Comparison

Manual Exposure vs Perfect Exposure

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

Head to head
About

Manual Exposure

This app provides essential calculators for landscape photographers to determine exposure settings. It includes tools for ND filters, handheld shots, multiple exposures, star photography, and nightscapes, with features like a built-in timer and equipment organization.

Highlights
  • 8 landscape photography calculators
  • Built-in timer and notifications
  • Home screen widget and Apple Watch app
  • Equipment and item info organization
  • Teleconverter support
  • Advanced filter and stabilization settings
  • Dark theme support
Features
Read full description

Manual Exposure does the math for long exposures and night photography. Choose your equipment and settings, and the app gives you the exposure time. No tables or cheat sheets. Calculators • ND filters: exposure time with one or more ND filters. • Handheld shutter speed: the slowest shutter speed you can use without blur. • Multiple exposures: exposure compensation for multiple-exposure shots. • Still stars: the longest exposure before stars start to trail. • Star trails: exposure and number of frames for the trail length you want. • Nightscapes: exposure for landscapes in moonlight. • Moon: exposure for photographing the Moon itself. Features • Built-in timer. Start the countdown and close the app: you'll get a notification when time is up. Run several timers at once. • Home Screen widget and Apple Watch app show the running timer. • Equipment sets. Add cameras, lenses, filters and teleconverters from the catalog, and switch sets in any calculator. • Specs for every item in your sets. • Save your favorite calculators and reopen them with one tap. • ND filter compensation and lens stabilization settings. • Light and dark mode, support for larger text sizes. Full version The ND filters calculator is free. One payment unlocks all calculators, the equipment catalog, the widget and the Apple Watch app. No subscription. Privacy No account, no ads, no tracking. Your equipment and saved calculators stay on your device. We collect usage statistics to improve the app; they are not linked to you, and we don't build profiles. Support Found a bug, have a suggestion, or can't find your gear? Contact us from Support in the app. Terms of Use: https://handsmade.info/manualexposure/terms.html

About

Perfect Exposure

This app assists photographers in calculating camera settings for various scenarios, including exposure time, time-lapse durations, and optimal settings for capturing sharp stars or star trails. It also helps determine depth of field and hyperfocal distance.

Highlights
  • Exposure time calculation
  • Time-lapse planning
  • Sharp star exposure limits
  • Star trail calculation
  • Depth of field calculation
  • Hyperfocal distance
Features
Read full description

• Exposure Perfect Exposure helps you calculate the exposure time when you change the aperture, ISO, or ND filters. • Time-lapse Perfect Exposure helps you plan a time-lapse shot by calculating the shooting duration and the final video duration. • Stars Perfect Exposure tells you maximum exposure time to produce sharp stars without trails. It includes the widely-used 600 Rule and 500 Rule, as well as the more accurate NPF Rule. • Star Trails Perfect Exposure calculates the angular length of the star trails within a certain period. It also shows an illustration of the actual scene.* • Depth of Field Perfect Exposure calculates the depth of field under certain focal length and aperture, as well as the hyperfocal distance. * The illustration does not reflect the actual position of stars in the sky.

Screenshots

Manual Exposure4 screens
Perfect Exposure4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Perfect Exposure at 100% against Manual Exposure's 42%. Perfect Exposure also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Manual Exposure sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Perfect Exposure asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Manual Exposure versus Perfect Exposure: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterManual ExposurePerfect Exposure
PriceFreeFree
Rating—3.3 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews42.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—7 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGeorge KoultouridisHaoyuan Xia

Customer experience

Manual Exposure

Written reviews26 reviews
Positive42.3%
Neutral15.4%
Negative42.3%

Perfect Exposure

All ratings7 ratings
Positive57.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative42.9%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Manual Exposure

Subscriptions2
  • monthly14 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • yearly1 Month trial$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • Full version$5.99
None

Perfect Exposure

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Manual Exposure free?
Manual Exposure is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Perfect Exposure free?
Perfect Exposure is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Manual Exposure or Perfect Exposure have ads?
Neither Manual Exposure nor Perfect Exposure shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Manual Exposure or Perfect Exposure?
Manual Exposure ships an update every 2 months, and Perfect Exposure every 2 months. Most recently, Manual Exposure was updated on November 1, 2026 and Perfect Exposure on November 2, 2026.

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