Lightscope vs Knurl Camera
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
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 β in real Rec.2100 HLG β and lets you grade it right on your iPhone or iPad. PLAY IT RIGHT β’ True HDR playback of Apple Log 1 & 2 clips (Rec.2100 HLG) β’ Technical LUTs generated from DaVinci Resolve for accurate log-to-display transforms β’ One-tap HDR / SDR display modes GRADE ON-DEVICE β’ Color wheels (lift Β· gamma Β· gain), exposure in the scene-referred log domain β’ Tone curves with a live curve editor β’ Color warper and skin-tone secondaries β’ Film & cinema looks, plus your own .cube LUTs β’ Broadcast scopes: waveform and vectorscope, on the image while you grade β’ Non-destructive: every clip remembers its grade automatically β’ Shareable grade presets EXPORT β’ 10-bit HEVC in Rec.2100 HLG (true HDR) or Rec.709 (SDR master) β’ Saved straight back to your Photos library TRY EVERYTHING FREE FOR 14 DAYS Every feature is unlocked for two weeks β 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).
Knurl Camera
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Knurl is a camera for people who would rather develop the photo themselves. It captures true Bayer RAW: the sensor's own mosaic, written straight to a DNG with none of the computational photography that normally happens on the way. No multi-frame fusion, no tone curve, no sharpening. What lands in your library is undeveloped data with all of its latitude intact, ready for Lightroom or Photos to interpret however you like. THE CONTROLS ARE THE POINT A mode wheel you turn, with the real designations: P for program, Tv for shutter priority, Sv for ISO priority, M for full manual. Every position clicks. ISO and shutter move in thirds of a stop along the standard photographic ladders, on a dial that detents at every rung. Whole stops click harder than thirds, so you can count them by feel without looking. The ends of each ladder are the sensor's genuine limits rather than round numbers, which means base ISO, the cleanest the sensor gets, is actually reachable. Exposure compensation on its own scale, in thirds, with a firmer detent at zero. In manual it becomes the meter, because compensation has nothing left to act on when both controls are already fixed. An AF/MF switch and a focus ring you turn like a ring: relative, so touching it never jumps focus, and marked near to far rather than in invented distances. Three lenses, each at its native focal length, read from the hardware. HONEST ABOUT ITSELF Bayer RAW is 12 MP and does not permit zoom. The 48 MP path would mean Apple ProRAW, which is demosaiced and partially processed, so Knurl does not offer it. When the exposure you have asked for is not achievable, it says so rather than pretending. Your shots go to a Knurl album you can browse in the app, pinch to zoom, and swipe through. Volume buttons fire the shutter. Add the Control to your Action Button, Lock Screen or Control Center to open it without unlocking.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Knurl Camera at none against Lightscope's 1. Lightscope's advantage is device support. On price and iOS requirement 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. Lightscope sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Knurl Camera asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Lightscope | Knurl Camera |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | β |
| Ads | No | β |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No β better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad β better | β |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 β better | 18.0 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jian Zhou | Dimitrios Zarkadas |
In-app purchases
Lightscope
- Lightscope Pro$9.99
Knurl Camera
No in-app purchases





