No magic. Shoot on iPhone with no filters
How to take photos without filters on iPhone (photo: Unsplash)
Smartphones today have replaced professional cameras, and the iPhone has long become synonymous with mobile photography. But what if you give up filters, editing, and AI suggestions—and still get shots that are hard to look away from? Lifehacker explains how to shoot on an iPhone beautifully.
Use ZeroCam – a camera without AI
ZeroCam offers the concept of "less is more", especially in the context of camera features. The app has only one function—the shutter button. There is no post-processing, no filters, no effects; the only setting is choosing the phone’s lens.
Photos taken in poor lighting conditions come out with noticeable noise, which is expected, considering the lack of processing. But in good lighting, the shots have a slightly more natural look than when using the standard camera.
The main drawback of ZeroCam is the price: the subscription costs 2 dollars per month or 13 dollars per year if paid upfront. A free trial period is available for 3 days (or 7 days if you choose the annual subscription)—enough time to decide whether it's worth paying.
Try Halide for maximum control and photos without AI
Unlike ZeroCam, Halide Mark II offers extensive manual camera settings. You can precisely control focus, ISO, shutter speed, and white balance before shooting. Some of these functions are available in the standard camera app, but Halide adds useful tools such as focus peaking and live histograms.
Halide also has a special mode called Process Zero, in which post-processing and AI are completely absent. This is as close as possible to an image directly from the sensor, with only the minimal processing necessary to display the shot.
Like ZeroCam, Halide is not free, but it has a 7-day trial period. After that, it costs 10 dollars per month or 20 dollars per year. If you know for sure you'll use it long-term, you can buy a lifetime license for 60.
Blackmagic Camera app for video without filters
Blackmagic, known for its free video editing software DaVinci Resolve and professional cinema cameras, has released an app for iPhone that uses their expert technologies. The Blackmagic Camera app is focused on video shooting but allows you to extract frames from recorded footage.
If you need only photos, the other apps on the list are a better fit. But for those who shoot video, this is an excellent choice. The app offers professional features: manual control of ISO, shutter speed, white balance, an RGB histogram for image analysis, and stabilization to reduce camera shake.
