Comparison

Codecam vs Manual Camera

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

Manual Camera

Take full control of your mobile photography with manual adjustments for focus, ISO, shutter speed, and white balance. Achieve professional-looking shots with reduced noise and creative motion blur effects.

Highlights
  • Manual focus control
  • Adjustable ISO sensitivity
  • Variable shutter speed
  • Customizable white balance
  • Long exposure photography
  • RAW photo capture
Features
Read full description

With mcamera you can control parameters that are not available in the standard camera app: - Focus distance - ISO sensitivity - Shutter speed - White balance With manual control of shutter speed you can keep ISO as low as possible which will give you less noise on the photos. Long shutter speed would also give you opportunity to take photos with smeared elements such as car lights or smooth river water. Terms of service: https://vdugnist.com/mcamera_tos.html

Screenshots

Codecam2 screens
Manual Camera3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Codecam at none against Manual Camera's 2. Manual Camera's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (440 vs 24). On price, review sentiment, 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. Manual Camera sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per year. Codecam asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Manual Camera holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Manual Camera has 440 ratings behind it against 24, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Codecam's written reviews are positive against 58% of Manual Camera's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Codecam ships an update monthly, Manual Camera every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Codecam versus Manual Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCodecamManual Camera
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (24 ratings)4.3 (440 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews57.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings24440 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLaszlo VaradiVladislav Dugnist

Customer experience

Codecam

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

Manual Camera

All ratings440 ratings
Positive83.9%
Neutral4.5%
Negative11.6%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive57.8%
Neutral2.2%
Negative40.0%

Bugs and requests

Codecam

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Manual Camera

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Unable to save photos
  • Aspect ratio not saving correctly in free version
  • Slow shutter not working as expected
  • App crashes
  • Cannot access selfie camera
Show 3 more
  • EXIF data not displayed in native Photos app
  • ISO value discrepancy between slider and display
  • Cannot save photos due to photo access settings

Requested features

8 requests
  • Ability to turn on macro focus mode
  • Option to switch to selfie camera
  • Longer exposure times (e.g., 30 seconds)
  • Support for ultra wide and telephoto cameras
  • ND filter for daylight slow shutter speeds
Show 3 more
  • Ability to change lenses on iPhone 12Pro
  • More settings and controls
  • Fix alignment issue with aperture symbol

In-app purchases

None

Codecam

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Manual Camera

Subscriptions2
  • Manual Camera PRO7 Days trial$5.991 Year
  • Manual Camera PRO7 Days trial$11.991 Year

Questions

Is Codecam free?
Codecam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Manual Camera free?
Manual Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Codecam or Manual Camera?
Manual Camera is rated higher. Codecam averages 4.0 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while Manual Camera averages 4.3 from 440 ratings.
Do Codecam or Manual Camera have ads?
Neither Codecam nor Manual Camera shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Codecam or Manual Camera?
Codecam ships an update monthly, and Manual Camera every 4 weeks. Most recently, Codecam was updated on September 9, 2026 and Manual Camera on September 23, 2026.

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