Comparison

Halcyon Camera vs Nitra

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

Head to head
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
Read full description

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.

About

Nitra

Enhance your photos with advanced HDR editing. This app offers intelligent analysis for natural HDR starting points and real-time adjustments. Explore various HDR formats and bring depth to everyday shots, RAW images, and Live Photos.

Highlights
  • Intelligent HDR analysis
  • Real-time HDR rendering
  • Multiple HDR formats (HEIC, JPEG, PQ, HLG)
  • HDR Live Photo editing
  • Photo editing extension
  • Batch export
  • Reversible editing
Read full description

Bring More Depth to Light. Nitra is an HDR photo editor designed to bring brighter, richer light to your photos. From everyday photos and RAW images to Live Photos, Nitra gives you an intuitive way to create, refine, and rediscover your photos in HDR. Select a photo and Nitra automatically analyzes the image to create a natural HDR starting point. Every adjustment is rendered in real time, so you can shape the light and see the result instantly. INTELLIGENT HDR EDITING • Automatically analyzes each photo for a natural HDR starting point • Edit photos and RAW images with real-time HDR rendering • Fine-tune light and highlights with intuitive controls • Explore HDR Styles for different looks and moods MULTIPLE HDR FORMATS Choose the HDR format that best fits your device or workflow: • Adaptive HDR (HEIC) — optimized for the Apple ecosystem • Legacy HDR (JPEG) — better compatibility with social platforms • Ultra HDR (JPEG) — ISO-standard Gain Map HDR • PQ and HLG — single-layer HDR for professional workflows Adaptive HDR, Legacy HDR, and Ultra HDR are available for free. HDR LIVE PHOTOS Bring HDR light and depth to your Live Photos. Nitra can enhance the still image in HDR, while Nitra Pro extends HDR processing to the motion as well for a complete HDR Live Photo experience. BUILT INTO YOUR PHOTO WORKFLOW • Edit directly from the Photos app with the Nitra photo editing extension • Send photos to Nitra quickly with the action extension • Preserve adjustment information for reversible editing • Edit multiple photos and apply shared adjustments • Batch export multiple photos REVISIT YOUR PHOTOS Some photos deserve to be seen again. Revisit brings photos you've edited with Nitra back into an immersive HDR viewing experience. Browse at your own pace or let your photos flow automatically, and rediscover the light and moments you've captured. NITRA PRO Upgrade to Nitra Pro to unlock: • Full HDR Live Photos with HDR motion • Higher-quality HDR exports • Unlimited multi-photo editing and batch export • Professional HDR tools, including PQ, HLG, and the HDR histogram • Exports without the Nitra watermark PRIVACY FIRST Nitra requires no account. Photo analysis, RAW processing, HDR rendering, and exporting are performed entirely on your device. Your photos are never uploaded to a server. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://getnitra.app/privacy

Screenshots

Halcyon Camera4 screens
Nitra4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Nitra at 5.0 against Halcyon Camera's 1.0. Halcyon Camera's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 11 days). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Nitra sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Halcyon Camera asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Nitra holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Halcyon Camera ships an update every 2 days, Nitra every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Halcyon Camera versus Nitra: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHalcyon CameraNitra
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 11 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBirkan Aksoy峥 王

Customer experience

Halcyon Camera

All ratings3 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Nitra

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Halcyon Camera

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Nitra

Subscriptions2
  • Nitra Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Nitra Pro Yearly7 Days trial$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • Nitra Pro Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Halcyon Camera free?
Halcyon Camera is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nitra free?
Nitra is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Halcyon Camera or Nitra?
Nitra is rated higher. Halcyon Camera averages 1.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Nitra averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Halcyon Camera or Nitra have ads?
Neither Halcyon Camera nor Nitra shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Halcyon Camera or Nitra?
Halcyon Camera ships an update every 2 days, and Nitra every 11 days. Most recently, Halcyon Camera was updated on October 20, 2026 and Nitra on October 10, 2026.

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