Halcyon Camera vs HOOKCAM
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
HOOKCAM
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HOOKCAM is a pre-recording camera app designed specifically for fishing. It continuously buffers the moments before a fish bites. When a strike happens, simply tap a button or use a voice command to save the key moment and keep recording the fight that follows. How It Works 1. Secure your phone to a fishing neck mount, adjust the camera angle, open HOOKCAM, and wait for pre-recording to begin. 2. When a fish bites, tap HOOK or say your preset voice command. 3. HOOKCAM automatically saves the footage from before the bite, with up to 120 seconds of pre-recording, and continues recording what happens next. 4. When you are finished, tap STOP or say your stop command. The video will be saved automatically. Key Features · Adjust resolution, frame rate, lens, exposure compensation, ISO, shutter speed, white balance, and zoom. · Record video at up to 4K 60fps. · Pre-recording buffer of up to 120 seconds. · Control HOOK and STOP with your voice. · Create custom voice commands for starting and stopping a recording. · Supports video stabilization, grid lines, a level indicator, and manual focus. · Power-saving mode for long fishing sessions. · Record audio to preserve the full atmosphere of every catch. · Videos are saved automatically to the Photos app. There is no need to keep watching the screen or worry about missing a bite. Wear your phone at chest level, stay focused on fishing, and let HOOKCAM capture every unforgettable HOOK Moment.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Halcyon Camera at none against HOOKCAM's 1. Halcyon Camera also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 days). HOOKCAM's advantage is iOS requirement (15 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. HOOKCAM sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Halcyon Camera asks for nothing beyond the download.
Halcyon Camera ships an update every 2 days, HOOKCAM every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Halcyon Camera | HOOKCAM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.0 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 6 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Birkan Aksoy | 雪丽 张 |
In-app purchases
Halcyon Camera
No in-app purchases
HOOKCAM
- Lifetime PRO$2.99






