Zeus Focus Stacking vs MacroShader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Zeus Focus Stacking
This app transforms your iPhone into a macro photography studio. It captures multiple images at varying focus points and intelligently blends them into a single, razor-sharp photo from front to back. Advanced features allow for precise control over capture and editing, with an optional Pro upgrade for enhanced capabilities.
- Precision focus bracketing
- Automatic focus sweep
- Intelligent alignment engine
- Built-in adjustable editor
- AI object removal (Pro)
- 2x Super Resolution (Pro)
- Full-resolution export (Pro)
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Every Pixel. Razor Sharp. Zeus Focus Stacking turns your iPhone into a professional macro lab. Capture multiple frames at different focus distances, blend them into one perfectly sharp image — front to back. PRECISION CAPTURE • Focus Range — set Near and Far brackets on the live preview, so each stack sweeps only the depth you want • Tap to rack focus straight to any subject plane • Automatic focus bracketing — sweep from near to far in seconds • 10 or 20 frames per stack (20 with Pro) • Linear or macro-biased focus distribution for optimal coverage (macro with Pro) • Capture Speed — Max Speed, Balanced, or Max Quality for the focus bracket (Pro) • Ultra 48 MP — capture the whole bracket at the sensor's full resolution, on iPhones with a 48 MP-class sensor (Pro) • Lossless 12 MP zoom via the wide camera • Shoot in portrait or landscape — your photo always comes out the right way up INTELLIGENT ENGINE Advanced focus-stacking built for iPhone. Smart alignment holds your frames in register through hand-held movement, lens breathing and focus shifts, and the engine renders them into a single image with finer detail and cleaner edges than any Zeus release before it — clean outlines where your subject meets the background, no glow around bright points, and no doubling when something shifts between shots. Core stacking runs on-device; optional iCloud sync and showcase uploads stay under your control. BUILT-IN EDITOR • Exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, color and vignette — every change stays adjustable, and your original stays safe • Crop and straighten • AI object removal — paint over a distraction and it disappears (Pro) • 2× Super Resolution — double the resolution for galleries and large prints (Pro) PRO • Capture Speed — pick Max Speed for near-instant brackets (lighter per-frame processing) or Max Quality for the most per-frame detail; every stack exports at full resolution • iCloud Sync — projects and original frames across all your devices GALLERY THAT KEEPS UP • Original frames preserved for every project — re-stack with newer engines anytime • HEIC and JPEG export, native Photos sharing • Picture of the Week — submit your best focus stacks to the gallery TUNED TO EACH iPHONE Each iPhone model gets its own calibration profile, so the stacking engine knows exactly how your lens behaves. Sharper alignment, no manual tweaks. Macro photography. Product shots. Jewelry. Watches. Coins. Insects. Botanical specimens. Forensic detail. Whatever the subject — Zeus Focus Stacking handles depth so you don't have to. Free to download. Pro upgrade unlocks full-resolution export, Ultra 48 MP capture, AI object removal, 2× Super Resolution, iCloud sync, Capture Speed control, and 20-frame brackets. Privacy Policy: https://zeusfocusstacking.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://zeusfocusstacking.com/terms
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.
- Focus shutter
- Focus peaking
- Manual camera controls
- Save in RAW
- Customized image processing
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MacroShader at none against Zeus Focus Stacking's 2. Zeus Focus Stacking's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Zeus Focus Stacking sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. MacroShader asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Zeus Focus Stacking against 5.0 for MacroShader. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
Zeus Focus Stacking ships an update weekly, MacroShader every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 1, 2026.
| Parameter | Zeus Focus Stacking | MacroShader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Roberto Sartori | AstroShader Limited |
Customer experience
Zeus Focus Stacking
MacroShader
In-app purchases
Zeus Focus Stacking
- Zeus Pro · Monthly$3.991 Month
- Zeus Pro · Yearly$24.991 Year
MacroShader
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Zeus Focus Stacking free?
Is MacroShader free?
Which has better reviews, Zeus Focus Stacking or MacroShader?
Do Zeus Focus Stacking or MacroShader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Zeus Focus Stacking or MacroShader?
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