Comparison

Stellar vs Lens

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

Head to head
About

Stellar

This app offers advanced control for creating timelapses and capturing single shots with customizable intervals and delays. It supports manual camera settings, dual camera capture, and various output formats, including RAW. Remote control and Apple Watch integration are also available.

Highlights
  • Interval shooting
  • Manual camera controls
  • Dual camera capture
  • RAW photo output
  • Remote control
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Timelapse video creation
Features
Read full description

Stellar is a precision interval camera built for photographers who want complete control from a quick self-timer shot to a multi-hour timelapse session. CAPTURE • Interval shooting: every 2, 5, 10, 30, or 60 seconds • Single shot mode with start delay. Use Stellar as a self-timer • Set a shot count (1 to ∞) or a duration limit (30s to 1h) • Schedule a session to fire automatically at a specific time • Visual countdown before the session starts CAMERA CONTROLS • Switch between Ultra Wide, Wide, and Telephoto lenses (If supported) • Manual shutter speed, ISO, and exposure compensation • Manual focus with barrel-style slider and haptic feedback • Barrel-style zoom with haptic tick feedback • Flash: Off / Auto / On • AE/AF lock and tap-to-focus DUAL CAMERA • Multicam: Capture front and back cameras simultaneously • Picture-in-Picture layout: draggable and swappable • Both lenses fire at the exact same time PHOTO OUTPUT • Formats: HEIC, JPEG, RAW, RAW+HEIC, RAW+JPEG • Aspect ratios: Original, 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 • Optional geotagging. Embed GPS location in EXIF metadata • Sessions automatically saved to a named album in Photos TIMELAPSE VIDEO • Build a timelapse from any session or photo library • Share photos from the iOS Photos app directly into Stellar to generate a timelapse • Frame rate: 24 or 30 fps • Quality: 1080p, 1440p, or 4K • Speed: 0.5×, 1×, 2×, 3×, or 4× • Reverse playback option • Export and share in seconds REMOTE CONTROL • Control a second iPhone over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth • Start, stop, and preview shots remotely APPLE WATCH • Start and stop capture from your wrist • Live preview on the watch face after each shot • Shot counter displayed during active sessions FRAMING AIDS • Ghost overlay: match composition to the previous shot • 3×3 grid for rule-of-thirds framing • Horizon level indicator • Aspect ratio crop guides GALLERY • Browse, view full-screen, share, or delete photos & videos captured by Stellar FEEDBACK & SETTINGS • Shutter sound and haptic feedback • LED countdown: flashes 3-2-1 before each shot • Battery saver mode: dims screen during long sessions • Sleep mode: pause and resume without losing your session • Presets: save and load named setting combinations • Storage warning before starting a session Download Stellar. Every second counts.

About

Lens

Features
Read full description

Lens lets you shoot photos and videos with real-time visual effects directly inside the camera. Choose a look, see it instantly, and capture the final result without moving to a separate editor. Lens is built for creators, visual experimenters, and anyone who wants a more expressive camera on iPhone. Fully free to use All camera effects, photo and video capture features are currently available without subscriptions or paywalls. Create, record, and share without limitations. What you can do with Lens: • Shoot with real-time visual effects • Record video with effects applied during capture • Take photos with the active look • Preview the result immediately after shooting • Save or instantly share your content to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Telegram and other social platforms Built for social sharing Share in seconds without extra editing. Live effects while you shoot Lens applies visual effects in real time instead of adding them later in post-production. This makes the creative process faster, more direct, and more fun. Depth-based effects on supported devices On compatible devices, Lens uses scene depth to power spatial visual effects. Selected looks react to foreground and background separation for more dimensional results. Built with a fast rendering pipeline Lens is designed for smooth real-time performance, responsive controls, and fast switching between styles while shooting photos and videos. Designed for creative capture Use Lens for: • Short-form videos • Social content • Stylized portraits • Experimental clips • Visual studies and artistic shooting Fast camera workflow 1. Open Lens 2. Choose an effect 3. Shoot photo or video 4. Preview the result 5. Save or share instantly Key features • Real-time camera effects • Photo and video capture • Instant preview after shooting • Effect intensity control • Smooth zoom workflow • Depth-based effects on supported devices • Fast save and share flow Device support Some features may vary depending on your device. Depth-based effects require supported hardware. Privacy Lens uses camera, microphone, photo library, and speech recognition permissions only for app functionality.

Screenshots

Stellar4 screens
Lens4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Stellar at every 4 days against Lens's fortnightly. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stellar ships an update every 4 days, Lens fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 11, 2026 and May 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Stellar versus Lens: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStellarLens
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGabriel PiresVladislav Poliakov

In-app purchases

None

Stellar

No in-app purchases

None

Lens

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Stellar free?
Stellar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lens free?
Lens is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Stellar or Lens have ads?
Neither Stellar nor Lens shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stellar or Lens?
Stellar ships an update every 4 days, and Lens fortnightly. Most recently, Stellar was updated on September 11, 2026 and Lens on May 15, 2026.

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