The Sweet Setup:

We’ve tested about a dozen highly-rated third-party camera apps we’ve found in the App Store that have come recommended by photographers and enthusiasts alike, and we think the best option for most people is Halide. It was a tough call, but it delivers a great balance of all of the features you want in a third-party camera app.

So, what are those features? Why would anyone want to use a third-party camera app anyway? Isn’t the iPhone’s default app fine?

Well, for a lot of people — including yours truly — the default app is great for the kind of pictures you’ll be capturing most often. Much in the same way that taking a picture of a duvet cover at IKEA with a Hasselblad is probably not how you would use that camera, these third-party camera apps have some pretty specific applications.

Halide is overkill for the majority of iPhone photographers but if you want something approaching the control you can get with a DSLR, Halide is your best choice.