Comparison

Dramatic Black & White vs Camera1

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

Head to head
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

About

Camera1

This app offers a dedicated manual camera experience for black and white photography. It provides full creative control over contrast and exposure in real-time, allowing users to develop their vision before capturing the shot. Users can also manually adjust focus and exposure for professional-quality monochrome images.

Highlights
  • Black and white photography only
  • Manual focus and exposure control
  • Real-time contrast and exposure adjustments
  • Live histogram and over-exposure warning
  • Support for RAW, ProRAW, TIFF, and JPEG formats
  • Zen mode for distraction-free shooting
  • Multiple crop formats and grid views
Read full description

Camera1 is the dedicated Black & White manual camera for iPhone. No colour, no compromise — just pure monochrome photography with full creative control. DEVELOP YOUR CREATIVITY Learn to "see" in Black & White through Camera1 unique simultaneous contrast and exposure adjustments. Explore the infinite black and white image possibilities in real-time, such as high-key/low-key right in the viewfinder, before taking the shot. Use the Zen mode to focus all your creative attention on the picture, and not the camera or technique. TAKE CONTROL Take control of the camera, with manual overrides of exposure and focus. Super easy access to focus lock using the manual focusing slider, for ultra-fast shooting - as the camera won’t need to re-focus between shots. PROFESSIONAL OUTPUT Camera1 takes full advantage of your camera hardware and saves in a variety of different file formats, including JPEG, TIFF, RAW & ProRAW / DNG, allowing for maximum editing flexibility in applications like Photoshop and Lightroom later in your workflow. Advanced iOS image processing such as Deep Fusion and Smart HDR is used on supported devices. Live histograms, flash, grid views and a range of manual controls allow you to get the perfect shot, every time. Features • Black & white photography only: commit to Black and White at shooting time. • High-quality image processing engine. Take full advantage of your device camera hardware. • Manual focus (with magnification of the center focusing area), focus lock, spot focus, auto-focus • Manual exposure compensation, or use Auto exposure • Live histogram, when adjusting exposure, optional over-exposure warning indicator (zebras) • 6 contrast/color filters for Black & White: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, infrared (simulated) • Manual contrast control • High-resolution capture (48MP) (*) • Support for multi-lens devices - standard, telephoto and ultra wide-angle (*) • ProRAW, RAW, JPEG, HEIC, TIFF file formats. DNG files contain colour information, allowing later editing. A full-resolution JPEG, processed to Black and White by Camera1 is saved alongside the DNG file, to the camera roll • Support for iOS Deep Fusion and Smart HDR (*) • Tap on the picture to take the shot • 5 crop formats: 3:2, 4:3 (native), 1:1, 16:9, 2.35:1 (panorama) • Zen mode: all controls disappear, leaving only the viewfinder on the screen for the ultimate picture-taking experience • 3 flash modes: On, Off, Torch • 2 framing grid types: Rule of Thirds and Golden Triangles • Live view of all controls above • iOS Widget - quickly launch the app from your lock or home screen • Camera Control: use hardware camera control to launch Camera1, or to take shots (iPhone 16 Pro & Pro Max) • Black and White camera roll, image viewer at full resolution "The most brilliant Camera App in recent years" -- Keisuke Takahashi "I like the results-a bit like film (Tri-X) with a slight grain pattern. Lots of latitude" -- Eric Mencher @emencher Don't forget to tag your pictures with #camera1app ! Privacy-first • Camera1 does not embed any tracking / third-party SDKs (*) Compatibility Notes Camera1 features depend on the capabilities of your iOS device: • High-resolution (48MP) capture: iPhone 14 Pro and later Pro models • ProRAW capture: iPhone 12 Pro and later Pro models • RAW capture: iPhone 6S and later, iPad Pro • Smart HDR & Deep Fusion: iPhone 11 and later • Multi-lens support (standard, telephoto, ultra wide): devices with multiple rear cameras • Ultra Wide lens may not support RAW or manual focus/exposure on some devices

Screenshots

Dramatic Black & White4 screens
Camera14 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Dramatic Black & White at $2.99 against Camera1's $4.99. 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

Dramatic Black & White costs $2.99 and Camera1 $4.99 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 Dramatic Black & White against 4.7 for Camera1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 346 and 128 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 84% of Dramatic Black & White's written reviews are positive against 77% of Camera1's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Dramatic Black & White versus Camera1: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDramatic Black & WhiteCamera1
Price$2.99 — better$4.99
Rating4.8 (346 ratings) — better4.7 (128 ratings)
Positive reviews84.3% of reviews — better76.6% of reviews
Number of ratings346 — better128
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJixiPix, LLCSebastien Ardon

Customer experience

Dramatic Black & White

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

Camera1

All ratings128 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral3.9%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive76.6%
Neutral6.3%
Negative17.2%

User reviews

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

Camera1

From 128 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great UI and design
  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
  • 👍 Excellent black and white rendering
  • 👍 Realistic color filters
  • 👍 Good for street photography

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Lock function confusing/not working
  • 🐛 No film simulation
  • 🐛 Image stabilizer not managed (blurry photos)
  • 🐛 App feels like it needs an update
  • 🐛 Swiping out of app not always working

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

Camera1

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Lock function confusing/not working
  • Image stabilizer not managed (blurry photos)
  • Swiping out of app not always working
  • Live filters not working on some devices
  • Preview tonality not always matching result
Show 10 more
  • RAW saving issues with front camera
  • Settings lost when switching apps
  • No support for iPhone XS (app exit issues)
  • Manual focus not working on upgraded phones
  • App crashes
  • Randomly changes settings
  • Does not open on iPad 2 iOS 9
  • Manual focus works intermittently
  • Only landscape mode available
  • Front camera disables RAW saving and doesn't re-enable on return

Requested features

16 requests
  • More effects / profiles
  • Autofocus field display and movement
  • Choose focal length (e.g., 28mm, 35mm, 50mm)
  • Anamorphic lens option
  • Timer
Show 11 more
  • Zoom function
  • Finer control over sliders
  • Minimum shutter speed
  • Focus peaking
  • Save to TIFF file
  • Simulation of burned edges or films
  • Vignetting management
  • Display shutter speed and ISO
  • Ability to switch to front camera and return to RAW saving
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard

In-app purchases

None

Dramatic Black & White

No in-app purchases

None

Camera1

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dramatic Black & White free?
Dramatic Black & White costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Camera1 free?
Camera1 costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Dramatic Black & White or Camera1?
Dramatic Black & White is rated higher. Dramatic Black & White averages 4.8 out of 5 from 346 ratings, while Camera1 averages 4.7 from 128 ratings.
Do Dramatic Black & White or Camera1 have ads?
Neither Dramatic Black & White nor Camera1 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dramatic Black & White or Camera1?
Dramatic Black & White ships an update every 4 months, and Camera1 every 4 months. Most recently, Dramatic Black & White was updated on October 30, 2026 and Camera1 on October 29, 2026.

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