- Hey, it's Justin Brown here from Primal Video.
If you've ever looked in the Android app store
for camera apps, apps to take your video creation
to the next level using your smartphone,
you'll realize that there's way too many
options out there for you.
There's lots of good free options.
There's, really, a heap of awesome paid options.
My original list for this video,
I started with ten. My top ten apps.
That's way too many. I've narrowed it down to 4.
In this video, we're gonna cover
my top 4 recommendations for aftermarket,
or third-party, video camera apps for Android.
I'm also gonna reveal what I feel
is the best camera app, as well.
So, we're gonna free options and paid options,
so make sure you stay tuned.
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So, very quickly, before we jump into the apps,
why should you be using a third-party,
or an aftermarket, camera app for video
when you're creating content using your Android device?
The biggest reason is that you'll get full control
over how the image looks, you won't have your
light changing or your focus changing
while you're actually recording.
You'll get better quality, higher quality
videos out, in most cases.
You'll just have full control over everything.
So, like I said, there's way too many options out there.
But there is some really good solutions, both free and paid.
So, the one we're gonna start with is free.
It is probably, not probably, it is,
in my recommendation, the best free option
that you have for a third-party or aftermarket camera app
for video for your Android device.
And that is Open Camera.
Now, Open Camera's one that we recommended
quite a while back in our video,
"How To Create Professional-Looking
Videos Using Your Android Device".
This camera app has come a long way since then.
It was our pick back then, and it's still our pick
for best free camera app on Android.
It even beats out a lot of paid options.
It's really easy to use, the results are fantastic,
and it seems to support a huge range
of Android devices and works really well.
While it does have an exposure lock setting,
so that your camera's not adjusting
brightness while you're filming or moving around,
it doesn't actually tell you
the shutter speed that it's using.
Not a deal breaker, still an awesome app.
But that's probably the one thing I feel that it's missing.
So, moving on, now, to the remaining three
which are paid options, or paid camera apps on Android.
I'm gonna talk about these quickly based on their price,
or ordered by their price, so we'll start with
the cheapest one first, which is Cinema FV-5, or FV5.
Now, this one sells in Australia for AU$2.99.
Once again, you get full menu control.
You've got awesome interface, easy-to-use interface.
You get full control over your codec choice in this one,
which I think is a cool addition.
I really like that all you're options
aren't buried in menus, and they're really easy
to find on the actual dashboard.
So, once again, this camera app doesn't give you
your actual shutter reading,
or your ability to adjust your shutter speed
as you normally would on a DSLR or on a normal camera.
But it does give you exposure lock
so that you can lock down your exposure,
and it's also got an anti-flicker mode
so that you can reduce any flicker
or eliminate any flickering from any lights
that you may be using in your scene.
The next app is Cinema 4K, and this one sells for AU$6.22.
Now, this one has, once again,
a fantastic, easy-to-use interface.
Great results from the camera.
What this one has that the others don't
is a flat color profile, which I think is really powerful.
That'll give you greater control and felxibility
over your color grading, and the look and feel of your video
when you're in your editing software.
And the last app is a really popular one
and it's probably been around
for the longest amount of time, and that's Filmic Pro.
And it sells for AU$13.99.
This is an app that gives you, once again,
full control over everything.
Gives you image stabilization,
it gives you bit rate control.
Gives you all the same features from the others,
but it does also support external hardware.
So, any lens adapters or even direct connection
to the DJI Osmo Mobile, and have full integration
and control over your filming with that.
So, this app was one of the game changers
when it first came out on iOS, actually,
for giving you full control over the cameras,
and it led to people using this app
to create things like documentaries and indie films
to showcase the power of the cameras in our smartphones.
I've probably spent the most amount of time
using Filmic Pro over the other apps,
but I think that biggest thing that
all the other apps have over Filmic Pro is the interface.
To go in and adjust settings and find settings,
a lot of the settings are buried within menus upon menus.
And it's really hard to quickly get set up
and shooting with Filmic Pro.
The other thing is, if you accidentally close the app
or you press the home button on your phone
and you open the app back up,
a lot of your settings aren't saved.
So, it really can make it a hassle to use.
Now, Filmic Pro does have presets available.
So, you can save your settings,
and that way when you close the app or open the app
you can load your presets and all your settings.
In theory.
In practice, I've never, ever seen it work as it should.
It'll save some of the settings, but not all of them.
So, while it gives you full control over everything
and it gives you an awesome result,
it's not a seamless interface, not a seamless workflow.
Especially compared to some of the other apps.
So, what's my pick, or my recommendation?
Clearly, if you don't wanna spend any money,
then I would highly recommend that you use
Open Camera, because it's free.
But not just because it's free,
it's actually a really decent, really professional app.
If you're looking to spend some money,
I think it's definitely, definitely worth
looking at Cinema 4K.
That's an app that really surprised me
and it's now my go-to camera app for Android.
It's one that I feel that's definitely worth
having installed on your Android device
if you're looking for full menu controls,
for an easy-to-use interface,
for a huge amount of options
and control and functionality, then that is my pick.
You can always purchase the app, have a play around
and hit the refund button if it's not for you.
You can actually do that for all of the apps
and I would probably recommend that you do,
so that you know that you're using
the best app that's right for you and for your workflow.
If you found this video helpful,
we'd really appreciate a thumbs up
and make sure you click that subscribe button.
If you were looking for the same video but for iOS,
then I've got a link on-screen now to help you,
or, if you're an Android user and you're looking
to get the best results and create the best-looking-content
videos that you can,
check out the other video linked on the screen.
I'll see ya soon.