Smartphone cameras have improved a lot over the years, and they now come very close to what a DSLR or a mirrorless camera can capture in terms of colors and details. There are tons of great camera phones with amazing hardware, but not all of them offer the best experience when it comes to software. Camera apps have also come a long way, but some still tend to hold the camera back with poor software optimization, lacking image processing, and missing features.
Most users don't have to explore camera apps beyond the stock one that comes pre-installed. They're perfectly fine for casual users and often have all the essentials. But if you want additional features, aren't happy with image processing or software optimization, or just want to check out other apps, then you might want to consider a third-party camera app. These are some good camera apps to try on Android phones right now.
1 Best overall: Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Lightroom is at the top of our list because it comes with a lot of great features you can use for free. It has support for HDR and RAW, and it also lets you add preset filters to your shots.
Notably, the built-in camera app lets you choose between an automatic and a manual "Professional" mode that comes with the usual set of pro camera features that let you tweak the settings before capturing the shot. It's a nice inclusion considering how popular Lightroom is among professionals who love tweaking their images before publishing. And when you are done shooting with the camera app, you can directly switch to the photo editor and start processing your images.
It's a perfect package that lets you capture photos and also process them before making them public. The built-in camera app is completely free-to-use, but you can choose to unlock some photo editing features by paying a monthly subscription fee to Adobe.
2 Best open-source camera app: Open Camera
Open Camera remains one of the best free, easy-to-use camera apps on Android, and it's the one you should pick if you're just started testing the waters before branching out of the stock camera app. It allows you to take photos and shoot videos with a few extra options. It's not a lot, but it's better than the one you're probably using right now. It's also completely open-source, which is always a good thing.
You get some nifty features like an alignment blip that ensures your photos are aligned properly, a noise reduction feature for low-light photography, and the ability to take photos by saying some catchphrases like cheese. The UI is straightforward and there are no ads in the app either. You can download it for free from the Google Play Store, so be sure to give it a shot if you want something new.
3 Best for adding filters: Photoshop camera
Photoshop is yet another application from Adobe, although this one isn't as advanced as Lightroom's built-in camera. Unlike the desktop version, the Photoshop camera is a free and easy-to-use app that lets you step up your pictures for social media.
It's not nearly as powerful as other options, but you get some basic camera features like portrait mode. However, the highlight is definitely the ability to add over 100 filters to your photos. It also lets you make some quick edits using features that may or may not be available in your stock camera app. If you're only looking for a simple program that lets you add some unique filters to your images, be sure to give this a shot.
4 Best for professional users: Filmic Pro
Filmic Pro is one of the most expensive camera apps on this list, but it's one of the most powerful camera apps out there and is well worth the asking price if you like having complete control over your photos. It includes features like live RGB control, a white balance adjustment matrix, gamma curve control, and more. The application is also safe to use and is often updated with new features and bug fixes.
Thankfully, you try out the application with a one-week free trial before committing to its rather expensive subscription. It comes out to $50 a year, or $2.99 per week, although prices will vary depending on which package you choose.
5 More affordable pro app: Camera FV-5 Lite
Camera FV-5 is yet another app that provides some powerful tools to capture photos just the way you want to, but there's a lite version that's free to use. If you like what you see and see yourself using it a lot, then you can consider upgrading to the full version.
Just like Filmic Pro, the Camera FV-5 also offers a full range of manual controls that you might be familiar with if you've used a professional camera. From exposure to focus distance and shutter speed, you get complete control over the images you're clicking. You can shoot in RAW as well (although that's not available in the lite version), and you have the option to display a histogram in the viewfinder, which can be handy.
6 Best for enthusiasts: Google Camera and GCam Ports
Google's Pixel line has consistently been one of the best smartphones to shoot pictures and that's primarily because of their computational photography prowess. Even with older hardware, Pixel smartphones produce incredible images thanks to Google's image processing algorithms. There are plenty of things to like about Google Camera, and they're the reason why the Google Camera ports are still highly sought after in the Android community.
The Google Camera isn't readily available for all smartphones, though, and it can be a bit tricky to get it running. If you are wondering whether a Gcam mod is available for your phone, then we highly recommend stopping by our guide for the best Google Camera port for your phone to grab a link to install it. You'll definitely be surprised by the results.
7 Best camera apps for Android in 2023: The bottom line
Many of the best smartphones Adobe's Lightroom may not be a dedicated camera app, but it has a capable built-in camera that can do both automatic and manual modes. You also get a decent amount of options within the manual mode to really tweak your images. Sure, you can go for a pro app if you want the best manual controls for photography but then the fact Adobe Lightroom is a free app that also comes with rather powerful editing tools makes it worth considering.
Filmic Pro and Camera FV-5 Lite are also good options to consider if you want to try your hand at manual photography. They both offer a good set of manual control that lets you tweak the image before it's captured. We've also added some other options to this list including Photoshop Camera which is a fairly simple app with tons of fun filters to play with. Lastly, there's also the Google Camera app and the GCAM port, which are perfect for enthusiasts that love trying out and unlocking new Google camera features on different devices.