Comparison

Macro Lens vs MacroShader

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

Head to head
About

Macro Lens

This camera app offers a streamlined workflow for macro photography, providing real-time controls for focus, zoom, and flash intensity. It allows for quick switching between photo and video modes, and optionally tags captures with location data for better organization.

Highlights
  • Streamlined interface for fast shooting
  • Manual focus and zoom sliders
  • Adjustable flash intensity
  • Quick photo/video mode switching
  • Location-aware capture tagging
  • Clear permission onboarding
Read full description

Simple yet powerful, Macro Lens is an all-in-one camera app designed for macro photography enthusiasts. Macro Lens gives iPhone creators a focused macro workflow with real-time controls for focus, zoom, flash intensity, and brightness, plus quick switching between photo and video. • Streamlined Interface: Keep your attention on the subject with dedicated adjustment panels and convenient shortcuts. Touch and hold a control to access its options. • Easy Setup: Get started with guided camera and photo library permissions. Location access is optional, and no account is required. • Manual and Auto Focus: Fine-tune focus with a dedicated slider, or enable continuous autofocus to let the camera adjust as you compose your shot. • Zoom and Pinch Control: Frame tiny subjects using the Zoom slider or a familiar pinch gesture directly on the camera preview. • Adjustable Lighting: Control continuous torch intensity to illuminate small subjects and balance light on dark or reflective surfaces. • Brightness Control: Adjust exposure to brighten or darken your image before capturing. • Photo and Video Modes: Switch directly on the camera screen to capture still images or motion. Record video at 60 fps when supported by your iPhone’s camera configuration. • Photo Viewfinder: Enable an optional overview with a framing guide to help you compose shots while zoomed in. Drag it to either upper corner—the app remembers your preferred position. • Camera Control Support: Take photos and start or stop video recording using the physical Camera Control button on compatible iPhones. • Lock Screen and Control Center Access: Add the Macro Lens control to quickly open the camera from your Lock Screen or Control Center. • Keep the Screen Awake: Take your time composing and capturing without interruptions from Auto-Lock while the app is active. • Save to Photos: Captured photos and videos are saved directly to your photo library. • Optional Location Tags: Add location information to your photos and videos to help you remember where each shot was taken. Have an idea for Macro Lens? Submit a feature request directly from Settings or contact us by email for support. Requires iOS 26 or later. Close-focus capability, torch availability, and video frame rates depend on your iPhone’s camera hardware.

About

MacroShader

Capture stunning close-up images with advanced manual camera controls and specialized processing. Features include focus peaking, RAW saving, and a unique focus shutter for precise macro shots.

Highlights
  • Focus shutter
  • Focus peaking
  • Manual camera controls
  • Save in RAW
  • Customized image processing
Features
Read full description

A macro photography app for iPhone. Features include: - Focus shutter: Tap, hold, focus and release to shoot a photo. Also just tap to shoot - Focus peaking - Manual camera controls - Save in RAW - Customised image processing for macro photography to preserve details Future releases will add more camera controls, editing tools and more

Screenshots

Macro Lens4 screens
MacroShader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MacroShader at Free against Macro Lens's $4.99. MacroShader also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.6) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Macro Lens's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). On ads and device support 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

MacroShader is free to download; Macro Lens costs $4.99 up front. Macro Lens sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. MacroShader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MacroShader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Macro Lens has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Macro Lens's written reviews are positive against 100% of MacroShader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Macro Lens ships an update monthly, MacroShader every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Macro Lens versus MacroShader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMacro LensMacroShader
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating3.6 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEduardo CalladoAstroShader Limited

Customer experience

Macro Lens

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive72.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative27.3%

MacroShader

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Macro Lens

One-time1
  • Tip the develop$0.99
None

MacroShader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Macro Lens free?
Macro Lens costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is MacroShader free?
MacroShader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Macro Lens or MacroShader?
MacroShader is rated higher. Macro Lens averages 3.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while MacroShader averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Macro Lens or MacroShader have ads?
Neither Macro Lens nor MacroShader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Macro Lens or MacroShader?
Macro Lens ships an update monthly, and MacroShader every 4 months. Most recently, Macro Lens was updated on October 13, 2026 and MacroShader on October 1, 2026.

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