Comparison

Honesmith Optics vs Frames

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

Head to head
About

Honesmith Optics

Features
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Some photos are better when you make the decisions yourself. Honesmith Optics is an iPhone camera built for RAW and manual photography. Focus and exposure metering can be controlled independently, while manual focus, P/S/M exposure modes, RAW and ProRAW give you direct control when shooting close-up subjects, backlit scenes, or with external lenses. Focus here. Meter there. Tap the preview to set focus. Press and hold to place exposure metering independently. Your subject can stay in focus without forcing you to meter from the same part of the frame. EV compensation gives you a quick final adjustment when you want the image brighter or darker. Shoot RAW. Keep more room to edit. On supported iPhones and camera configurations, Honesmith Optics can capture Bayer RAW or Apple ProRAW and save the original image as DNG, giving you more flexibility for exposure, color, and post-processing. Take more control when you need it. Manual focus, magnified viewing, and Focus Assist make precise focusing easier for macro photography, external lenses, and shallow depth of field. You can control: • ISO • Shutter speed • White balance • Auto and manual focus • Independent exposure metering • EV compensation • RAW / ProRAW • JPEG / PNG • Aspect ratio and filters • Timer • Volume-button shutter • High-resolution photos and 4K video on supported devices No account. No subscription. Your photos stay yours. Honesmith Optics does not require a Honesmith account and does not use Honesmith cloud processing for your photos. Core photo, video, and RAW processing stays on your device. There are no ads or usage analytics. Advanced features are available through one-time in-app purchases. There is no subscription. Whether you are learning manual photography, shooting RAW, working with macro or external lenses, or simply want more control than the built-in camera gives you, Honesmith Optics gives you a more deliberate way to shoot with iPhone. Availability of RAW, ProRAW, high-resolution capture, video formats, and certain camera controls depends on your iPhone, physical lens, iOS version, and current capture configuration.

About

Frames

Features
Read full description

Frames turns your camera roll into a library you can actually search, and an editor you can actually work in. Everything happens on your device. Your photos never leave your phone. ORGANIZED THE MOMENT YOU OPEN IT Frames reads your library and tags what's in your photos, so you can finally find things: • Search by place, color, subject, and the people in the shot • Faces are recognized on device and gathered into albums you name • Smart, synonym-aware search: look for "dog" and find the labradoodle • Filter by date, location, camera, and more A REAL EDITOR, RIGHT ON TOP OF YOUR LIBRARY No importing, no round-trips. Open any photo and go: • Exposure, color, curves, and HSL with granular control • AI masks: select the subject, the sky, or any color or luminance range • RAW develop with highlight recovery and extended dynamic range • Film look, grain, color grade, and clean white-border framing • Save in-place in your library, or export as a new copy PRIVATE BY DESIGN All tagging, face grouping, and editing runs on your device. There's no cloud, no account, and no tracking. Your library stays yours. TRY EVERYTHING FREE Start with a 14-day free trial of the full editor — no card, no subscription required to try it. After that, Frames Pro unlocks the complete toolset: • Monthly subscription, or • A lifetime license - yours forever with no strings attached Frames is built for people who care how their photos look and where they live. Shoot it, find it, finish it. All in one place. — Frames Pro is a monthly auto-renewing subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. The monthly subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://tyhaven.github.io/frames-privacy/

Screenshots

Honesmith Optics4 screens
Frames4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Honesmith Optics at 17.0 against Frames's 26.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Honesmith Optics sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Frames sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
Honesmith Optics versus Frames: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHonesmith OpticsFrames
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB217 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShih-Chen YangTYLER ANDREW HAVEN

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Honesmith Optics

One-time1
  • Honesmith Optics Pro$11.99
2 purchases

Frames

Subscriptions1
  • 1 month subscription$3.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime license$19.99

Questions

Is Honesmith Optics free?
Honesmith Optics is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Frames free?
Frames is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Honesmith Optics or Frames have ads?
Neither Honesmith Optics nor Frames shows ads.

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