Comparison

Acetate vs Iris

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

Head to head
About

Acetate

Features
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The Digital Darkroom for Purists. Acetate bridges pure RAW capture and the soul of analog film — now for stills and motion. Built for image-makers who understand that a frame is made, not taken. Every adjustment runs on-device: no cloud, no account, no tracking. PURE RAW CAPTURE Shoot Apple ProRAW (DNG) on every supported iPhone. Acetate bypasses standard processing and writes the sensor's uncompressed data straight to your library, preserving every stop of dynamic range for post. PRO SHOOTING MODES Full manual or assisted: Auto, Program (P), Shutter Priority (S), ISO Priority, Manual (M), Night, and Long Exposure to 30 seconds. Swap ultra-wide, wide, and telephoto with a tap, or flip to the front camera. Self-timer and burst on the hardware shutter. MOTION — SHOOT CINE Video with the same discipline as stills. Full manual ISO, shutter, white balance, and focus. Up to 4K, high frame rates on supported devices, 10-bit Apple Log, ProRes 422, or HEVC. Cinematic stabilisation, Cine mode with shutter-angle control, broadcast timecode, and multi-source audio with a live meter. Bake a LUT into the file, or keep it monitor-only and grade later. THE VIDEO EDITOR Open any clip — from your library or shared straight into Acetate. Trim with frame-accurate handles, scrub and step a frame at a time, apply any look or your own .cube LUT, push exposure and tone, hold to compare, and export at source quality. The same colour pipeline as the photo editor, frame by frame. FILM LOOKS Twenty 3D LUTs in two families: research-informed film-stock emulations (Soft 400, Warm 200, Slide 100, Mono, Noir…) and art-directed looks (Teal & Orange, Bleach Bypass, '90s Cinema, Golden Hour…). Press and hold to preview live. OPEN LUT Tap any filter and the editor sliders move to reflect the look — see exactly what each LUT is doing and tweak from there. A tick mark shows the filter's value; reset snaps back, long-press clears to zero. Works for built-in films, looks, and imported .cube LUTs. BAKE YOUR OWN LUTs Save any edit as a portable .cube LUT and apply it to photos and videos with one tap — or load it in the camera and shoot your own signature look. Import from Files, iCloud, or AirDrop, in the camera or the editor. Export to Lightroom, Premiere, or DaVinci. THE EDITOR Full-strength tools: three-way colour grading wheels with per-range luma, OkLab perceptual HSL, RGB curves, split toning, filmic highlight rolloff, dehaze, texture, edge-aware denoise, and selective masks — radial, linear-gradient, and one-tap Subject / Person / Background / Sky via Apple's Vision framework. ON-DEVICE INTELLIGENCE Smart tools that run on your iPhone — and explain themselves. Smart LUT writes a per-scene recipe, then drops it onto editable sliders so you see and adjust every move. Plus auto-enhance, auto-straighten, and one-tap Object Removal (A15 / M1 or newer). PRO TOOLS Live RGB and luminance histograms, a luma waveform, zebras, false-colour exposure, focus peaking, a manual-focus loupe, framing guides, and a haptic level indicator. Continuous Kelvin/tint white balance with lock, plus AE lock — in photo and video, no drift mid-shot. PRIVACY FOCUSED Your photos and videos are yours. No account, no cloud, no analytics. Location is used strictly for EXIF geotagging on what you capture, and never leaves your device. Capture, edit, AI, and export all work offline. Don't just filter. Develop.

About

Iris

This app offers photographers extensive manual control over their shots, including RAW capture and film-inspired effects. It provides professional tools like histograms and focus peaking for precise image creation, with an optional AI workflow for natural rendering.

Highlights
  • Zero AI Capture
  • Full Manual Camera Controls
  • RAW & ProRAW Capture
  • Film Simulations & Creative Effects
  • Professional Exposure Tools
  • HDR Bracketing
  • Fast RAW Workflow
Features
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# Iris Pro: Zero AI Manual Camera Capture photos with complete creative control. Iris Pro is a professional manual camera app for iPhone built for photographers who want manual settings, RAW capture, film-inspired rendering, and full control over the image-making process. Unlike standard camera apps that heavily process photos, Iris Pro gives you the option to capture images with a dedicated Zero AI workflow designed to preserve natural texture, authentic light, and the character of the original scene. Whether you're shooting street photography, landscapes, portraits, long exposures, or everyday moments, Iris Pro puts professional camera tools directly in your pocket. ## Why Photographers Choose Iris Pro ### Zero AI Capture Capture photos with minimal computational processing. Iris Pro's Zero AI mode is designed for photographers who prefer natural detail, organic grain, realistic contrast, and images that stay true to the scene. ### Full Manual Camera Controls Take complete control of every exposure. • Manual ISO • Manual Shutter Speed • Manual Focus • Manual White Balance • Exposure Compensation • Focus Peaking • 1:1 Focus Loupe Designed for one-handed operation with responsive tactile controls. ### RAW & ProRAW Capture Choose the workflow that fits your editing style. Supported formats include: • Bayer RAW (DNG) • Apple ProRAW • RAW + HEIC • ProRAW + HEIC • HEIC • JPEG Perfect for Lightroom, Capture One, Darkroom, and other professional editing tools. ### Film Simulations & Creative Effects Create distinctive images directly in camera. Features include: • Film Simulations • Natural Film Grain • Halation • Bloom • Prism Effects • Vignette Controls Preview your creative look before you press the shutter. ### Professional Exposure Tools Make confident exposure decisions with advanced monitoring tools. • Histogram • Luma Waveform • Zebra Stripes • Electronic Level • Composition Grid Built for photographers who care about precision. ### HDR Bracketing Capture additional dynamic range for challenging lighting situations. Bracket exposures at: • ±1 EV • ±2 EV • ±3 EV ### Fast RAW Workflow Export original RAW files instantly from the built-in gallery. No unnecessary steps. No complicated workflow. Your digital negatives remain accessible whenever you need them. ## Additional Features • Ultra Wide, Wide, and Telephoto Lens Support • Self Timer • Haptic Feedback Controls • Real-Time Viewfinder Preview • Professional Photography Tools • Optimized for iPhone ## Built For Photographers Iris Pro is designed for creators who want more than automatic photography. Whether you're shooting RAW, exploring film-inspired looks, using manual focus, or working with professional exposure tools, Iris Pro helps you create photographs with intention. Capture the scene. Control the process. Iris Pro. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.bytenpixels.com/privacy

Screenshots

Acetate4 screens
Iris4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Acetate at none against Iris's 2. On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Iris sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per year. Acetate asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Acetate ships an update every 6 days, Iris weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Acetate versus Iris: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAcetateIris
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.217.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size246 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBMB ENTERPRISES LTDJiten Siddhpura

In-app purchases

None

Acetate

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Iris

Subscriptions1
  • Iris Pro — Annual3 Days trial$7.991 Year
One-time1
  • Iris Pro — Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Acetate free?
Acetate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Iris free?
Iris is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Acetate or Iris have ads?
Neither Acetate nor Iris shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Acetate or Iris?
Acetate ships an update every 6 days, and Iris weekly. Most recently, Acetate was updated on November 5, 2026 and Iris on October 31, 2026.

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