Comparison

Halide Mark III vs Pro Camera RAW

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

Head to head
About

Halide Mark III

This app offers advanced manual camera controls and unique image processing for natural, film-like photos. It provides tools for precise focus, composition, and editing, allowing users to capture and refine professional-quality images directly on their iPhone.

Highlights
  • Manual exposure controls
  • Focus Peaking and Loupe
  • Customizable framing guides
  • Dedicated Macro Mode
  • Photographic Looks
  • RAW file support
  • Photo Lab editing
Features
Read full description

Halide unleashes your iPhone’s camera. Disable iPhone processing for natural photos, apply powerful film situations, access manual controls, and more. Halide has over 24,000 5-star ratings and is an App Store Editors’ Choice and Apple Design Award winner. Halide’s Looks are built into the camera itself, changing how your photo is captured and processed - not just a color filter applied after the fact. These are the best photos you can get out of an iPhone. Start with Process Zero for natural, film-like results, without any AI or computational photography. Explore our rich set of creative Looks developed with Hollywood colorist Cullen Kelly, and powered by sophisticated film simulation. For nine years, Halide has set the standard for professional iPhone camera control. Nail your manual focus with Focus Peaking and the Focus Loupe. Compose your shots with intention using sophisticated framing guides, from a basic grid and rule of thirds, to the golden ratio and rabatment of the rectangle. Get perfect macro shots with Halide's dedicated Macro Mode. Hate editing? Halide gives you amazing results straight out of the camera. But when you need to fine-tune, Photo Lab makes it fast and intuitive. Try dramatically different Looks, adjust framing and exposure, experiment with film simulation, or rescue details in highlights and shadows with Tone Fusion. You can even import and load RAWs from other apps, such as Apple’s own camera app, or standalone cameras by Canon, Nikon, Sony, Leica, Fujifilm, and Hasselblad. Specific formats are listed below. *Halide is a paid app. Try it free for 7 days with an annual membership, or buy it outright with a one-time purchase — no subscription required.* Features: - Shoot without Apple’s computational photography for stronger contrast and more natural results. - Photographic Looks developed in collaboration with esteemed Hollywood colorist Cullen Kelly. - Rescue details in shadows and highlights with a Tone Fusion slider inspired by darkroom dodging and burning. - Try any Look on existing ProRAW files - including photos shot in Apple’s camera app. - Become a better photographer by signing up for our 10-day tutorial directly from the app. - Full manual exposure controls including shutter speed, ISO and white balance. - Technical Readout to view all details of your iPhone camera hardware. - Also runs on iPad, for an amazing Photo Lab experience. RAW File Support: - DNG (iPhone, Leica) - CR2 (Canon) - CR3 (Canon) - NEF (Nikon) - RAF (Fujifilm) - ARW (Sony) - FFF (Hasselblad) Terms of Use can be found here: https://halide.cam/terms Privacy: https://www.lux.camera/privacy/

About

Pro Camera RAW

Gain DSLR-level manual control over your iPhone's camera. Adjust shutter speed, ISO, focus, and white balance, and choose processing styles. Shoot in RAW, ProRAW, or high-resolution formats for professional results.

Highlights
  • Manual shutter speed, ISO, focus, and white balance controls
  • RAW, ProRAW, and 48 MP capture options
  • Adjustable processing styles (Natural, Balanced, Enhanced)
  • Focus peaking and live exposure meter
  • Exposure bracketing up to ±3 EV
  • Customizable grids (Rule of Thirds, Golden Ratio)
Features
Read full description

Modus brings DSLR-level manual control to your iPhone and iPad. Set shutter speed, ISO, focus and white balance yourself, choose how much processing each photo gets, and shoot RAW, ProRAW or 48 MP for professional-quality results. ⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃ ⌘ Two Levels of Control ⌘ ⁍ Essential Point-and-shoot simplicity: exposure and zoom on screen, and the camera handles the rest. • Tap to set focus and exposure where you want them • Swipe to adjust exposure compensation • Split focus and exposure with a two-finger tap • Zoom across your iPhone's lenses ⁍ Advanced Shutter speed, ISO, white balance, focus and zoom, each on its own dial. • Shutter speed: freeze action or blur motion • ISO: trade brightness against noise in low light • Focus: set it by hand for close-ups and portraits • White balance: correct color under any light Double-tap a control to return it to Auto. Lock exposure, focus or white balance to keep them the same from shot to shot. ⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃ ⌘ Processing Styles ⌘ Choose how much processing each photo gets: • Natural: minimal processing, for a more authentic rendering of light and color • Balanced: consistent detail and dynamic range • Enhanced: extensive computational processing, for more detail and tonal depth ⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃ ⌘ Capture ⌘ • RAW and ProRAW for maximum dynamic range, on their own or with a JPEG • HEIF and JPEG at 12 or 48 MP • Aspect ratios: 4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 2.39:1 and 1:1 • Live exposure meter • Focus peaking to check what's sharp before you shoot • Exposure bracketing: three frames, up to ±3 EV, on iPhone • Self-timer, flash and torch • Rule of Thirds and Golden Ratio grids • A heads-up when a lens looks smudged, on supported iPhones ⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃ ⌘ Built Around Your iPhone ⌘ • Shoot with Camera Control or the volume buttons • Adjust exposure, zoom, focus or white balance with Camera Control • Open Modus from the Lock Screen, Control Center or a Lock Screen widget for each lens • Optimized for one-handed shooting, with layouts made for iPad and iPhone Duo ⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃ ⌘ Your Photos ⌘ • Photo info for every shot: device, exposure settings and files • Safe Roll keeps any photo that couldn't be saved to your library until you save it • Your author name and copyright, added to every photo • Optional location tag • Front flash in any color, and a mirrored front camera • Pin up to 3 settings to the top of Settings ⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃⁃ Start with 5 free shots. Then unlock unlimited shots with Modus Pro, as an affordable yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. ⌘ Why a Subscription? ⌘ I've kept Modus Pro affordable, and the subscription supports ongoing development. Apple brings new camera features to iPhone every year, and every year I work on bringing them to Modus for everyone. • One purchase works on all your devices signed in with the same Apple Account • Lifetime includes Family Sharing, so up to five family members can use Modus Pro too Modus is for photos only. It doesn't record video. Feedback and feature requests: support@modus.cam Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Halide Mark III4 screens
Pro Camera RAW4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Halide Mark III at 14K against Pro Camera RAW's 686. Halide Mark III also leads on chart position (#145 vs unranked). Pro Camera RAW's advantage is review sentiment (54% vs 41%). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Halide Mark III sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Pro Camera RAW sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Halide Mark III against 4.5 for Pro Camera RAW. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Halide Mark III has 14K ratings behind it against 686, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 41% of Halide Mark III's written reviews are positive against 54% of Pro Camera RAW's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Halide Mark III versus Pro Camera RAW: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHalide Mark IIIPro Camera RAW
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (14K ratings)4.5 (686 ratings) — better
Positive reviews41.1% of reviews53.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14K — better686
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#145 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB184 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLux Optics IncorporatedSarva Labs

Customer experience

Halide Mark III

All ratings13,678 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral2.5%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews915 reviews
Positive41.1%
Neutral8.2%
Negative50.7%

Pro Camera RAW

All ratings686 ratings
Positive87.0%
Neutral4.8%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews153 reviews
Positive53.6%
Neutral9.2%
Negative37.3%

User reviews

Halide Mark III

From 14K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful manual controls
  • 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
  • 🔍 Excellent RAW capture and editing
  • 📷 Macro and depth features
  • 🎨 Great image quality and color

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Depth/portrait mode limitations
  • 🕰️ Slow performance on older devices
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🔒 Lack of free trial or demo

Pro Camera RAW

From 686 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🚀 Powerful manual controls
  • 🔍 Excellent image quality
  • 💡 Useful features like exposure bracketing
  • 🤑 Reasonable one-time purchase

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • 🔒 Paywall for full functionality
  • 📱 Compatibility issues on some devices
  • 🔧 Confusing or unintuitive UI elements
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly

Bugs and requests

Halide Mark III

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Photos not saving properly
  • Zoom functionality issues
  • Landscape mode UI problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Shutter speed adjustment
  • Live depth/bokeh preview
  • Custom white balance
  • Time-lapse and video recording
  • Ability to save settings/presets

Pro Camera RAW

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Manual settings not saving properly
  • Exposure bracketing feature not working reliably
  • Sharing RAW photos causes app to freeze
  • Torch/flash not functioning as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add video recording capabilities
  • Improve manual focus control
  • Implement image stabilization for all lenses
  • Allow customization of file naming scheme
  • Provide a zoom slider for easier zooming

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Halide Mark III

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Camera, Editor, and Lessons$9.991 Month
  • Pro Camera, Editor, and Lessons7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • One Time Purchase$69.99
5 purchases

Pro Camera RAW

Subscriptions2
  • Yearly$9.991 Year
  • Yearly$12.991 Year
One-time3
  • Pro Access2 variants$5.99
  • Pro Access$7.99
  • Lifetime Access$24.99

Questions

Is Halide Mark III free?
Halide Mark III is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pro Camera RAW free?
Pro Camera RAW is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Halide Mark III or Pro Camera RAW?
Pro Camera RAW is rated higher. Halide Mark III averages 4.4 out of 5 from 14K ratings, while Pro Camera RAW averages 4.5 from 686 ratings.
Do Halide Mark III or Pro Camera RAW have ads?
Neither Halide Mark III nor Pro Camera RAW shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Halide Mark III or Pro Camera RAW?
Halide Mark III ships an update weekly, and Pro Camera RAW weekly. Most recently, Halide Mark III was updated on November 8, 2026 and Pro Camera RAW on November 7, 2026.

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