Focus Alpha vs Shutter Link
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Focus Alpha
This app revolutionizes photography by offering remote focus bracketing and timelapse sequences for Sony cameras. Achieve stunning depth of field and gain unmatched control over your focus bracketing process directly from your smartphone.
- Remote focus bracketing
- Timelapse sequences
- Depth of field control
- Customizable focus steps
- Focus rewind and test modes
- DoF calculator
- Low power Bluetooth LE
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Struggling with blurry macro or landscape photos? Revolutionize your photography with Focus Alpha. This innovative app offers remote focus bracketing and stunning timelapse sequences, unlocking the full potential of your Sony camera. Unleash the hidden potential of your Sony camera and achieve breathtaking depth of field in every shot. Unmatched Focus Control: • Remote Bracketing: Capture a series of images with precise focus shifts, all from your smartphone. • Depth of Field Magic: Achieve stunning depth of field in every frame of your timelapse, no matter the subject. • Highly Customizable: Fine-tune focus steps, number of images, and timelapse settings for ultimate creative freedom. Professional Features: • Focus Rewind, Pre-Bracketing, Focus Test Mode, Bulb Time, Clapper Board with Auto Review, DoF Calculator, Reverse Direction: Take full control over your focus bracketing process. • Low Power Consumption: Bluetooth LE ensures long battery life for extended shooting. • Flash Compatibility: Internal or external flash with adjustable delay for perfect lighting. Compatible Cameras: ILCE-6100 (A6100), ILCE-6400 (A6400), ILCE-6600 (A6600), ILCE-6700 (A6700), ILCE-7M3 (A7 III), ILCE-7M4 (A7 IV), ILCE-7RM4A (A7R IV), ILCE-7C (A7C), ILCE-7CM2 (A7C II), ILCE-7CR (A7CR), ILCE-7RM3 (A7R III), ILCE-7RM4 (A7R IV), ILCE-7RM5 (A7R V), ILCE-7SM3 (A7S III), ILCE-9 (A9), ILCE-9M2 (A9 II), ILCE-9M3 (A9 III), ILCE-1 (A1), ILCE-1M2 (A1 II), ZV-E10, ZV-E10M2 (ZV-E10 II), ZV-E1, DSX-RX0M2 (RX0 II), DSC-RX100M7 (RX100 VII), DSC-RX1RM3 (RX1R III), ZV-1, ZV-1F, ZV-1A, ZV-1M2 (ZV-1 II), ILX-LR1, ILME-FX30 (FX30), ILME-FX2 (FX2), ILME-FX3 (FX3), ILME-FX3A (FX3A) Download Focus Alpha today and elevate your photography with stunning depth of field in every shot! This app is not endorsed by Sony. SONY is a trademark of Sony Corporation. Captured images can be merged with any stacking software.
Shutter Link
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ShutterLink turns your iPhone into a remote for the camera you already own, over Bluetooth. No Wi-Fi network to join, no hotspot that drops, no account to make. Pair once, and the camera is there when you pick the phone up. Works with Sony Alpha, Fujifilm X and GFX, and Canon EOS bodies that have Bluetooth remote control. A REMOTE YOU ARRANGE Add, move, resize and remove controls on a grid, the way you would in Control Center. Upright and sideways are kept separately, and every camera keeps its own layout. Shutter, half press, single shot, shoot on focus, 3s and 10s self timers, AF-ON, C1, video record, power zoom and focus drive, as far as the body allows. SEQUENCES A bulb timer, an intervalometer and focus bracketing, composed into one run, with an estimate of how long it will take before you start it. Exposure ramping gives every frame a different length across a run, for a timelapse shot into changing light. A Live Activity keeps the count on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island while the phone is in your pocket. ON YOUR WRIST, AND EVERYWHERE ELSE An Apple Watch remote with four controls you choose per camera. Siri and Shortcuts for shutter, start and stop. A Control Center button for the shutter, one press from anywhere. MORE THAN ONE CAMERA Pair as many bodies as you like. They stay connected together, and the title on the remote decides which one it drives, so a sequence running on one carries on while you shoot with the other. GEOTAGGING AND THE SHOT LOG Feed the phone's position to the camera over the maker's own location service, and the camera writes GPS into its own files, including the frames you fire on the body that the app never sees. The shot log records when and where every frame the app triggered went off, and exports GPX for matching photos by capture time in Lightroom or Capture One. FREE TO CONNECT, PAY TO CONTROL Finding, pairing and connecting cost nothing, so you can watch the app talk to your camera before you spend anything. One purchase then unlocks the remote for every supported make, now and for the makes added later. No subscription, no account, no sign-in. WHAT BLUETOOTH CANNOT DO Bluetooth is a remote release, not a tether. There is no live view, no image preview or transfer, and no reading or setting ISO, aperture, shutter speed or white balance. What is on offer also varies by make: a Fujifilm gives the shutter, its half press and geotagging, and a Canon gives different things depending on which of its two Bluetooth modes you paired from. The app follows what your camera can actually do rather than what its badge says, lists that for you before you buy, and never draws a button the body will not answer. Not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Sony, Fujifilm or Canon. Product names are the trademarks of their owners.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Focus Alpha at 12.2 against Shutter Link's 26.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Focus Alpha sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Shutter Link sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Focus Alpha ships an update every 3 weeks, Shutter Link fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Focus Alpha | Shutter Link |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 12.2 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LEONARDO TAZZINI | Jonathan Underwood |
In-app purchases
Focus Alpha
- Focus Alpha Pro Upgrade$9.99
- Focus Alpha Standard$19.99
- Focus Alpha Pro$29.99
Shutter Link
- Bluetooth Remote$6.99
Questions
Is Focus Alpha free?
Is Shutter Link free?
Do Focus Alpha or Shutter Link have ads?
Which is updated more often, Focus Alpha or Shutter Link?
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