Provoke Camera vs Blackie
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Provoke Camera
This app creates gritty, grainy, black and white images inspired by 1960s Japanese photography. It offers various film formats and live view effects, and can also import and edit existing photos from your camera roll.
- Gritty, grainy black and white image creation
- Inspired by 1960s Japanese photography
- Square format 126 and 35mm format 135
- 9 black and white live view effects
- 4 color live view effects
- Import and edit photos from camera roll
- Supports TIFF uncompressed files
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Doesn't support iPads. Developed in collaboration with Glyn Evans [the founder of iPhoneography], Provoke Camera was inspired by Japanese photographers of the late 1960’s like Daido Moriyama, Takuma Nakahira and Yutaka Takanashi. Simple, elegant and easy to use, Provoke Camera does just one thing, produce black and white images with that gritty, grainy, blurry look reminiscent of the “Provoke” era of photography, and in two great formats; square format 126 and 35mm format 135. Provoke Camera features 9 great black and white and 4 color live view effects, in 2 great film formats, 126 [1:1] and 135 [3:2]: 1. HPAN High Contrast 2. NPAN Normal 3. LPAN Low Contrast 4. X800 More High Contrast with more noise. 5. I800 IR like filter. 6. Z800 +2EV with more noise. 7. D100 Darken with Blur (4Pixel) 8. H100 High Contrast with Blur(4Pixel) 9. E100 +1.5EV with Blur(4Pixel) 10. Nofilter 11. 100 Old Color 12. 100U Vivid and Sharp 13. 160N Soft In addition to capturing beautiful, gritty, grainy, contrasty black and white images, Provoke Camera will also allow you to import photos from your camera roll and apply any one of its “Provoke” effects. And Support TIFF Uncompress image file. Also support Photo Extension with iOS8 later. You can use Provoke Filter in Photos App.
Blackie
This app is designed for black and white photography enthusiasts, offering a minimal interface and powerful tools for both beginners and professionals. It provides real-time effect previews, manual camera controls, and extensive editing options to achieve stunning monochrome images.
- Real-time effect previews
- Manual camera controls
- Extensive editing mods
- Customizable presets
- Minimalist design
- Fast camera access
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The perfect app for the Black & White photography. It doesn't matter if you've just started or you are a professional. The Blackie has something for everyone. Its minimal design and easy use with many features will make it your go-to app when you're in the mood for the Black & White. It will help you explore all the possibilities of the Black & White photography and achieve the best result. • Fast. Blackie opens in camera mode, so you can instantly capture moments around you and give them vintage feeling. • What you see is what you get. All effects are previewed in Real-time. • Shuffle your best. The smart shuffle works exceptionally. You only need to shuffle a couple of times and snap the best one. • Customize. If you have time, you can manage every effect in your photo with Mods by yourself. • Simple Minimal Design. The way that Blackie works is unique. The experience is clear and fast. No need for unnecessary buttons. • Just save it! Captured photo goes instantly to your photos library. It is up to you when you are ready to share it with the world. • No in-app purchases and no ads. Nothing to bother you while making memories. • Settings Save Original Photo On / Off. Save Photos with Compression (JPEG) On / (TIFF) Off. Modify UI to Lighting Conditions. (Black or White design). • Camera Manual Controls Manual Focus with Focus Peaking. Lenses. Manual Exposure. Shutter Speed and ISO. Manual White Balance. EV. • Grids 9x Grid Types with custom Opacity. Center Lines On / Off. Grid Color Black / White. • Presets 8x Slots for custom Presets. • Mods Crop and Rotate. Films. 5x Scanned Analog Films. 3x Digitally Created. Brightness. Contrast. Color Filters. 6x Types Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Infra. Vignette Overlay. 5x Types with rotations and inverted light. Fade. Low, Mid, High mods. Shadows. Highlights. Sharp. 2x Types Clarity and Bloom. Grain. Frame. Black & White frame with custom size. • Post processing Before / After function. Tags: #blackieapp #blackie Note: iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4/4S, iPod 4th generation, iPad2, iPad Mini 1st generation, iPad3 is Missing Sharp and Grain Mods. All iPads preview and capture is in Square Mode only.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Provoke Camera at 4.8 against Blackie's 3.1. Provoke Camera also leads on price ($1.99 vs $3.99). Blackie's advantage is ratings volume (44 vs 6) and device support (3 vs 1). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Provoke Camera costs $1.99 and Blackie $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Provoke Camera holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Blackie has 44 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Provoke Camera's written reviews are positive against 58% of Blackie's.
Provoke Camera ships an update every 2 months, Blackie monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Provoke Camera | Blackie |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (6 ratings) — better | 3.1 (44 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 65.2% of reviews — better | 58.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 44 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Toshihiko Tambo | Brutality Arts |
Customer experience
Provoke Camera
Blackie
Bugs and requests
Provoke Camera
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Blackie
Reported bugs
53 issues- Severe crashes
- Photos not saving
- Editing not saving
- Upper side of pictures cut off
- Double assignments in UI (e.g., histogram)
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- Filter usage broken
- Setting a frame to black does not persist
- GUI not usable on iPad Pro
- Camera shuts down with manual focus on wide angle
- App crashes when using manual focus on wide angle lens
- App did not save any images
- Latest update crashes consistently
- App crashes on opening/shutter click
- Photo not recorded in Photos app
- Cannot take pictures after setup choice
- App no longer works, shutter circle does nothing
- App freezes on opening screen
- App crashing with iPhone Pro 15
- App freezes when opening photos
- App freezes and hangs
- Some shots lost and not saved
- App drains battery even in background
- App freezes on each section
- App crashes when trying to load/edit from library
- App crashes when importing photos
- App crops images
- App not responding
- App crashes frequently
- App not working on iPhone 7
- App not working on iPhone XR
- App not working on iPhone XS Max
- App not working on iPhone X, Xs, Xs Max
- App not working after last update (iPhone XS Plus)
- Icons too small
- Buttons too small
- Icons are tiny
- UI not optimized for screen size
- Interface not user-friendly
- Cropping to square is forced
- Random/shuffle FX is perfect but cannot be saved
- Clunky unintuitive UI
- Cannot access photos, freezes phone
- Uploads sporadically, then uploads wrong photo
- No icons show up, cannot take photos
- App still doesn't work on new iPhone, unable to take photos
- Controls not quite right for iPhone 14 Pro Max
- App doesn't work with iPad Pro 11
- App doesn't work with iPad Air 4
- Buttons cut off at screen edge and don't respond
- Live camera image visible, but UI buttons cut off
- App crashes
- Bug crashing again
- App not responding
Requested features
24 requests- Customizable default comment in metadata
- Home screen shortcut icon
- Masking function
- Retouch/correction function
- Support for 48MP max grid
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- Features for night photography
- Optimization for new iPhones
- Ability to turn off shuffle
- RAW capture support
- Zoom while shooting
- Ability to edit preset names
- Save favorite combinations from shuffle
- Support for second lens on iPhone 7 Plus
- Ability to pinch out to zoom in
- Tiff format support
- Color photo option with same interface
- More film simulations
- Smaller font size
- Support for larger photo databases
- Guidance on app usage
- Permanent settings after restart
- Ability to reset chosen preset
- Scroll through camera roll within the app
- Clear way to upload to computer/camera roll
In-app purchases
Provoke Camera
No in-app purchases
Blackie
No in-app purchases








