AstroOcular vs Shutter Link
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
AstroOcular
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AstroOcular is a focused camera app for recording the Moon, planets, and observations through a telescope eyepiece. The app opens straight into the camera, avoids automatic lens switching by using physical rear cameras when available, and provides a visual guide to help center the iPhone on the eyepiece. Key features: - Photo and video capture through a telescope eyepiece - Physical rear lens selection - Automatic alignment guide and manual reticle fallback - Timer to reduce shake - Pro controls for zoom, focus, exposure, ISO, white balance, resolution, and FPS - Saves locally to the Photos library - No ads, analytics, purchases, or backend Video audio is off by default and microphone permission is requested only if you enable audio.
Shutter Link
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ShutterLink turns your iPhone into a remote for the camera you already own, over Bluetooth. No Wi-Fi network to join, no hotspot that drops, no account to make. Pair once, and the camera is there when you pick the phone up. Works with Sony Alpha, Fujifilm X and GFX, and Canon EOS bodies that have Bluetooth remote control. A REMOTE YOU ARRANGE Add, move, resize and remove controls on a grid, the way you would in Control Center. Upright and sideways are kept separately, and every camera keeps its own layout. Shutter, half press, single shot, shoot on focus, 3s and 10s self timers, AF-ON, C1, video record, power zoom and focus drive, as far as the body allows. SEQUENCES A bulb timer, an intervalometer and focus bracketing, composed into one run, with an estimate of how long it will take before you start it. Exposure ramping gives every frame a different length across a run, for a timelapse shot into changing light. A Live Activity keeps the count on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island while the phone is in your pocket. ON YOUR WRIST, AND EVERYWHERE ELSE An Apple Watch remote with four controls you choose per camera. Siri and Shortcuts for shutter, start and stop. A Control Center button for the shutter, one press from anywhere. MORE THAN ONE CAMERA Pair as many bodies as you like. They stay connected together, and the title on the remote decides which one it drives, so a sequence running on one carries on while you shoot with the other. GEOTAGGING AND THE SHOT LOG Feed the phone's position to the camera over the maker's own location service, and the camera writes GPS into its own files, including the frames you fire on the body that the app never sees. The shot log records when and where every frame the app triggered went off, and exports GPX for matching photos by capture time in Lightroom or Capture One. FREE TO CONNECT, PAY TO CONTROL Finding, pairing and connecting cost nothing, so you can watch the app talk to your camera before you spend anything. One purchase then unlocks the remote for every supported make, now and for the makes added later. No subscription, no account, no sign-in. WHAT BLUETOOTH CANNOT DO Bluetooth is a remote release, not a tether. There is no live view, no image preview or transfer, and no reading or setting ISO, aperture, shutter speed or white balance. What is on offer also varies by make: a Fujifilm gives the shutter, its half press and geotagging, and a Canon gives different things depending on which of its two Bluetooth modes you paired from. The app follows what your camera can actually do rather than what its badge says, lists that for you before you buy, and never draws a button the body will not answer. Not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Sony, Fujifilm or Canon. Product names are the trademarks of their owners.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: AstroOcular at none against Shutter Link's 1. AstroOcular also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Shutter Link's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Shutter Link sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. AstroOcular asks for nothing beyond the download.
AstroOcular ships an update every 5 weeks, Shutter Link fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 1, 2026.
| Parameter | AstroOcular | Shutter Link |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Fortnightly β better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No β better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch β better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 β better | 26.0 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aron Scolaro | Jonathan Underwood |
In-app purchases
AstroOcular
No in-app purchases
Shutter Link
- Bluetooth Remote$6.99
Questions
Is AstroOcular free?
Is Shutter Link free?
Do AstroOcular or Shutter Link have ads?
Which is updated more often, AstroOcular or Shutter Link?
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