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The 15 best camera apps for Android

Want to replace the stock camera app? We can help with our picks for the best camera apps for Android.
By
September 24, 2023
HTC Camera best camera apps for Android
This article was updated and checked for accuracy in September 2023. It was originally published in 2014.

Cameras on smartphones are a much bigger deal than they used to be. Smartphone companies are chomping at the bit to make their cameras more reliable, adapt to dim light better, and add extra features to engage customers. This has become so important that many people now base their purchase choices solely on the camera’s specifications.

Usually, this makes stock camera apps better than most third-party apps. Phone makers simply know their camera setups better; they are optimized in the best way possible. This is especially true for Google, Samsung, and Huawei phones that use AI and other software enhancements in conjunction with the camera hardware. Still, a third-party app may be useful in some scenarios. Here are the best camera apps for Android.

The best camera apps for Android

Adobe Lightroom

Price: Free /In-app purchases ($1.99 – $119.99 per item)

Adobe Lightroom is technically a photo editor and not a camera app. However, it also comes with a built-in camera app. The camera is reasonably decent and includes big keyword features like HDR, RAW support, and various modes and presets. Plus, it has the usual array of manual camera controls if you need those as well. The good news is that Adobe Lightroom is one of the best photo editor apps for mobile right now, so you can use the camera app and immediately bounce it right into editing.

ReLens Camera

Price: Free /In-app purchases ($0.99 – $19.99 per item)

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Umme Aimon Shabbir / Android Authority

ReLens is an app that lets you transform your smartphone into a professional camera instantly with its advanced AI-powered computational photography and algorithms. The app boasts a DSLR-grade large aperture, effortlessly creating stunning blurred backgrounds and cinematic effects. It’s perfect for photography enthusiasts, offering features like f1.4 aperture for portrait mode, classic SLR lens reproductions, various filters, depth of field control, and more. Some other features include manual controls, a 20x zoom, and professional auxiliary tools. ReLens also doubles as a photo editor with AI zone adjustment, color grading tools, filters, and HDR enhancements. Your privacy is protected as image processing stays local to your device. The best part is that the developers are still releasing exciting updates for this app.

Cymera

Price: Free

Cymera screenshot 2020
Joe Hindy / Android Authority

Cymera is another one of the older and more popular camera apps. It focuses more on mainstream features. That means you’ll get a bunch of filters, stickers, special effects, and similar features. It also has a beauty camera mode. It can add or take away features from your face and body. We’re not big fans of such dramatic alterations, but to each their own. It also includes a photo editor for minor edits. It’s free to download. You can buy additional stuff as in-app purchases.

SODA

Price: Free /In-app purchases ($4.99 – $29.99 per item)

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Umme Aimon Shabbir / Android Authority
Soda is a beauty camera for Android. It features one-touch makeup and filter combinations, real-time beauty effects, and a variety of skin-optimized color filters. There’s also the portrait effect, which allows you to adjust focus with a single tap. The best thing is that you don’t have to compromise on quality; you can get high-resolution pictures with this app.
 

Koda Cam-Photo Editor 1998

Price: Free /In-app purchases ($2.99 per item)

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Umme Aimon Shabbir / Android Authority
Koda Cam is another popular editor-camera app combo for Android. If you like the retro photo effect, this app’s definitely for you. With a single tap, add film scratches and dust effects, as well as glitchy chromatic aberrations, for that magical old-school look. Enjoy 30+ analog film filters, 40+ light leak filters, and a creative adjustment feature that automatically adds vintage charm to your photos.
 

Manual Camera

Price: $4.99

Manual Camera screenshot 2022

Manual Camera is a reasonably decent camera app. It includes a host of manual controls, including exposure, white balance, ISO, focus, shutter speed, and support for RAW files. You can even use it for slow-motion video if your phone supports it. The app also adds a variety of shooting modes like burst shots and 4K video recording to create a well-rounded experience. The post-processing isn’t quite as good as a stock camera app, but it likely has some shooting modes your phone doesn’t have. It hasn’t seen an update since 2020, so we hope the developer hasn’t abandoned this one.

mcpro24fps

Price: $17.99

McPro24fps is one of the most powerful video camera apps on mobile. It has a variety of features, including some pro-level stuff like recording in 10-bit video and HLG. Some other features include LUT readouts, focus peaking, metadata, and more. Your phone has to support some of these features in order to use them, but otherwise, this is about as good as it gets for video. The only real con against it is that it’s fairly difficult to use at first until you get used to how everything works. It’s also relatively expensive, but good things don’t come cheap.

Open Camera

Price: Free

Open Camera screenshot 2020

Open Camera is one of the most popular camera apps for serious photographers. It includes the basic features like exposure control, white balance, ISO, focus, shutter speed, and support for RAW files. There’s also a timer, support for some external microphones, HDR, exposure bracketing, and more. The app is completely free, with no in-app purchases or advertising. It’s also completely open-source, which is always a plus.

Photoshop Camera

Price: Free

Photoshop Camera screenshot 2022

Adobe Photoshop Camera is your go-to free photo editor and camera app. It allows you to add over 100 incredible filters and effects to your photos even before taking the shot. The app is easy to use, and its AI-powered features help to easily enhance your pictures with auto-tone fixes and portrait controls, including background blur. It isn’t nearly as powerful as the desktop Photoshop, nor does it compare to the mobile Adobe Lightroom, but it’s still nice for spicing up your Instagram.

Pixtica

Price: Free /In-app purchases ($1.25 – $4.99 per item)

Pixtica screenshot 2021
Joe Hindy / Android Authority

Pixtica is one of the newer camera apps on the list. It features a bunch of neat little tricks and some decent post-processing. Some of the features include live filters, manual controls, exposure control, a GIF recorder, a slow motion mode, RAW file support, a QR code scanner, and more. It even comes with a very basic gallery and photo editor. We like its wide range of features and its all-in-one style. However, it does require a subscription for some of the features, and your stock camera app can probably still do post-processing better.

ProCam X

Price: Free

ProCam X screenshot

ProCam X is one of the newer camera apps on the list, and it does a fairly reasonable job. It focuses more on professional-oriented features than filters and social media-style stuff. The app includes a burst mode, facial recognition, support for 4K video recording, and support for RAW. Additionally, there are manual controls (if your device supports them), the option to turn off the shutter sound, and a few camera modes like a scene mode or a focus mode. It hits a lot of the checkboxes for a good third-party app, and the post-processing isn’t half bad.

ProShot

Price: $6.99

ProShot is a camera app with exceptional control. It has the usual array of manual controls like exposure control, white balance, ISO, focus, and shutter speed. The app is good for privacy since it doesn’t store, collect, or transmit data. Some other features include RAW support, timelapse support, HEIC support (on compatible devices), and some pro-level stuff like a histogram. There is an evaluator app that you should try first in order to make sure your phone is compatible with all of the features. We highly recommend trying it before buying.

OldRoll

Price: Free /In-app purchases ($0.49 – $94.99 per item)

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Umme Aimon Shabbir / Android Authority

OldRoll is a realistic analog camera for your Android device. This free app offers classic camera styles and vintage film textures at your fingertips, eliminating the need for editing. You can choose from a variety of analog cameras, each with its own unique filter. There are extra features like some effects, date stamps, and much more. The app is frequently updated, and the developers have also promised to release camcorders and video effects.

VSCO

Price: Free /In-app purchases ($0.99 – $29.99 per item)

VSCO is a popular and solid camera app and photo editor combo. The camera side is a little simple and not as powerful as your native phone camera app or some others here. However, the photo editor side is among the best in all of mobile. It has a variety of filters, effects, and settings. Additionally, it has most of these same videos for video content as well. Perhaps its most unique feature is its ability to emulate a host of other cameras. The worst part about this app is that it’s expensive; you need to pay for a lot of features, which is one of the reasons why it’s gotten so many bad reviews recently.

Your stock camera app

Price: Free

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, Pixel 6 Pro, OPPO Find X5 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max camera housings close up
Robert Triggs / Android Authority

Every phone comes with its own camera app. Manufacturers develop these apps specifically for the camera on your device. There are often features that these apps have that third-party apps don’t. Plus, the post-processing is tuned specifically for your device. It seems silly to put your stock camera app on this list, but we assure you, it’s because you won’t get the image quality or device-specific features from any other app.

Some other benefits include add-ons. For instance, Samsung phones tend to have some extra camera modes you can download as extras that you wouldn’t get from a third-party app. The fact is, developers have a very difficult time developing camera apps for every phone camera out there, whereas the OEM has all the time in the world to custom-build the app specifically for your phone. Your best option is the stock camera app, and the rest of this list should be used to augment that experience.


If we missed any of the best camera apps for Android, tell us about them in the comments.