Comparison

Lucid vs vDarkroom

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

Head to head
About

Lucid

Features
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Shutter, ISO, white balance and focus — on real dials, laid out like a camera body instead of buried in a menu. The viewfinder shows exactly what saves. Pick the one thing you care about — Aperture-free Auto, Manual, Shutter or ISO priority — and Lucid floats the rest live as the light moves. One purchase. No subscription. UNFOLDS ON IPHONE DUO Open iPhone Duo and Lucid becomes a camera body: the viewfinder fills one half of the display, and the other half is a full control plate under your thumb — shutter and ISO on two live dials at once, big readouts, a labeled zoom ring, flash, timer, grid and level as buttons, your Looks and Profiles one tap from the shutter. The viewfinder turns with the camera, not the screen. Close it, and Lucid is the camera you already know. OPENS FROM THE CAMERA CONTROL BUTTON On iPhone 16 and later, set Lucid as your Camera Control app. One press opens Lucid right from the Lock Screen: no unlocking, and every manual dial is there. Half-press to adjust zoom, exposure, priority and Looks without taking your eye off the frame. WHY LUCID Most camera apps hand you a filter and a shutter button. Lucid hands you the camera. Four exposure priorities (Auto, Manual, Shutter, ISO) let you decide what to control and what to let the camera solve, live. Everything you set, you see. Everything you see, you keep. And it's yours. One purchase, no subscription. The camera doesn't stop working when the month ends. WHAT YOU CAN DO - Shoot full manual: shutter, ISO, white balance, and focus, on real dials - Choose what you control: Auto, Manual, Shutter or ISO priority — the camera solves the rest, live - Capture RAW, ProRAW, HEIF, and 48MP, keeping every bit of the file - Nail focus with peaking and a magnified loupe - Read your light with a live histogram and zebra stripes - Grade with Looks: film LUTs previewed live in the viewfinder, baked on capture - Import your own .cube LUTs - Pull long exposures, bracket, and set a self-timer - Save full setups as Profiles and recall them in a tap - Launch from the Camera Control button, even on the Lock Screen - Open iPhone Duo for a two-dial control plate beside the viewfinder - Shoot manual video too: Apple Log, ProRes, and a cinematic 180° shutter BUILT HONEST No aperture slider. Your iPhone's lenses have fixed apertures, and faking it would be a lie. No account. No analytics. No cloud. Your photos never leave your phone, and location tagging stays off until you turn it on. ONE PURCHASE. YOURS FOREVER. Try every feature free. Then unlock Lucid for a single payment: no subscription, no upsells, no expiry date. Shoot like you mean it. Support: support@lucidcamera.app Privacy: https://lucidcamera.app/privacy/

About

vDarkroom

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vDarkroom moves the complete traditional darkroom workflow — capture, exposure, development, enlargement — to iPhone, in pursuit of a faithful silver-halide experience. Ā· Capture: record RAW (Bayer RAW 14-bit / Apple ProRAW) to retain the sensor's fullest tonal data for reuse downstream. Supports physical aperture stops on the iPhone 18 Pro / Pro Max main lens (f/1.48 Ā· 1.8 Ā· 2.8 Ā· 4.0). Ā· Exposure: meter the captured data with zone, centre-weighted or spot metering, then expose the selected film; a graduated ND filter and black-and-white contrast filters are also available. Ā· Development: six developers (D-76, Rodinal, HC-110, Microphen, DD-X and more) with fine adjustment of temperature, time and agitation. Ā· Enlargement: ten papers and processes (silver-gelatin RC/FB, cyanotype, platinum, vandyke, salt, multi-coat gum, digital), with multigrade contrast, enlarger aperture and exposure time, and a round black card for local burn and dodge. Ā· More: 25 classic films, bracketed HDR, neutral-grey marker, 8K and lossless PNG export, silver-halide grain model. Free features: HEIF capture, 1080P/2K export, JPG, three metering modes, six developers, four films, silver-gelatin papers and cyanotype. Pro (one-time unlock): RAW capture, 4K/8K export, lossless PNG export, bracketed HDR, black-and-white filters, graduated ND, round black card, all films and alternative-process papers.

Screenshots

Lucid4 screens
vDarkroom4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: vDarkroom at 17.0 against Lucid's 26.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Lucid sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and vDarkroom sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lucid ships an update every 10 days, vDarkroom every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
Lucid versus vDarkroom: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLucidvDarkroom
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPerry Hampton雷光 单

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Lucid

One-time1
  • Unlock Lucid$4.99
1 purchases

vDarkroom

One-time1
  • vDarkroom Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Lucid free?
Lucid is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is vDarkroom free?
vDarkroom is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Lucid or vDarkroom have ads?
Neither Lucid nor vDarkroom shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lucid or vDarkroom?
Lucid ships an update every 10 days, and vDarkroom every 5 days. Most recently, Lucid was updated on October 28, 2026 and vDarkroom on October 31, 2026.

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