Comparison

STDIO vs Halcyon Camera

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

Head to head
About

STDIO

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STDIO turns one selfie into a designer-grade portrait. 141 curated styles. One tap. ~1 Minute. Standard input. Extraordinary output. The face-AI app for people with taste. — THE LIBRARY 141 styles hand-picked across four categories. • Photo Styles — cinematic portraits, editorial lighting, mood pieces • Magazine Covers — Vogue-grade composition, your name on the masthead • Locations — travel posters, postal stamps, 3D travel guides • Posters — paper-fragment portraits, color-box editorial, typographic art — THE PROMISE One style. One result. Premium. No multi-photo training. No 20-minute uploads. No 200-result generic gallery. Standard input is your photo. Extraordinary output is the result, in 30 seconds. — THREE FREE Three generations across any style, on the house. STDIO watermark included. No trial, no auto-renew — just three. — STDIO PRO 30 generations per month. No watermark on saved photos. Five exclusive App Icons (Chrome, Cyber, Monolith, Striped, Wireframe). Priority generation queue. — PRIVACY BY DEFAULT Your photo never lives on our servers. It passes through the generation model in memory, the result returns to your device, then memory clears. No account. No email. No tracking pixel. The anonymous device ID belongs to your device alone — we cannot link it to your name. — DESIGNED LIKE A TOOL Dark mode only. Monospaced typography. Sharp edges. Maximum negative space. The way designer tools look when designers build them. — SUBSCRIPTION STDIO PRO Monthly: $14.99 per month. STDIO PRO Annual: $79.99 per year (save 56%). Subscriptions auto-renew until cancelled in iOS Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions → STDIO. Made by the i01.kz team. STDIO includes safety filters and content moderation. We do not generate sexually explicit, illegal, or harmful content. Uploads of others without their consent are prohibited. Privacy Policy: https://stdio.wtf/privacy Terms of Use: https://stdio.wtf/terms Support: support@stdio.wtf

About

Halcyon Camera

Capture photos and videos with the authentic look and feel of classic film stocks. Offers professional manual controls, advanced editing tools, and various shooting modes like long exposure and slow-motion.

Highlights
  • Authentic film stock simulations
  • Full manual camera controls
  • Long exposure and slow-motion video
  • WYSIWYG editing with film simulation
  • Pro video recording options
  • Built-in pro overlays and grids
Features
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Halcyon brings the soul of film to your iPhone. Twelve hand-crafted film stocks — Kodak Portra 400, Cinestill 800T, Velvia 50, Tri-X 400 and more — each with the temperature, tone curve, grain, and halation of the real thing. Apply them live, before you take the shot, and what you see is exactly what you get. REAL PRO CONTROLS, ONE-HANDED. Full manual ISO, shutter, focus, white balance, and exposure. Tap to focus. Long-press for AE/AF lock. Pinch to zoom. Volume buttons fire the shutter. Lens switcher for ultrawide, wide, telephoto. Halide-style focus loupe magnifies the sharpness plane as you rack focus. Histogram, waveform, focus peaking, zebras, false color, horizon level — when you need them, hidden when you don't. NEW IN 3.2 — LONG EXPOSURE, SLOW-MO, LIVE PHOTO. • Multi-frame long exposure — 2, 5, 10, or 20 second stacks with automatic alignment for handheld light trails, silky water, and star fields • Slow-motion capture at 120fps and 240fps • Live Photo for every film stock — the frames before and after, with the film baked in • Thermal and storage health warnings before a long take can bite you • Alternate app icons: Amber, Midnight, Noir BUILT-IN PRO OVERLAYS. • Histogram — real-time RGB • Waveform — luminance monitor • Focus peaking — see what's sharp • Focus loupe — Halide-style magnifier • Zebras — highlight clipping alert • False color — exposure map • Horizon level — stop crooked photos • Rule-of-thirds grid • Cinematic frame modes — square, 3:2, 16:9, half-frame • Live ISO / shutter chips PRO VIDEO WITH FILM SIMULATION. Record HEVC, ProRes 422 HQ, or Apple Log with the film baked in. Cinematic 24fps, 4K, live audio, plus 120/240fps slow-motion. EVERYTHING IS YOURS. WYSIWYG: every effect — film, grain, halation — is baked into the saved photo. ProRAW is preserved as alternate. Create custom film recipes with a 14-slider editor. Save them, share them, refine them. YOUR PHOTOS STAY ON YOUR DEVICE. No analytics. No data collection. No network requests. Nothing leaves your iPhone. Made with care for everyone who misses film.

Screenshots

STDIO4 screens
Halcyon Camera4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: STDIO at 15.1 against Halcyon Camera's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. STDIO sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and Halcyon Camera sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

STDIO ships an update daily, Halcyon Camera every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
STDIO versus Halcyon Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSTDIOHalcyon Camera
PriceFreeFree
Rating—1.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 2 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB4 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperIlyas BaiduanovBirkan Aksoy

In-app purchases

2 purchases

STDIO

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$14.991 Month
  • Pro Annual$79.991 Year
1 purchases

Halcyon Camera

One-time1
  • Halcyon Pro$9.99

Questions

Is STDIO free?
STDIO is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Halcyon Camera free?
Halcyon Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do STDIO or Halcyon Camera have ads?
Neither STDIO nor Halcyon Camera shows ads.
Which is updated more often, STDIO or Halcyon Camera?
STDIO ships an update daily, and Halcyon Camera every 2 days. Most recently, STDIO was updated on October 31, 2026 and Halcyon Camera on October 31, 2026.

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