Comparison

Lucid vs EMST Camera

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

Head to head
About

Lucid

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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. 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 - 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

EMST Camera

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EMST Camera is a film-inspired camera app you operate like a camera. Not a filter you drop on afterwards. Pick a look, set your exposure, aperture and focal length, and shoot. Live preview of the settings directly in viewfinder. YOUR CONTROL • A dial-based shooting interface: one scroll wheel drives exposure, aperture, focal length and aspect ratio. • Aperture dial with depth-of-field rendering. • Focal length presets pinned to your iPhone's real lenses. • Mirrorless-style autofocus: a persistent AF box, tap to move it, AF lock to recompose. • Grid and level overlays when you want them, nothing when you don't. YOUR LOOK • Built-in film-inspired looks, from warm evening color to cool dusk tones and true monochrome + Natural for a clean, untouched capture. • Every look is tunable: grain, halation, vignette, clarity and color temperature. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account, no ads, everything happens on your device. Open the camera straight from control center or lock screen with shortcut extension. EMST Camera iOS app from Emaki Studio, a small independent photo toolkit.

Screenshots

Lucid4 screens
EMST Camera3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: EMST Camera at none against Lucid's 1. On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. EMST Camera asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lucid ships an update every 8 days, EMST Camera every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
Lucid versus EMST Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLucidEMST Camera
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPerry HamptonTomas Ourednik

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Lucid

One-time1
  • Unlock Lucid$4.99
None

EMST Camera

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lucid free?
Lucid is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is EMST Camera free?
EMST Camera is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Lucid or EMST Camera have ads?
Neither Lucid nor EMST Camera shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lucid or EMST Camera?
Lucid ships an update every 8 days, and EMST Camera every 2 weeks. Most recently, Lucid was updated on October 1, 2026 and EMST Camera on October 18, 2026.

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