Comparison

Nav Camera vs PhotoNav

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

Head to head
About

Nav Camera

Capture photos and videos with integrated geo-location data overlays. Add custom notes and choose from various display options and formats. Ideal for professional documentation and field use.

Highlights
  • Geo-location data overlays (date, time, position, altitude, datum, bearing)
  • Customizable notes up to four lines
  • Movie recording with real-time overlay updates
  • Multiple reticle options
  • Colored lens filters
  • Support for various position formats (MGRS, UTM, etc.)
Currently charting
Read full description

Nav Camera uses the proven navigation, augmented reality, and image processing engines from the well known Theodolite app to create a new app that focuses on photogaphy and video recording with data overlays. The app has been crafted with attention to detail by a top iOS developer, and benefits from over 20 years of development and testing heritage, along with real world usage by surveyors, geologists, architects, engineers, competitive sportsmen, first responders, military personnel, and search and rescue workers around the world. Nav Camera supports portrait and landscape photo capture, and gives you the option to overlay date/time, geo data, street address, and four lines of custom notes on photos and videos. Nav Camera lets you take photographs and record movies in landscape and portrait orientations with geo-location overlays and custom notes. Geo-location overlays include date, time, position, altitude, GPS datum, and compass bearing. Overlay data is updated in every frame when recording movies, which is great for documenting dynamic scenes or scanning an area. You can enter up to four lines of custom notes to be rendered into the overlay, which is perfect for job descriptions, project names, company/staff information, invoice numbers, or additional comments/documentation. Various parts of the overlay can be turned on or off, and multiple overlay colors are available. Nav Camera includes features for serious users including multiple reticles (three types of crosshairs and an SLR-style focus/exposure indicator), colored lens filters to improve use in dark conditions and preserve night vision, and multiple position formats including military grid reference system (MGRS), universal transverse Mercator (UTM), British/Irish National Grids, and six latitude/longitude variations. The optional "Datum Pack" adds over 220 geodetic datums to the app for more accurate position and altitude computation from GPS data. Optional datums include NAD-27, NAD-83, OSGB-36, ED-50, and hundreds of others, covering regions and countries on all continents around the world. Find out why apps like Nav Camera and Theodolite, and their field-proven results, are featured in Apple Keynotes, written up in magazine articles and professional journals, and used by everyday explorers and pro users around the world. Where will you take Nav Camera on your next adventure? Nav Camera works on any iPhone or iPod Touch with camera, running iOS 11.4 or later. If you like Nav Camera, please leave a review/rating on the iTunes App Store. It only takes a moment, and helps us a lot. Thanks!

About

PhotoNav

View photos from your library with their location displayed on a map. Get directions to the exact spot where the picture was taken. This app is free to use.

Highlights
  • View photo location on map
  • Get directions to photo location
  • Access photo library
  • Free to use
Read full description

Note: as of iOS 13, the built-in "Where Was This Taken?" Shortcut provides similar functionality, without the need for a standalone app (such as PhotoNav). PhotoNav simply shows you a photo from your photo library with its location shown on a map, and lets you get directions to the place it was taken. PhotoNav is free (as in beer, but without the commercials).

Screenshots

Nav Camera4 screens
PhotoNav2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Nav Camera at 59% against PhotoNav's 0%. Nav Camera also leads on chart position (#105 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). PhotoNav's advantage is price (Free vs $3.99) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On 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

PhotoNav is free to download; Nav Camera costs $3.99 up front. Nav Camera sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PhotoNav asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nav Camera ships an update every 12 months, PhotoNav every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Nav Camera versus PhotoNav: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNav CameraPhotoNav
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (34 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews59.5% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings34 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 6 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#105 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCraig HunterLobitos Creek

Customer experience

Nav Camera

All ratings34 ratings
Positive79.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.6%
Written reviews37 reviews
Positive59.5%
Neutral2.7%
Negative37.8%

PhotoNav

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Nav Camera

One-time1
  • Datum Pack$2.99
None

PhotoNav

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Nav Camera free?
Nav Camera costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is PhotoNav free?
PhotoNav is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Nav Camera or PhotoNav have ads?
Neither Nav Camera nor PhotoNav shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nav Camera or PhotoNav?
Nav Camera ships an update every 12 months, and PhotoNav every 6 months. Most recently, Nav Camera was updated on October 30, 2026 and PhotoNav on October 24, 2026.

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