Comparison

Codecam vs Lumina

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

Lumina

Take full creative control of your iPhone photography with advanced manual settings for exposure, focus, and more. Capture stunning RAW images at full 48MP resolution and utilize features like bracketing and intelligent selfie selection for professional-quality results.

Highlights
  • Manual exposure controls (Shutter Speed, ISO)
  • Manual focus with focus peaking
  • Full 48MP RAW capture
  • Bracketing Mode
  • Intelligent Selfie Mode
  • RGB and Luma Histograms
  • Integrated Gallery with EXIF reader
Read full description

Take control of your iPhone camera, without getting in its way. Lumina puts exposure, focus, white balance and image processing in your hands. Its interface is built around the frame, keeping the image at the center of the shooting experience. Shoot RAW, ProRAW and 48MP photos with the controls you need, without unnecessary complexity. MANUAL CONTROLS Set ISO and shutter speed yourself, focus by hand and adjust white balance when automatic settings are not what you want. RAW, ProRAW AND 48MP Choose the format that fits the shot. Capture RAW or ProRAW when you want more room for editing, or shoot at 48MP on supported iPhones when resolution matters. CONTROL THE PROCESSING iPhone cameras normally make a lot of decisions after you press the shutter. Lumina lets you reduce some of that automatic processing when you want a more natural image and more control over the final result. FOCUS YOUR WAY Switch to manual focus whenever autofocus is not enough. Focus peaking helps you see which areas are in focus while composing the shot, making precise adjustments easier. BRACKETING Capture a sequence of exposures around your chosen settings. Useful for difficult lighting, exposure blending and HDR workflows, without giving up manual control over the shot. HISTOGRAM Check luminance and RGB information while composing. The live histogram gives you another way to judge exposure before pressing the shutter. MACRO On supported iPhones, Lumina gives you direct access to macro shooting while keeping the same camera controls available. Lumina is designed to stay out of the way while you shoot. Use automatic settings when they work, take manual control when they don't, and keep your attention on the frame. Professional controls. Made simple.

Screenshots

Codecam2 screens
Lumina4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Lumina at 4.6 against Codecam's 4.0. Lumina also leads on review sentiment (89% vs 50%) and ratings volume (93 vs 24). Codecam's advantage is monetization model (free vs paid) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lumina holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24 and 93 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Codecam's written reviews are positive against 89% of Lumina's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Codecam ships an update monthly, Lumina fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Codecam versus Lumina: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCodecamLumina
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (24 ratings)4.6 (93 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews89.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2493 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLaszlo VaradiSalvatore Polito

Customer experience

Codecam

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

Lumina

All ratings93 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews84 reviews
Positive89.3%
Neutral3.6%
Negative7.1%

Bugs and requests

Codecam

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Lumina

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Manual settings not working on iOS 26.2 (auto mode taken)
  • BTK button flashes when choosing EV
  • Photos become brighter in camera roll after a few seconds
  • Viewfinder is black, cannot take pictures
  • Zoom not working like normal camera (only lens change)
Show 2 more
  • ProRaw files have no filename (.dng only)
  • UI text does not rotate in landscape mode

Requested features

12 requests
  • Allow adjustment of aperture
  • Add LUT capabilities (import and burn)
  • Add contrast and saturation sliders
  • Add a slider for white balance (Kelvin)
  • Add widget or Lock Screen button functionality
Show 7 more
  • Add a simple Timelapse function
  • Allow use of volume buttons to snap a picture
  • Add more zoom levels
  • Allow leaving the flashlight on
  • Add video recording functionality
  • Add more exposure bracket options
  • Make it the default camera app

In-app purchases

None

Codecam

No in-app purchases

None

Lumina

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Codecam free?
Codecam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lumina free?
Lumina is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Codecam or Lumina?
Lumina is rated higher. Codecam averages 4.0 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while Lumina averages 4.6 from 93 ratings.
Do Codecam or Lumina have ads?
Neither Codecam nor Lumina shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Codecam or Lumina?
Codecam ships an update monthly, and Lumina fortnightly. Most recently, Codecam was updated on September 26, 2026 and Lumina on October 18, 2026.

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