save as an image, Live Photo or video clip • Time-lapse of the entire storm, with separate speed settings for the strikes and the storm One-time purchase, Family Sharing included, no subscription. Your originals stay untouched. The Studio only works with strikes captured with iLightningCam AI. Images from iLightningCam 2, from other apps or from the Photos app cannot be imported. REQUIREMENTS iPhone with iOS 17 or later, iPad with iPadOS 17 or later. For good results, use a tripod or steady support and make sure you have a clear view of the storm. SAFETY Thunderstorms are life-threatening. Seek shelter immediately as soon as a storm can be seen or heard, and never stay outdoors. Only take photos from inside an enclosed building, through a window. You are responsible for your own actions and for any resulting damage. The app is not intended for children or for people who cannot protect themselves from thunderstorms. The full safety information is in chapter 1 of the in-app manual.

Screenshots

Image Blender4 screens
iLightningCam AI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Image Blender at 4.9 against iLightningCam AI's 3.9. Image Blender also leads on ratings volume (3.4K vs 95) and review sentiment (85% vs 67%). iLightningCam AI's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.4). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Image Blender costs $3.99 and iLightningCam AI $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Image Blender holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Image Blender has 3.4K ratings behind it against 95, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Image Blender's written reviews are positive against 67% of iLightningCam AI's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Image Blender versus iLightningCam AI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterImage BlenderiLightningCam AI
Price$3.99$3.99
Rating4.9 (3.4K ratings) — better3.9 (95 ratings)
Positive reviews85.1% of reviews — better67.2% of reviews
Number of ratings3.4K — better95
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.417.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB51 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJHND i Sverige ABFlorian Stiassny

Customer experience

Image Blender

All ratings3,413 ratings
Positive97.3%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews415 reviews
Positive85.1%
Neutral2.4%
Negative12.5%

iLightningCam AI

All ratings93 ratings
Positive73.1%
Neutral4.3%
Negative22.6%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive67.2%
Neutral6.6%
Negative26.2%

User reviews

Image Blender

From 3.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🙏 Thanks
  • 💖 Enjoy creating
  • 🎨 This app changed my art
  • 🤩 Intuitive and Easy
  • 👌 Simple to use good results

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Waste
  • 🐛 can't use mask
  • 🐛 Images won't save
  • 🐛 THEY GOT RID OF PASTE FROM PASTEBOARD
  • 🐛 No instructions; bundle additions do not work!

iLightningCam AI

From 95 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📸 Captures amazing lightning
  • 🚀 Works automatically
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🤩 Creates stunning photos
  • 💰 Worth the price

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Blurry photos on newer iPhones
  • 🐛 White/gray bars on photos
  • 🐛 Overexposed photos
  • 🐛 Misses many lightning strikes
  • 🐛 Outdated UI

Bugs and requests

Image Blender

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes while working
  • Watermark application issues
  • Blending text from photos comes out of focus

Requested features

5 requests
  • Masking tool improvements
  • Ability to blend more than 2 photos
  • Undo button
  • Gradient tool
  • Ability to choose certain frames from GIFs

iLightningCam AI

Reported bugs

22 issues
  • White bar across the top of the image
  • Pictures are blurry on newer iPhone models
  • App captures nothing or everything is overexposed
  • Auto setting not getting lightning, only brightness and out of focus
  • Large lightning setting gets nothing
Show 17 more
  • Misses a lot of strikes, ones caught are out of focus
  • Constantly out of focus on 13 pro max
  • Only 2x zoom works, other cameras are blurry
  • White bar showing up
  • App takes 4 pics but captures nothing
  • Weird pink light but no lightning strike
  • Focus not working on iPhone 12 max pro
  • Took a lot of blank pictures and lots of duplicates
  • Out of focus on iPhone 12
  • Every photo is out of focus on 13 pro max
  • App freezes
  • Not triggering camera on newest version
  • Tells user to upgrade to iOS 10 when on iOS 11
  • App freezes after a minute
  • App not saving photos despite access rights
  • App not working well on iPhone 5
  • App not capturing lightning bolts, only sheet lightning

Requested features

15 requests
  • Vertical mode
  • RAW format output
  • More control over aperture and shutter speed
  • Higher resolution output (24MP)
  • HEIC or RAW format saving
Show 10 more
  • Option to choose more than 2 shots for composite
  • Timelapse/Video/Live Photo mode
  • Way to review shots within the app
  • 5x zoom
  • Daytime lightning capture
  • German language support
  • Tutorial for settings
  • Improve UI/UX
  • Higher resolution camera optimization
  • Fix bug with x0.5 lens focus

In-app purchases

None

Image Blender

No in-app purchases

None

iLightningCam AI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Image Blender free?
Image Blender costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is iLightningCam AI free?
iLightningCam AI costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Image Blender or iLightningCam AI?
Image Blender is rated higher. Image Blender averages 4.9 out of 5 from 3.4K ratings, while iLightningCam AI averages 3.9 from 95 ratings.
Do Image Blender or iLightningCam AI have ads?
Neither Image Blender nor iLightningCam AI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Image Blender or iLightningCam AI?
Image Blender ships an update every 4 months, and iLightningCam AI every 4 months. Most recently, Image Blender was updated on October 29, 2026 and iLightningCam AI on October 29, 2026.

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