Comparison

Light Paint vs Hikari Camera

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

Head to head
About

Light Paint

Create stunning light art and timelapses with professional camera controls and real-time previews. Capture city lights, fire spinning, star trails, and more with intuitive tools and creative effects.

Highlights
  • Manual camera controls (ISO, shutter, focus)
  • Live light trail preview
  • Advanced frame blending
  • Timelapse and video creation
  • Multiple light painting profiles
  • Real-time color grading
Features
Read full description

Paint with light. Watch it happen. Turn a flashlight, LED wand, or light whip into glowing trails. Light Paint's real-time camera shows your painting as you make it, so you can shape the effect while capturing photos, videos, or timelapses on iPhone and iPad. Pick a camera profile, dim the lights, and start moving. PAINT SOLO OR DIRECT A PERFORMANCE Start with a simple light and a phone on a tripod. Use the front camera to see yourself while you paint, or the rear camera to film friends, dancers, and performers. Watch the trails build live, adjust the look, and capture your creation. PUT THE CAMERA UNDER YOUR CONTROL Fine-tune exposure, trail length, frame blending, color, and effects. Use camera profiles or save your own setup. Updated for iOS 27, with Camera Control button integration on supported iPhones and aperture controls for iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. PERFORM TO YOUR SOUNDTRACK Explore 500+ royalty-free tracks in the integrated music library. Choose a song, play it while you record, and include the music in your saved video. Connect a Bluetooth speaker to bring the soundtrack to your performance. Use the same library to mix music into edited videos or generate performances in Studio. TAKE YOUR LIGHT PAINTING TO THE BIG SCREEN Send your live light painting to a TV, backyard projector, or external monitor through a compatible USB-C HDMI connection. Your audience sees the painting while you keep the camera controls on your device. Build a connected setup with a compatible USB-C hub and Power Delivery: power your iPhone or iPad, output to an external screen, use a USB-C microphone for audio input, and connect external storage. Save recordings and projects to a supported external drive to free up device space and take your work with you. BUILD AND EXPLORE IN STUDIO Step into a full light-painting camera simulation studio. Build scenes, position cameras and performers, choose lights, and experiment with trails and effects. Rehearse a real performance or create a complete video inside Studio. Generate performances from tracks in the music library. Bring real movement into your scenes with motion capture, combine performers, and develop your own choreography. Build a show, refine the camera view, and export an immersive performance video. EDIT THE WHOLE SHOW Bring your footage into the video editor, trim and arrange clips, and mix in music. Create vertical 9:16 videos or widescreen 16:9 projects, with 4K and 1080p export options. With Pro, the Blender plugin turns ordinary video into light trails. Create a fresh look from footage you already have. KEEP YOUR CREATIONS TOGETHER Browse photos and videos in the media gallery, revisit recordings, and continue working on saved video projects. Customize your home screen with color themes and keep favorite camera setups ready for your next session. CONTROL IT FROM YOUR WRIST OR WITH YOUR VOICE Use Apple Watch to preview the camera, capture photos, start and stop recording, and adjust supported settings. Use Siri for camera actions and Now Playing for music playback controls. CREATE WITH THE COMMUNITY Share photos, videos, camera profiles, Studio scenes, and performances with other Light Paint users. Discover ideas, try shared setups, and build on what other creators are making. Start with one light. See what you can create. Some features require Pro or a Production license. Camera controls, export options, motion capture, and external connections depend on your device and compatible accessories. EULA: https://shutterspeedapps.com/lightpainted/tos/ Privacy: https://shutterspeedapps.com/lightpainted/privacy/ AI Usage Policy: https://shutterspeedapps.com/lightpainted/aiusage?lang=en

About

Hikari Camera

Features
Read full description

Draw with light — for real. Hikari Camera captures the light you move as glowing trails, live through your camera. Nothing is computer-generated. Every streak is real light, painted by your own hand. Dim the lights, move a penlight or anything that glows, and watch the trails bloom across the screen. That's all there is to it. - Real light, never CG — you paint every trail yourself - Effortless — just move a glow and you're done - Photo and video modes — freeze a moment or capture it live - Guide templates — trace hearts, stars, and circles - Zoom Trail (PRO) — pinch while recording for magical depth - Night mode, front and back camera, adjustable sensitivity No skills required. If you can move a light, you can make something beautiful.

Screenshots

Light Paint4 screens
Hikari Camera4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Hikari Camera at every 2 days against Light Paint's every 5 days. Light Paint's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.5). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Light Paint sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Hikari Camera sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Light Paint ships an update every 5 days, Hikari Camera every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Light Paint versus Hikari Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLight PaintHikari Camera
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size136 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShutter Speed Apps, LLCsaito mitsuaki

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Light Paint

Subscriptions4
  • LightPaint Pro — Monthly$0.991 Month
  • LightPaint Pro — 3 Months$2.493 Months
  • LightPaint Pro — 1 Year$9.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Production Display$99.991 Year
One-time3
  • 5 AI Scene Analyses$1.99
  • 20 AI Scene Analyses$5.99
  • LightPaint Pro — Lifetime$19.99
1 purchases

Hikari Camera

One-time1
  • プロ機能アンロック$2.99

Questions

Is Light Paint free?
Light Paint is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hikari Camera free?
Hikari Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Light Paint or Hikari Camera have ads?
Neither Light Paint nor Hikari Camera shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Light Paint or Hikari Camera?
Light Paint ships an update every 5 days, and Hikari Camera every 2 days. Most recently, Light Paint was updated on October 26, 2026 and Hikari Camera on October 8, 2026.

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