Comparison

Sentry Motion Detector Camera vs PhoMeter

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

Head to head
About

Sentry Motion Detector Camera

Transform an old phone into a dark-optimized motion-triggered security camera. It records clips when movement is detected and saves them directly to your device's photo library, offering a private and offline monitoring solution.

Highlights
  • Motion-triggered recording
  • Night vision capabilities
  • Records to photo library
  • Offline operation
  • No account or cloud needed
  • Screen stays dark during use
Features
Read full description

Sentry turns a phone you already own into a motion-triggered camera that works in the dark. Set it down, arm it, and walk away. When something moves, it records. When the movement stops, it stops. The clips land in your photo library, ready to review whenever you want. It records for you to watch later. It is not a live video feed โ€” you are not watching a stream, you are collecting what happened while you were not there. WHAT IT IS FOR Find out what your dog does to the sofa while you are out. See which animal has been visiting the garden after dark. Watch how a sleeping cat actually gets from one end of the room to the other. Point a spare phone at the garage overnight and check the footage in the morning. BUILT FOR THE DARK Most cameras give up when the light does. Sentry changes how the sensor reads a dark scene: it picks a binned format that gathers far more light per pixel, extends the shutter ceiling, and lets the frame rate drop so the shutter has time to stay open. The result is usable footage in rooms where the standard camera returns noise. The screen stays dark while it runs. Monitoring goes on for hours, often overnight, and a bright display would waste battery and light the room you are trying to film. RECORDING IS ALWAYS VISIBLE A red dot sits in the corner of the screen for as long as recording lasts. There is no setting to turn it off, because there should not be one. Photos play the standard iPhone shutter sound. NOTHING LEAVES THE DEVICE No account. No sign-up. No cloud. No subscription. Sentry contains no networking code at all โ€” recordings are written straight to your photo library and stay there. It works with the phone in airplane mode. HOW IT WORKS 1 tap โ€” photo 2 taps โ€” start recording 3 taps โ€” arm motion detection, which begins after 5 seconds and stops 1 second after movement ceases Swipe up โ€” cycle the rear lenses Swipe down โ€” front camera Two fingers, 3 seconds โ€” stop Shake โ€” settings Long sessions are saved in chunks as they record, so a flat battery costs you minutes rather than hours. RESPONSIBLE USE Record only where you have the right to. Laws on recording people vary by country and by state, and some places require the consent of everyone present. Sentry shows a recording indicator that cannot be disabled and plays the shutter sound on photos, so anyone who looks at the device can tell it is capturing. REQUIREMENTS iPhone and iPad running iOS 18 or later. Extended recording and motion detection use significant battery โ€” keep the device on a charger for long sessions. Video files are large, so check free space before a long run.

About

PhoMeter

Features
Read full description

PhoMeter is a simple white balance meter for photographers, videographers, and creators. Use your iPhone camera to estimate the color temperature of your lighting in Kelvin and get a practical Tint indication for green/magenta correction. PhoMeter helps you choose a better white balance setting before shooting photos or videos. Point your camera toward a neutral surface or grey card, wait for the reading to stabilize, then lock and save the measurement. Main features: Live color temperature reading in Kelvin Tint indication for green/magenta white balance correction Stability indicator for more reliable readings Lock measurement before saving Add an optional note to each saved reading Measurement history Clean and fast interface for on-set use Useful for: Photo shoots Video productions Interviews Product photography Studio lighting setup LED light comparison Checking mixed lighting environments PhoMeter is designed as a practical white balance reference tool. It is not a professional spectrometer and does not measure CRI, TLCI, SSI, or full light spectrum data. For best results, measure using a neutral grey card or matte white reference under the light you want to evaluate.

Screenshots

Sentry Motion Detector Camera3 screens
PhoMeter3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PhoMeter at every 4 days against Sentry Motion Detector Camera's fortnightly. Sentry Motion Detector Camera's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sentry Motion Detector Camera ships an update fortnightly, PhoMeter every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 6 level
Sentry Motion Detector Camera versus PhoMeter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSentry Motion Detector CameraPhoMeter
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews0.0% of reviewsโ€”
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeโ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 โ€” better26.4
Further details โ€” not scored
Size0 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBigBalli Consulting llcAndrea Biancat

In-app purchases

None

Sentry Motion Detector Camera

No in-app purchases

None

PhoMeter

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sentry Motion Detector Camera free?
Sentry Motion Detector Camera is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PhoMeter free?
PhoMeter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Sentry Motion Detector Camera or PhoMeter have ads?
Neither Sentry Motion Detector Camera nor PhoMeter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sentry Motion Detector Camera or PhoMeter?
Sentry Motion Detector Camera ships an update fortnightly, and PhoMeter every 4 days. Most recently, Sentry Motion Detector Camera was updated on October 14, 2026 and PhoMeter on September 30, 2026.

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