This one gave me the best results

While most phones come with a camera app pre-installed, you can get better results with a dedicated third-party app, especially if you’re trying to capture shots at night. Here are the best camera apps I’ve tried and the ones that yielded the best results.

Using apps to take great night shots

The camera apps on most phones are fairly rudimentary. Because they are intended for casual users and ease of use, they lack certain features needed for effective night photography. So if you’re a serious photographer or want to get the best possible shots at night, downloading a dedicated camera app is a good option.

Camera apps often don’t include image processing and functionality to adequately adjust ISO settings, shutter speed, exposure, or distance focus. If you’re trying to capture the best night shots, it’s important to choose an app that gives you plenty of customization and advanced control over settings.

Slow shutter camera

The Slow Shutter Cam app, available on iPhones running iOS 11 or later, gives you ultimate control over how long the shutter stays open.

The duration of the shot can be manually adjusted up to 60 seconds, or in Bulb mode the shutter will remain open as long as you hold your finger on the button. This makes for some fun shots as you experiment with the setup, and once you get the hang of it, you can shoot it without thinking too much and get great results.

With the Slow Shutter Cam, you also have access to some other useful features, such as an adjustable ISO that allows you to reduce light sensitivity. In addition, there are a number of effects that can be applied after the image is taken, including motion blur, light trail and various filters.

Once you’re happy with your photo, you can save it as either JPEG, PNG, or lossless TIFF or HEIF.

Download: Slow Shutter Cam for iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

DeepSkyCamera

If you want to capture astrophotography shots, check out DeepSkyCamera. This app is available for most Android devices and is designed for night photography of star constellations.

The app has a lot of features and a bunch of settings that can be adjusted, which can be a bit confusing for non-professionals. Fortunately, it’s fairly easy for novices to use standard ISO and shutter speed settings to create great night shots.

For those with advanced camera skills, there’s the option to shoot in digital negative (DNG) format and save RAW images that can be stacked to create a more detailed image.

Another notable feature of DeepSkyCamera is its star and constellation maps. These allow users to locate specific groups of stars or planets in the app and find the best sky scenes to photograph. The app also supports time-lapse photos and video.

Download: DeepSkyCamera for Android (Free, in-app purchases available)

ProCamera

ProCamera is an excellent app for all things photo, video and editing. It takes pictures in RAW format and can shoot video up to 4K UHD. The app provides full control over shutter speeds and ISO settings, and also includes a low-light mode and anti-shake function to further enhance your night photography.

I found ProCamera to be intuitive and quick to use, with all the most common adjustments available when taking a picture. In addition to settings for night photography, ProCamera is a handy camera app for everyday use and comes with a comprehensive set of adjustments that allow you to add creative filters and effects.

For example, the San Francisco filter set is inspired by the color palette of the Golden Gate Bridge, while the food filter set has a number of settings that enhance food photography. Unfortunately, using all these features requires a paid subscription, while some filters are only available as a one-time purchase.

Download: ProCamera for iOS ($24.99)

Adobe Lightroom

Perhaps the most famous application on this list is Adobe Lightroom. The app is an extension of the popular editing software and includes a high-performance camera. While it’s more of an all-around camera app rather than one dedicated to night photography, I found that its fully customizable features can be quickly and easily set up for great night photography.

Once you open the camera settings in the app, you can switch from automatic to pro mode by tapping the menu next to the shutter button. The Pro settings allow you to adjust shutter speed, ISO, white balance and focus, which have plenty of adjustments for taking good shots in dark environments, as well as plenty of options for daytime shots.

Download: Adobe Lightroom for iOS | Android (free, in-app purchases available)

Bottom line

If you only want to focus on night photography, the app that gives the widest range of control is Slow Shutter Cam, and it gave me the best results. The ability to adjust how long the shutter stays open for up to 60 seconds means there are very few situations where you won’t be able to get the perfect night shot. If you know what you’re doing, it is.

While DeepSkyCamera is a great app for astrophotography, I’ve found that it doesn’t work well for capturing other types of low-light images, such as cityscapes and nightlife.

If, like me, you’re looking for a great all-in-one camera app that can capture good night shots when you need to, Adobe Lightroom is easy to use with intuitive controls. And if you’re an Adobe editing software user, you can also save your DNG files to the cloud and edit them later on your computer.