Dramatic Black & White vs iLightningCam AI
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
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.
- Real-time lightning detection
- Full AUTO mode
- Manual ISO adjustment
- Original photo resolution
- Double-shot blending
- Modern design
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Dramatic Black & White at 4.8 against iLightningCam AI's 4.0. Dramatic Black & White also leads on review sentiment (84% vs 67%) and ratings volume (345 vs 93). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Dramatic Black & White costs $2.99 and iLightningCam AI $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Dramatic Black & White holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 345 and 93 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Dramatic Black & White's written reviews are positive against 67% of iLightningCam AI's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dramatic Black & White | iLightningCam AI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (345 ratings) — better | 4.0 (93 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 84.3% of reviews — better | 67.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 345 — better | 93 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | JixiPix, LLC | Florian Stiassny |
Customer experience
Dramatic Black & White
iLightningCam AI
User reviews
Dramatic Black & White
From 345 App Store ratingsWhat 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
iLightningCam AI
From 93 App Store ratingsWhat 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
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
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 moreShow fewer
- 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 moreShow fewer
- 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
Dramatic Black & White
No in-app purchases
iLightningCam AI
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Dramatic Black & White free?
Is iLightningCam AI free?
Which has better reviews, Dramatic Black & White or iLightningCam AI?
Do Dramatic Black & White or iLightningCam AI have ads?
Which is updated more often, Dramatic Black & White or iLightningCam AI?
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