Cartouche vs Lightscope
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
Cartouche
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Cartouche turns your photos into clean, gallery-style framed prints ā with the camera details baked right in. Pick a photo and Cartouche reads its EXIF data (camera, lens, focal length, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and date) and stamps it into a beautifully designed frame. Choose a theme, fine-tune the border, background, and shadow, then export at full resolution ā ready to share or print. FEATURES ⢠Eight frame themes ā from minimal borders to film-strip and poster styles ⢠Automatic EXIF stamping ā camera, lens, focal length, aperture, shutter, ISO, date ⢠Adjustable border, background color, and soft drop shadow ⢠Aspect-ratio presets ā 1:1, 4:5, 9:16, 16:9, 3:2, or original ⢠Add your @handle to every frame ⢠Full-resolution export (HEIC or JPEG) ā your image is never downscaled ⢠Your own library ā every creation is saved, easy to reopen and edit ⢠Clean, dark gallery interface that keeps the focus on your photo Built for photographers who want their shots to look considered ā whether you're posting to social or printing for the wall. No account required. No ads.
Lightscope
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Shot in Apple Log and tired of flat, washed-out previews? Lightscope plays Apple Log (1 & 2) footage back the way it was meant to look ā in real Rec.2100 HLG ā and lets you grade it right on your iPhone or iPad. PLAY IT RIGHT ⢠True HDR playback of Apple Log 1 & 2 clips (Rec.2100 HLG) ⢠Technical LUTs generated from DaVinci Resolve for accurate log-to-display transforms ⢠One-tap HDR / SDR display modes GRADE ON-DEVICE ⢠Color wheels (lift Ā· gamma Ā· gain), exposure in the scene-referred log domain ⢠Tone curves with a live curve editor ⢠Color warper and skin-tone secondaries ⢠Film & cinema looks, plus your own .cube LUTs ⢠Broadcast scopes: waveform and vectorscope, on the image while you grade ⢠Non-destructive: every clip remembers its grade automatically ⢠Shareable grade presets EXPORT ⢠10-bit HEVC in Rec.2100 HLG (true HDR) or Rec.709 (SDR master) ⢠Saved straight back to your Photos library TRY EVERYTHING FREE FOR 14 DAYS Every feature is unlocked for two weeks ā no account, no sign-up. After the trial, your library stays free to browse, and a single one-time purchase of Lightscope Pro keeps true HLG playback, the full grading suite and export forever. No subscription. Family Sharing supported. Everything happens on your device. No uploads, no tracking. Requires iOS 17 or later. Apple Log recording requires iPhone 15 Pro or later (or footage from Final Cut Camera / Blackmagic Cam).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cartouche at none against Lightscope's 1. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Lightscope sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Cartouche asks for nothing beyond the download.
Cartouche ships an update weekly, Lightscope every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cartouche | Lightscope |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 5 days ā better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No ā better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shiny Pidugu | Jian Zhou |
In-app purchases
Cartouche
No in-app purchases
Lightscope
- Lightscope Pro$9.99









