Blackie vs Argentum Camera
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
Argentum Camera
Capture stunning black & white photos with real-time processing and classic-inspired filters. This app offers intuitive controls and advanced features for street photographers, allowing you to compose and shoot with ease.
- Real-time black & white processing
- Six classic-inspired filters
- Live Photos support
- Street shooting mode
- Double exposure mode
- RAW image capture
- Adaptive interface layout
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Argentum Camera is a Red Dot Award-winning black & white camera app developed with street photographers in mind. It allows you to shoot high-quality black & white images without complicated adjustments or the need for post-processing. Argentum Camera offers six filters, each aesthetically inspired by the classics of black & white photography, such as Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Irving Penn, Garry Winogrand, Yousuf Karsh, and Dorothea Lange. Want to bring your black & white photos to life? Try shooting Live Photos with Argentum. All images (Live Photos and stills) are processed in real-time, so you can see an Ansel Adams inspired landscape treatment or Irving Penn inspired portrait tones right on your screen while you're still composing your shot. Argentum Camera's interface is simple but functional, a balance between the modern sleekness and the classical forms. It is hardly noticeable and allows you to focus fully on composing the shot. It is also the first camera interface that adapts to the shift in handling. In the landscape mode, the shutter button slides to the end of the panel, placing it right under your thumb. FEATURE HIGHLIGHT Real-time Processing Argentum Camera processes images in real-time. The image you see while composing your shot is exactly the result you’ll get when you press the shutter button. Two Additional Shooting Modes Street shooting mode turns your whole screen into one large button. Tap it anywhere to take a shot. Double exposure mode lets you superimpose two different images in a single photo with real-time preview. Pro-tip: go for underexposure on both shots to compensate for exposing the sensor to light twice. Live Photos Bring your black & white images to life by turning the Live Photo mode on. Instant Preview This option lets you have a quick look at the photo you just took right after pressing the shutter button. No need to go all the way to the Gallery to check if you got the light or focus right. Keep Original Photos When this option is switched on original unprocessed photos will be stored in your Camera Roll. JPEG, HEIC, TIFF and RAW Save original and processed photos in JPEG, HEIC, or TIFF. Additionally, save the original photo in RAW. Adaptive Interface Layout In the landscape mode, the shutter button is shifted and placed right under your thumb. Torch & Flash In addition to the standard flash option, there is also a torch mode that provides continuous lighting for better control. AF/AE Lock Tap and hold on the screen to lock focus and exposure while composing the shot. Rich Metadata Argentum Camera saves your location and the filter you used in the EXIF, so you can always keep track of your best photos. LEGAL Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://argentum.camera/legal/privacy-policy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Argentum Camera at Free against Blackie's $3.99. Argentum Camera also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.1) and update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly). Blackie's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9) and device support (3 vs 1). On review sentiment, ratings volume 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
Argentum Camera is free to download; Blackie costs $3.99 up front. Argentum Camera sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Blackie asks for nothing beyond the download.
Argentum Camera holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 44 and 95 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Blackie's written reviews are positive against 65% of Argentum Camera's.
Blackie ships an update monthly, Argentum Camera every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Blackie | Argentum Camera |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.1 (44 ratings) | 4.3 (95 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 58.5% of reviews | 65.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 44 | 95 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Brutality Arts | 55th Street Ventures |
Customer experience
Blackie
Argentum Camera
Bugs and 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
Argentum Camera
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Blackie
No in-app purchases
Argentum Camera
- Monthly$3.991 Month
- Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- AA Filter$7.99
- IP Filter$7.99
- GW Filter$7.99
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- YK Filter$7.99
- DL Filter$7.99
- HCB Filter$7.99
- Lifetime$39.99









