Night Camera HD vs NightCap Camera
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Night Camera HD
Capture professional-quality photos in low-light conditions with advanced manual controls for exposure, ISO, and focus. Take high-resolution, uncompressed images with real-time histograms and customizable aspect ratios.
- Manual exposure up to 1 second
- Manual ISO setting
- Residual light enhancement
- Real-time histograms (luminance, luminosity, RGB)
- High-resolution PNG output
- Tap to focus and expose
- Self-timer
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Night Camera HD - the expert for professional nighttime shots on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. AppAdvice 4.5/5 stars review: "Night Camera HD is a tool that every inclined mobile photographer should have." Thanks to the manual setting options for light exposure up to 1 second *, separate residual light- and ISO enhancement, Night Camera HD is perfect for taking pictures in a dark, insufficiently lit environment. Even during daylight, your pictures are clearer, with less interference, due to the extended exposure times. Take high-resolution photos in PNG format without visual loss. Forget about the loss of quality experienced with other cameras apps caused by image compression artifacts. Regardless whether you take night-, scenery- or other photographs, the picture quality you are able to achieve with Night Camera HD will surprise you. You can easy tap to focus and tap to exposure at the same time. After selecting the desired setting, you can easily lock it to prevent changes despite movement. Only here you can get luminance, luminosity and RGB histograms in real time to recognize over- and underexposure in time. The self-timer, which is imperative for nighttime shots, enables you to take un-blurred pictures. With the aid of the volume buttons you can take pictures with volume up (+) and fade the HUD-elements in- and out with volume down (-). Of course you can also block the white balance separately and edit it if necessary. Standard image formats (4:3, 3:2, 1:1, 16:9 and 3:1) can be edited live. The full-screen mode is activated for narrow image formats, enabling maximum display use. This feature can also be deactivated. The histogram adapts to all image formats. The up to 6x digital live zoom can be edited in the settings to enable a greater precision level during targeted zooming. Of course diverse alignment grids (e.g. Rule of Thirds, Golden Spirals and Golden Triangle) as well as a virtual horizon are available as overlays. Various real-time color filters complete this app. The most important functions: - Shutter speed control - Up to 1 second * exposure time - Manual ISO setting - Manual focus - Residual light enhancement - Real-time luminance histogram - Real-time luminosity histogram - Real-time RGB histogram - Self-timer - Volume Up (+) Photo Capture - Volume Down (-) HUD Hide - 6x digital live zoom - Tap to focus - Tap to exposure - White balance-lock - Manual white balance - Manual exposure adjustment - Various alignment grids - Virtual horizon - Aspect ratios: 4:3, 3:2, 1:1, 16:9 and 3:1 - Full-screen mode - Eco mode - Diverse color filters in real-time - Take HD photos - Landscape and portrait mode - Supports front and back camera - Supports LED-continuous light - Supports EXIF-data - Supports sharing via Facebook, Twitter *) Only on supported devices ---------- Please note that a minimum amount of light is still required. For delayed exposure times the preview is also delayed accordingly. We recommend stabilizing the device or a steady hand for taking optimal pictures with long light exposure times. ---------- Follow @NightCameraHD on Twitter and don’t forget to tag your photographs with #NightCameraHD. "Night Camera HD" is available on Facebook as well. We are looking forward to requests, suggestions and above all, Likes. Of course an iPad Version is available as well. Just search for "Night Camera HD" in the iPad App Store. Follow us: http://twitter.com/NightCameraHD Like us: http://www.facebook.com/NightCameraHD Visit us: http://www.clidoapps.com
NightCap Camera
Capture stunning low-light and night photos and videos with advanced features like long exposure, AI-powered controls, and specialized astrophotography modes. Achieve DSLR-like results and unlock your device's full potential in challenging lighting conditions.
- Low light and night photo/video capture
- Long exposure and motion blur effects
- Astrophotography modes (stars, aurora, ISS, meteors)
- AI camera control for automatic settings
- Manual gesture-based adjustments
- 4K time lapse recording
- ISO Boost for brighter low-light shots
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Photograph star trails or stunning smooth waterfalls. Capture a meteor mid-streak or traffic with light trails. And clear, detailed photos where there’s barely any light at all. One-time purchase, no subscription. ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY Four modes that automatically set the camera up for you. - Star Trails: watch the stars draw circles overhead - Meteors: automatic capture of shooting stars - ISS: the International Space Station passing over - Stars: starry skies and the Milky Way - New in version 10: Aurora, a time-lapse mode for the Northern and Southern Lights LONG EXPOSURE Hold the shutter open for seconds or minutes and movement becomes light. - Long Exposure: motion blur, or a cleaner shot when you hold still - Light Trails: traffic at night, fireworks, light painting - Both as time-lapse too, up to 4K with adjustable speed LOW LIGHT - ISO Boost for up to 4x beyond the standard camera range - Light Boost - Noise Reduction - Night Mode video and timelapse HANDHELD New in version 10. NightCap steadies and aligns every frame as you shoot, so long exposures no longer need a tripod. MANUAL CONTROL - Swipe to adjust exposure, ISO, focus and white balance - Camera Control on iPhone 16 and later - Zoom to 16x - Black and white mode Also includes an interval programmer, self-timer, and an Apple Watch app with live preview and remote control.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: NightCap Camera at $2.99 against Night Camera HD's $12.99. NightCap Camera also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and chart position (#14 vs unranked). Night Camera HD's advantage is review sentiment (61% vs 51%). On rating, 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
Night Camera HD costs $12.99 and NightCap Camera $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Night Camera HD against 4.4 for NightCap Camera. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NightCap Camera has 3K ratings behind it against 338, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 61% of Night Camera HD's written reviews are positive against 51% of NightCap Camera's.
Night Camera HD ships an update every 2 months, NightCap Camera every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Night Camera HD | NightCap Camera |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $12.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (338 ratings) | 4.4 (3K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 61.4% of reviews — better | 50.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 338 | 3K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #14 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nico Schroeder | RTD |
Customer experience
Night Camera HD
NightCap Camera
User reviews
Night Camera HD
From 338 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📸 Excellent low-light and night photography capabilities
- ⚙️ Extensive manual controls (ISO, exposure, white balance)
- 💰 Affordable price point
- 🎯 Works well for users without native night mode
- 🖼️ High-quality image output in dark conditions
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes after taking photos
- 💾 Photos not saving to camera roll automatically
- 🔊 Shutter sound cannot be disabled
- ⏱️ Limited exposure time (max 1-3 seconds)
- 📱 Compatibility issues with newer iPhone models
NightCap Camera
From 3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great for astrophotography
- 👍 Excellent night/low light photography
- 💡 Powerful manual controls
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Produces high-quality results
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes on newer devices
- 🐛 Focus issues on iPhone 7+
- 🔋 Drains battery quickly
- 👎 Unintuitive user interface
- 👎 Disappointing results for some users
Bugs and requests
Night Camera HD
Reported bugs
14 issues- App crashes immediately after taking a photo
- Photos fail to save or save incorrectly
- App crashes on startup or during operation
- Settings panel unresponsive or stuck in middle of screen
- Image orientation issues in landscape mode
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- App freezes when adjusting settings
- Photos display with wrong location metadata
- Incompatibility with iOS 8+ and newer iPhone models
- Virtual horizon and histogram freezing
- Share button not functioning
- Unable to delete photos without crashing
- Blurry zoom functionality
- Purple-tinted screen on some devices
- Settings changes not applying properly
Requested features
16 requests- Video recording functionality
- Longer exposure times (up to 30 seconds or 2 minutes)
- Silent/mute shutter sound option
- Automatic photo saving to camera roll
- RAW format support
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Panorama mode
- Time-lapse feature
- Slow-motion video
- Timer/self-timer for hands-free shooting
- Batch export of photos
- Multi-language support (Chinese, Thai, etc.)
- Noise reduction/denoise filter
- Histogram display
- Manual shutter speed control
- Support for both front and rear cameras
- Apple Watch app integration
NightCap Camera
Reported bugs
3 issues- Photos not saving properly
- Meteor mode not working as expected
- Compatibility issues with iOS 8 and iPhone 6 Plus
Requested features
5 requests- RAW image support
- Bluetooth remote shutter control
- Ability to save settings
- More exposure options
- Improved timelapse features
In-app purchases
Night Camera HD
No in-app purchases
NightCap Camera
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Night Camera HD free?
Is NightCap Camera free?
Which has better reviews, Night Camera HD or NightCap Camera?
Do Night Camera HD or NightCap Camera have ads?
Which is updated more often, Night Camera HD or NightCap Camera?
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