Lightroom Mobile is our pick for taking and editing photos in one app. Choose Open Camera for free manual controls, ProShot for a dedicated manual camera, or Blackmagic Camera for video. The best camera app for Android is the one that adds the control or editing tool you actually need.
Before downloading anything, open your phone’s camera settings. If you can switch to manual mode, try those controls first. A different app can change how you shoot, but it cannot guarantee better photos or access to every lens on your phone.
Below, we explain what each of these nine apps does best, which features depend on your handset, and where paid tools enter the picture.
What Are the Best Camera Apps for Android?
Start with the job you want the app to do:
- Shoot and edit in one place: Lightroom Mobile combines an in-app camera with photo editing. Capture and most editing tools are free; some editing and cloud features need a subscription.
- Learn manual photography: Open Camera is a free starting point. ProShot and ProCam X Lite also offer manual controls, subject to your phone’s support.
- Record video: Blackmagic Camera puts recording controls at the center of its interface. Check its supported-phone list before installing.
- Make social posts: Photoshop Express, VSCO, and B612 put more emphasis on editing, looks, or effects.
Manual ISO, shutter speed, focus, and RAW capture are not available on every Android phone. Manufacturers decide which camera features other apps can use. Keep your stock app while you try an alternative, and compare the results on the same scene.
9 Best Camera Apps for Android
These apps cover different tasks. The first is our choice for a capture-and-edit workflow; the others offer alternatives for manual shooting, video, or creative effects.
Lightroom Mobile is an editing app with a built-in camera. Its appeal is the short route from taking a photo to adjusting it.
On Android, the Professional capture mode offers shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and manual focus controls. DNG capture is available on supported phones. You can then crop, adjust tone and color, or apply a preset without moving the photo to a separate editor.
The main appeal of using Lightroom Mobile is this combined workflow. It suits photographers who want to make deliberate edits after a shot, rather than apply live stickers or beauty effects.
Capture and most editing tools are free. Adobe lists masking, healing, raw editing, cloud storage, and device sync among its premium features. Do not assume that downloading the app gives you every editing tool. Our Lightroom buying guide explains the plan choices.
If you also need desktop software, compare the Adobe photography bundle for Photoshop and Lightroom with a mobile subscription before choosing a plan.
Adobe Photoshop Express is best approached as a photo editor for social posts. Among Adobe products, it offers a different workflow from Photoshop.
Do not confuse Express with the separate Photoshop app for Android. Choose Express for quick adjustments, text, filters, and collages. Check the exact app and platform before choosing it for a particular editing feature.
Express includes Adobe’s AI editing tools for work on existing images. Its Android guide describes generating images, inserting objects, and removing objects. These are editing tasks, so they do not replace control over exposure while you take a photograph.
You can also make collages and remove and change backgrounds. Some tools require Photoshop Express Premium. Check whether the feature you need is included before starting a subscription.
For a photographer whose main task is preparing finished pictures for a feed, Adobe Photoshop Express earns a place here. For manual shooting, start with one of the dedicated capture apps below.
ProShot is a dedicated camera app for photographers who want to make their own exposure decisions. Its DSLR-style interface uses a dual-dial system and offers automatic, semi-automatic, and manual modes.
You can adjust ISO, shutter speed, focus, white balance, and exposure compensation. RAW DNG and RAW+JPEG capture, exposure bracketing, light painting, and time-lapse give you room to experiment beyond a basic point-and-shoot workflow.
ProShot is a paid app without a subscription or in-app purchases. Before buying it for a specific feature, use the developer’s free ProShot Evaluator to check what your phone supports. The Android store listing points to that tool. An app’s feature list cannot make an unsupported lens or recording setting available.
Choose ProShot for capture controls. Choose Lightroom or another editor when you want to develop the resulting photos.
Blackmagic Camera is the video choice in this list. It brings controls from Blackmagic Design’s cinema cameras to supported Android phones and tablets.
Frame rate, shutter angle, white balance, and ISO are available from the shooting interface. The app also offers tools such as focus peaking and audio meters to help you monitor a recording.
Blackmagic lists recording up to 8K, but resolution, frame rates, codecs, and lens access depend on the device. Check the Android section of its technical specifications against your exact model. A recent Android version alone does not establish full feature support.
The app is free. Blackmagic Cloud adds a separate collaboration workflow for sending footage to editors using DaVinci Resolve. Choose this app when video controls matter; keep a still-photo app for photography.
Open Camera is our free choice for learning manual photography. It is open source, and the developer states that the app has no third-party ads.
The controls include exposure compensation and white balance. On supported devices, Camera2 mode adds manual ISO, shutter speed, focus, and RAW capture. If those controls are missing, check Settings → Camera API → Camera2 API. If that option is unavailable, your phone may not expose the required support.
Grid overlays and crop guides help you line up a shot. HDR, exposure bracketing, noise reduction, and focus peaking offer further ways to work with a scene, although availability varies by phone.
Getting high-quality images still starts with light, focus, and a steady phone. Treat Open Camera as a way to control those choices, and compare its output with your stock app before using it for an important shoot.
ProCam X Lite is another option for photographers who want to control capture settings. Its Android listing includes exposure adjustment, white balance, manual ISO, manual focus, and shutter speed.
Those manual features require support through your phone’s Camera2 interface. You can also shoot with the rapid burst mode or use interval shooting for a time-lapse sequence.
The Lite listing advertises 4K recording on supported devices. Check which resolutions and frame rates your own phone makes available; the age of the handset alone does not tell you what will work.
Try the free Lite app before paying for a different version. Its store listing is marked as containing ads. Check the exact version’s limits instead of assuming that a paid upgrade changes only the photo editor.
VSCO suits photographers who want to build a consistent look across their pictures. It combines a camera with editing tools, presets, and a photography community.
The main reason to choose it is the editing workflow. Presets provide a starting look, while tools such as contrast, saturation, grain, and fade let you adjust the result. Use the preset as a starting point and reduce its strength if it overwhelms the photograph.
The basic VSCO app includes a free set of tools and presets. Membership adds more presets and advanced tools. Video editing is a membership feature on Android, and VSCO notes that some video tools vary with device support.
Choose VSCO for developing a visual style after capture. ProShot or Open Camera makes more sense if your first priority is direct exposure control.
Camera Zoom FX Premium combines manual shooting with creative effects. The same Android package is now listed as Camera ZOOM FX Series 2 - Pro, following a rebuild of the app.
The current listing includes manual ISO, shutter speed, white balance, focus distance, and RAW capture on supported devices. It also lists HDR, speed burst, time-lapse, a horizon level, and composition grids.
Creative options include tilt-shift effects, vignettes, film grain, and live effect previews. Choose it if you want shooting controls and stylized results in one app.
It is a paid download. Check the current store listing for the version and features available to your phone. The screenshots below show the app pictured in this article; the rebuilt interface can look different.
B612 is the social camera choice. It applies filters, beauty adjustments, and AR effects while you frame a photo. You can also create and share your own filters.
The developer lists a night mode, a high-resolution mode, GIF capture, and video shooting and editing. Color tools include curves, split tone, and HSL adjustments for selected color ranges.
B612 offers free features and in-app purchases. Check which effect or editing tool is included before choosing a paid option.
Choose B612 for live effects and selfies. Choose a manual camera app when your aim is to set ISO or shutter speed yourself.
How to Choose an Android Camera App
Check your phone before you pay. Find the feature that matters to you, such as RAW capture, manual shutter speed, or access to a telephoto lens. Confirm that the app can use it on your exact handset. ProShot Evaluator and Open Camera’s Camera2 settings are practical starting points.
Then take the same scene with your stock camera and the alternative. Compare focus, moving subjects, bright highlights, and low light. For video, make a short recording with the resolution and frame rate you plan to use, then play the saved file.
Separate capture from editing. If you like the pictures your phone already takes, an editor may be all you need. Manual controls are worth learning when you want to make a shooting decision yourself, such as changing motion blur or locking the color balance.
Conclusion: Best Camera Apps for Android
Lightroom Mobile remains our pick for a capture-and-edit workflow. Open Camera is the free starting point for manual photography, ProShot offers a dedicated manual interface, and Blackmagic Camera is the choice for video on compatible devices.
Some apps also heavily lean towards editing. Photoshop Express and VSCO suit that task, while B612 puts live effects first. Choose the app that solves a specific problem, try it beside your stock camera, and keep the one that helps you make the pictures you want.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Best Free Camera App for Android?
Open Camera is our free pick for manual photography. Its advanced controls and RAW capture depend on the features your phone exposes. Lightroom Mobile also offers free capture and most editing tools, with some editing and cloud features reserved for subscribers.
Can I Use the Google Pixel Camera App on Any Android Phone?
No. Google’s current Pixel Camera listing is for supported Pixel devices. It is not a general download for every Android phone. A third-party app can offer different controls, but it does not guarantee the same processing or results as Pixel Camera.
Which Android Camera Apps Shoot RAW?
ProShot, Lightroom Mobile, and Open Camera can capture DNG RAW files on supported phones. Camera Zoom FX also advertises RAW capture. Check the exact app and handset combination before paying for RAW alone; having a Camera2 interface does not guarantee every camera feature is available.
What Is the Best Android App for Video?
Blackmagic Camera is our choice for dedicated video controls. It is free and offers frame rate, shutter angle, white balance, and ISO adjustments on supported Android devices. Check compatibility and the recording options available on your phone before planning a shoot.
