Comparison

MagiCam vs Surface Camera

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

Head to head
About

MagiCam

Features
Read full description

- Black magic: Take the photo first, then focus. Background blurring and various professional and fun bokeh effects. It can handle the depth of field in Apple's portrait mode photos, and can also generate depth of field using AI models. - You can transfer the colors of one template photo to another photo, and AI will do the job. Carefully choosing the color template photo can achieve amazing and interesting effects. - Remove unwanted objects by brushing over them. - Intelligently enhance the image quality of blurred photos. - A photography tip: Many people always take dark photos with their mobile phones. This is because they always use the default automatic exposure of the mobile phone, which will dim the brighter environment. With our AI HDR, there is no such trouble. You can use this function on existing photos, so that the photos have a wide range of vivid light and dark details. Create HDR effects for a single photo, and adjust the exposure, contrast, highlights and shadows, saturation, brightness, sharpness and other parameters later to make the effect perfect. There are multiple sets of different HDR effects to choose from. You can also adjust the edge darkening effect. The default is 0x edge darkening, and you can also adjust the edge darkening multiple before using HDR. Edge darkening can control the shadow effect. You can choose 2x, 1x, 0x. - Process photos taken at night to make the night scene details clear. You can also adjust multiple parameters later.

About

Surface Camera

Capture photos with a vintage film aesthetic using a variety of distinct film profiles. Fine-tune your shots with editing tools and save directly to your photo library.

Highlights
  • Eight distinct film profiles
  • Adjustable blur and light leaks
  • Manual focus and exposure control
  • Comprehensive editing suite
  • Direct saving to Apple Photos
  • HEIC, JPEG, and ProRAW capture
Features
Read full description

A film camera for iPhone. Choose your film. Compose the frame. Make the photograph. Surface brings eight distinct film profiles to your iPhone, with the look visible in the viewfinder before you shoot. Add blur or light leaks, take control of focus and exposure, and save directly to Apple Photos. FIND YOUR FILM Four black-and-white profiles: Selenium 400, Bromide 125, Metol 125, and Palladium 3200. Four color profiles: Chroma 100, Tonal 400, Radian 400, and Prism 100. Your chosen profile becomes part of the photograph at capture. Editing refines that photograph while keeping its film. SHAPE THE FRAME Position blur and adjust its strength. Add a light leak, then randomize it to explore a different color and pattern. Tap to focus, adjust exposure, and use focus peaking. Flash, a timer, and slow shutter are close at hand. EDIT IN SURFACE Adjust Exposure, Contrast, Blacks, Whites, Saturation, Warmth, Tint, Grain, Halation, and Vignette. Crop and straighten, undo and redo, and save your edits back to Photos. ONE PHOTO LIBRARY Captures and edits live in Apple Photos. Browse your Surface photographs, import photos for editing, share favorites, and manage your collection without maintaining a second library. CAPTURE YOUR WAY Choose HEIC, JPEG, or Apple ProRAW on supported iPhones. Capture at 12, 24, or 48 MP depending on your hardware and settings. ProRAW supports 12 or 48 MP. Open the viewfinder from Siri, Shortcuts, the Lock Screen, or Control Center. MADE FOR YOUR IPHONE Film rendering and editing happen on your device. No Surface account, ads, or tracking. Apple services handle purchases, optional iCloud Photos sync, and location-name lookup. Available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean. Requires iOS 18 or later. Camera features vary by iPhone model. MEMBERSHIP Choose a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Purchases are handled by Apple. Subscriptions renew unless canceled through your Apple Account settings. Local prices are shown before purchase. Privacy Policy: https://surfacecamera.app/privacy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

MagiCam4 screens
Surface Camera4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Surface Camera at none against MagiCam's shown. Surface Camera also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Both are free to download. MagiCam sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Surface Camera sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MagiCam ships an update fortnightly, Surface Camera every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
MagiCam versus Surface Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMagiCamSurface Camera
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size175 MB80 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer晶雷 端Carlos Tarrats

In-app purchases

3 purchases

MagiCam

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Yearly$4.991 Year
One-time1
  • Forever$9.99
3 purchases

Surface Camera

Subscriptions2
  • Surface Monthly$1.491 Month
  • Surface Yearly$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Surface Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is MagiCam free?
MagiCam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Surface Camera free?
Surface Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do MagiCam or Surface Camera have ads?
MagiCam shows ads; Surface Camera does not.
Which is updated more often, MagiCam or Surface Camera?
MagiCam ships an update fortnightly, and Surface Camera every 2 days. Most recently, MagiCam was updated on October 25, 2026 and Surface Camera on October 19, 2026.

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