Comparison

Codecam vs REC

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

Head to head
About

Codecam

Unlock the full potential of your iPhone camera with advanced manual controls for both photos and videos. Adjust settings like shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and focus for professional-quality results. Explore various compression and frame rate options for video recording.

Highlights
  • Manual shutter speed and ISO
  • Manual white balance (temperature, tint)
  • Manual focus control
  • Adjustable video compression and frame rates
  • Video zoom with focal length display
  • Video stabilization options
Features
Read full description

All the power of the iPhone camera at your fingertips! With the incredibly capable camera that is your iPhone, and Codecam, the most simple, easy to use, yet very powerful app, you can enjoy the unlimited possiblities that the complete control over your iPhone's camera can provide! Photo features: - shoot in JPEG, like the stock camera app, or shoot JPEG+RAW, which also records a DNG file next to your jpeg (it will still look like a single photo in the photos app). You can import the DNG to you computer, or edit it on your iPhone with an app that supports DNG raw files. - manual shutter speed, ISO. Lock your exposure by picking a new value, or by long pressing the automatically selected one. Long press again to go back to auto. You can also swipe up and down on the screen to apply an exposure compensation while in automatic exposure mode. - manual white balance: temperature and tint. You can lock the current value just like the exposure, or pick the exact values. White balance presets are also available: Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, plus two Incandescent and Fluorescent presets. - manual focus: switch between auto an manual focus by tapping the button, or by tapping an area on the image to focus on it. A slider to manually focus is also available. Video features: - video zoom: you can zoom by pinching the image, up until the point where upscaling would occur. For 4K, you can override this behaviour to allow zooming until the 1080p crop. The approximate focal length for the given zoom is also shown on the screen (converted to the equivalent focal length of a Super 35 or Full Frame sensor). - the same manual controls for shutter speed, ISO, white balance and focus as in photo mode. Smooth autofocus using Focus Pixels on the iPhone 6 or newer is available. - compressions supported: 15 Mbit, 25 Mbit, 50 Mbit, 75 Mbit, 100 Mbit, 200 Mbit, 400 Mbit in H.264 (or H.265 in newer devices) with selectable IPB or ALL-I modes, and MPJEG compression with either optimal (9/10 or 8/10 for 4K) or full quality (10/10) setting (note: the displayed bitrate in MJPEG mode is an estimation of the maximum possible bitrate) - frame rates supported: 1080p24, 1080p25, 1080p30 - additional frame rates supported by iPhone 5s: 720p50, 720p60 - additional frame rates supported by the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6: 720p120 - additional frame rates supported by the iPhone 6: 1080p50, 1080p60, 720p240 - additional frame rates supported by the iPhone 6s and 7: 1080p120, 2160p30, 2160p25, 2160p24 - additional frame rates supported by the iPhone 8, X, 11, 11 Pro: 1080p240, 2160p50, 2160p60 - video stabilization is supported, you can toggle between on, off or cinematic, depending on availability on your device - show shutter angle instead of shutter speed - cinematic 1:2.35 overlay: crop mark option is available in the settings menu to switch between 16:9 and cinemascope. This feature is for composition only, the image that will be recorded is the full 16:9 frame. Additional features: - automatic save to camera roll: all images and supported videos are saved to the camera roll - gallery: You can see the images and videos you took in a grid or loupe view, with full metadata. You can also share them, or delete them right in the app.

About

REC

This app offers advanced video and audio controls for professional-quality recordings. It provides extensive camera settings, stabilization, resolutions, frame rates, and audio options. Features like timecode synchronization and intuitive manual controls help creators achieve precise results.

Highlights
  • Advanced camera settings
  • Manual focus and exposure control
  • Timecode synchronization
  • Multiple resolutions and frame rates
  • External microphone support
  • ProRes format support
  • External storage support
Features
Read full description

Elevate your video capturing with REC! Tailored for creators, it provides extensive video and audio options for professional-quality production effortlessly. Choose from a range of camera settings, stabilization options, resolutions, frame rates, and more to capture the perfect video every time. And with intuitive controls and an easy-to-read heads-up display, you can adjust focus, exposure, and more with just a tap. Plus, with REC's timecode feature, you can easily synchronize footage from multiple devices for seamless, multi-angle videos. Choose from "Time of Day" timecode or use Bluetooth sync with Tentacle Sync devices for precise, one-frame resolution synchronization. And with seamless management options, including preview, watch, and send directly to your photo library or favorite editing app, you can create and share professional-quality videos with ease. Here's a quick summary of REC's plethora of video options: - Camera: Front, Telephoto, Wide, Ultra-Wide (As available on your device.) - Camera Stabilization (As available by device and camera selection.) - Resolution: Open Gate, 4K, 1080p, 720p (As available by device.) - FPS: 240, 120, 60, 50, 48, 30, 29.97, 25, 24, 23.98 (As available by device and camera selection.) - Bit Rate: Normal, High, Max - Dynamic Range: 8 Bit, 10 Bit, 10 Bit HDR (As available by device and other selections.) - Format: HEVC, H.264, ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes RAW HQ (As available by device and other selections.) - Lock Exposure and White Balance when recording begins. - Apple Log and Apple Log 2 support when recording in ProRes. - External storage support for iPhone 15 to 17 Pro using USB-C, Audio Here's a quick summary of REC's extensive audio options: - Microphone: Front, Back, Bottom, External (As available on your device.) - Microphone Gain control - Microphone Polar Pattern control: Choose omni, subcardioid, cardioid or stereo pickup depending on what best fits your usage. (As available by device and microphone.) - Sample Rate: 24Khz, 44.1Khz, 48Khz - Format: AAC, PCM Lot of options! But REC gives you simplicity along with flexibility, you'll never be able to select a combination that doesn't work with your device. Captivating Controls REC's floating buttons put pro level controls at your fingertips, and keeps them out of the way while you're focusing on what's important, shooting your video! A single tap brings up any of the control menus where you can adjust the white balance, shutter speed, ISO, EV, and focus manually. Or, use our intuitive touch controls to specify precisely where in your frame focus on and expose to. Quickly swap between the Wide, Ultra-Wide, Telephoto, or Front cameras and different formats with a flick of your finger, and your selection is always available at a glance. Optionally overlay a grid, and zoom in or out to help you frame the perfect shot every time. Terrific Timecodes REC provides two Timecode methods. The first one is "Time of Day", which simply records your device's clock information alongside the video. In order for it to work, just make sure all your devices are set to the same time. For really accurate and extremely simple synchronization, REC also provides Bluetooth sync using Tentacle Sync devices. Using Tentacle Timecode, REC is able to synchronize your iPhone footage with high accuracy. You can find more about the Tentacle Sync solutions at https://tentaclesync.com. Marvelous Management REC saves all of your videos seamlessly to the built-in manager that lets you quickly and easily preview your creations. Watch your shots at different speeds, and preview them without sound if you're trying to find the right shot to share in a sensitive environment. Sending a video to your photo library or favorite editor is just a tap away. Or if you'd prefer, send videos directly to the Photo Library and enjoy its seamless integration with any app that supports video. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Codecam2 screens
REC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Codecam at none against REC's 3. Codecam also leads on rating (4.0 vs 3.8) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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. REC sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Codecam asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Codecam holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24 and 70 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Codecam's written reviews are positive against 55% of REC's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Codecam versus REC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCodecamREC
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (24 ratings) — better3.8 (70 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews55.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2470 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLaszlo VaradiLateNiteSoft S.L.

Customer experience

Codecam

All ratings24 ratings
Positive70.8%
Neutral8.3%
Negative20.8%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative40.0%

REC

All ratings70 ratings
Positive68.6%
Neutral7.1%
Negative24.3%
Written reviews98 reviews
Positive55.1%
Neutral13.3%
Negative31.6%

Bugs and requests

Codecam

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

REC

Reported bugs

23 issues
  • No audio after iOS update
  • ProRes recording errors
  • Footage not saved
  • App freezes during recording
  • App crashes when choosing ProRes
Show 18 more
  • App crashes when connected to audio interface
  • Video flickers when enabling autofocus
  • Stabilization not working
  • Black screen on iOS 16
  • Timecode not working (elapsed time only)
  • External mic button not touchable
  • App automatically starts recording
  • Gallery part of the app is malfunctioning
  • Cannot save to Photos (storage error)
  • Focus gets stuck at minimum distance
  • Recorder won't save recordings
  • Tools sometimes freeze
  • Stabilization not working at start/end of shots
  • Cannot monitor audio with EarPods
  • External stereo mic records in mono
  • Image stabilization not as good as native app
  • App crashes when opening gallery
  • App doesn't launch

Requested features

31 requests
  • Add pause and resume functionality
  • Add log profile for iPhone 15
  • Add LUT option
  • Add 50/60 kHz fix for framerates
  • Add focus loop
Show 26 more
  • Add focus peaking
  • Add zebra stripes
  • Add false colors
  • Add more resolution options
  • Add bitrate control
  • Add 59.94p frame rate option
  • Add offset option for frame rates
  • Add Apple Watch companion app for monitoring
  • Add log profile support
  • Add Slog3 support
  • Add German language support
  • Add remote control with preview for Apple Watch
  • Add 4K 60fps enablement
  • Add HDR 10bit 4K60fps support
  • Add manual zoom slider and buttons
  • Add support for iPad
  • Add stereo recording with external mics/interfaces
  • Add image stabilization improvement
  • Add automatic video saves to camera roll
  • Add manual mic audio adjustment
  • Add ability to disable microphone when needed
  • Add flash during video recording
  • Add user guide or documentation
  • Add zoom function
  • Add ability to switch to Camera+2 quickly
  • Add presets and ability to save/switch between them

In-app purchases

None

Codecam

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

REC

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • One-Time Purchase$49.99

Questions

Is Codecam free?
Codecam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is REC free?
REC is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Codecam or REC?
Codecam is rated higher. Codecam averages 4.0 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while REC averages 3.8 from 70 ratings.
Do Codecam or REC have ads?
Neither Codecam nor REC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Codecam or REC?
Codecam ships an update monthly, and REC monthly. Most recently, Codecam was updated on September 9, 2026 and REC on September 20, 2026.

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