Comparison

Phone Cam Controller vs LibreCam

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

Head to head
About

Phone Cam Controller

Transform your iPhone into a wireless virtual camera for 3D animation software. Control your 3D camera in real-time with your phone's motion and record keyframes by physically moving through your scene. Stream live previews and adjust camera settings directly from your device.

Highlights
  • Wireless virtual camera for After Effects & Blender
  • Real-time 6DOF camera control via phone motion
  • One-tap and continuous keyframe recording
  • Live preview streaming to phone
  • Adjust camera settings (zoom, focus, aperture) from phone
  • Timeline control (play, pause, scrub) from phone
  • Multi-phone support for multiple angles
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPhone into a wireless virtual camera for Adobe After Effects and Blender. Move your phone to control the 3D camera in real time, and record keyframes by physically walking through your scene. Phone Cam Controller is the companion app for the free Phone Camera Control plugin for After Effects and the free Phone CamController add-on for Blender. Your computer and iPhone find each other automatically over Wi-Fi — no IP addresses, no pairing codes, no setup. NEW: BLENDER SUPPORT The same live preview, motion control, and keyframe recording you know from After Effects now work with Blender too. Install the free add-on, click Start Server in the Phone Cam sidebar, and your iPhone connects automatically. LIVE PREVIEW ON YOUR PHONE See your After Effects composition or Blender scene camera streamed to your phone in real time. Walk around the room, check framing, show a client — all without rendering. 6DOF CAMERA CONTROL Full six degrees of freedom — position (X, Y, Z) and orientation (pan, tilt, roll) — driven by your phone's motion and AR sensors. The camera on your computer mirrors your physical movement precisely. ONE-TAP & CONTINUOUS RECORDING Single-tap the shutter to drop a keyframe at the current time. Press and hold to record continuously — the host captures your motion frame by frame as real keyframes, creating smooth, natural camera animation. CAMERA SETTINGS FROM YOUR PHONE Control zoom (focal length), focus distance, aperture, blur level, and depth of field directly from your phone. Changes apply to the camera in real time. TIMELINE CONTROL Play, pause, scrub, step, and jump to start or end — all from your phone. No reaching for the keyboard mid-take. MULTI-PHONE SUPPORT Connect several phones at once. Each phone drives its own camera — perfect for scouting multiple angles or collaborating with a team. ZERO CONFIGURATION The plugin and app discover each other automatically via Bonjour/mDNS on your local network. Just open both and they connect. REQUIREMENTS • Adobe After Effects 2024 or later, OR Blender 4.2 or later (macOS, Windows, or Linux) • The free Phone Camera Control plugin (After Effects) or Phone CamController add-on (Blender) • iPhone and computer on the same local Wi-Fi network (5 GHz recommended) FREE TO USE The app is free with all features included. Recording keyframes uses Ad Credits (30 free on sign-up); watch a short ad to earn more, or upgrade to Ad-Free with a one-time in-app purchase for unlimited, ad-free recording. Everything else — streaming, camera control, camera settings, timeline, multi-phone — is unlimited and free. Your composition and scene data are streamed locally over your own Wi-Fi and are never uploaded to any server.

About

LibreCam

Capture raw image data directly from your iPhone's sensor without any artificial processing. Offers manual controls for focus, ISO, and exposure, with options for custom color recipes and framed prints.

Highlights
  • Capture true Bayer DNGs
  • Single-frame HEIFs
  • Manual focus, ISO, exposure
  • Customizable color recipes
  • Framed print sharing
  • Apple Watch remote control
Features
Read full description

LibreCam is a manual RAW camera for iPhone that captures what the sensor sees, and nothing more. Shoot true Bayer DNGs, single-frame HEIFs, or both at once, with no fusion, no aggressive processing, no account, no tracking and no subscription. The stock camera applies Smart HDR, Deep Fusion, noise reduction, sharpening and tone mapping to every shot. LibreCam turns off everything that can be turned off, and is honest about what cannot. DNG: the true Bayer sensor readout. No fusion, no noise reduction, no tone mapping, no distortion correction. One frame, exactly as the sensor read it. HEIF: a single frame developed by the hardware ISP. No fusion, no HDR, no semantic tricks. LOOKS: nine fixed color recipes, applied to the HEIF as you shoot. Build your own with dials in the Look Editor, and import or export standard .cube files. The DNG is never touched. PRINT: share a shot as a framed print. Ink or paper matte, and a label with the exposure, camera, date, place and your name, set like a museum caption. A copy made for sharing; the photo itself stays as it is. LIBRECAM PRO: one purchase, no subscription, and only three things are paid: the Look Editor for your own recipes, the Apple Watch remote, and the iPhone remote. Everything else is free. FEATURES - Every physical lens on your iPhone. No digital zoom, ever. - The front camera too, with mirrored or true-to-sensor selfies. - An Apple Watch remote: shutter, readouts, framing assist. (LibreCam Pro) - An iPhone remote: a second iPhone with LibreCam shows the live viewfinder and works every control, over a direct link with no network needed. (LibreCam Pro on the shooting iPhone) - Manual focus, shutter, ISO, exposure bias and white balance. Everything is automatic until touched. - Focus peaking: the sharpest edges glow amber while you focus. - Level: a horizon line that reports the tilt your photo will actually have. It never straightens anything. - Histogram: all three channels live on the glass, with marks for which one is clipping, and at which end. - Nine looks free; build your own with LibreCam Pro. - Print: a framed, captioned copy of any shot, ready to share. - Frame lock: 9:16, 2:3, 4:5 or 1:1 on the glass, the developed copy cropped to match. The DNG keeps the full frame. - Flash: off, auto or on. On auto, the bolt turns amber only when the scene will fire it. - Aperture on iPhone 18 Pro: f/1.48 to f/4 on the 24 mm lens in thirds of a stop, one tap each. Automatic until touched. - Shutter priority and ISO priority metering. - Camera Control on iPhone 16 and later: focus, aperture, shutter, ISO, EV, white balance and the lenses, right on the button. - Hardware shutter on the volume buttons. No shutter sound. - Add-only Photos access. No account, no tracking. - Optional location tagging, written into the photo on your device. A camera, not a computer.

Screenshots

Phone Cam Controller4 screens
LibreCam4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: LibreCam at 100% against Phone Cam Controller's 50%. LibreCam also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.0) and ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Phone Cam Controller sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and LibreCam sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

LibreCam holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Phone Cam Controller's written reviews are positive against 100% of LibreCam's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Phone Cam Controller ships an update every 3 weeks, LibreCam daily. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Phone Cam Controller versus LibreCam: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhone Cam ControllerLibreCam
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksDaily — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAbdolvahab SaniselbacharyTimo Josten

Customer experience

Phone Cam Controller

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

LibreCam

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Phone Cam Controller

One-time1
  • Ad Free$14.99
1 purchases

LibreCam

One-time1
  • LibreCam Pro$5.99

Questions

Is Phone Cam Controller free?
Phone Cam Controller is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LibreCam free?
LibreCam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Phone Cam Controller or LibreCam?
LibreCam is rated higher. Phone Cam Controller averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while LibreCam averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Phone Cam Controller or LibreCam have ads?
Phone Cam Controller shows ads; LibreCam does not.
Which is updated more often, Phone Cam Controller or LibreCam?
Phone Cam Controller ships an update every 3 weeks, and LibreCam daily. Most recently, Phone Cam Controller was updated on November 9, 2026 and LibreCam on October 31, 2026.

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