Bacon Camera vs Camera FV-5 Lite: Which manual camera app is better

In an era where most phones don’t include manual settings in stock camera apps, you have to rely on manual camera apps to capture photos the way you want.

There are many such apps out there and it can get a little confusing when it comes to selecting one of them. In this article, we will delve deep into the features of two popular camera apps, and help you decide on a winner.

Why No Manual Settings, Stock App?

In order to get full manual control (something as simple as manual focus) in our newly bought smartphone, we downloaded two camera apps from Google Play Store – Bacon Camera and Camera FV-5 Lite – and tested them for a week each. Here’s our opinion:

Similar Yet Different

Both Bacon Camera and Camera FV-5 Lite are free for use and pack many pro-level features that provide you with a DSLR-like manual control.

Camera FV-5 Lite sports a simple interface with a settings panel on the main screen while Bacon Camera gives you a more professional feel with its drag-to-adjust style.

ISO Settings

Both the camera apps have an on-screen panel to access the ISO settings while shooting.

In Camera FV-5 Lite, you have to select a certain value of ISO ranging from 100 to 3200. Bacon Camera also offers the same range in a drag-to-adjust interface, which lets you set a more detailed ISO value, along with a hand jitter reduction (HJR) feature.

Exposure Value

Similar to the ISO settings, the option to adjust the exposure value or EV can be accessed from the home screen in both the apps.

You also find the drag-to-adjust feature in the EV settings in Bacon Camera. On the other hand, Camera FV-5 Lite comes with an EV bar that allows you to select a value using ‘+’ or ‘-‘ buttons.

Definitely Not The Same

These two apps are like cousins – they are similar yet far from being the same.

Let’s find out what makes them so different:

Different Looks, Different Style

Bacon Camera includes modes such as Video and Panorama available on its home screen. You can also find the Timer and the HDR modes on the bottom-left corner.

You cannot shoot HDR photos in Camera FV-5 Lite and the timer is located inside the Shooting utilities option on top of the screen with a range of up to 10 seconds.

Shutter Settings

Although Camera FV-5 Lite allows you to experiment more with Burst mode along with an Intervalometer, it failed to impress us with its pre-adjusted values of shutter speed (1 to 60 seconds). It is confusing and probably won’t appeal to DSLR enthusiasts.

On the other hand, Bacon Camera steals the show with its full manual shutter speed control up to 64 seconds. However, it does not include burst mode.

Range of Resolution

While Camera FV-5 Lite provides a maximum image resolution threshold of 1920×1080 (2.1 MP, 16:9) and 1440×1080 (1.6 MP, 4:3), Bacon Camera offers up to the range of 4000×3000 (12.0 MP, 4:3) and 3840×2160 (8.3 MP, 16:9), giving you a wider range of image resolutions to play with.

Videos and GIFs

Apart from these, the most major difference between the two apps is the feature to capture videos, create GIFs or shoot panoramic images. You can find this option in the Fx option beside Menu.

Sadly, Camera FV-5 Lite doesn’t come with video or GIF mode. You would have to download Cinema FV-5 to record videos.

And the Winner Is …

Bacon Camera without a doubt. Why? Even though Camera FV-5 Lite appeared to be quite professional and comprehensive in its looks and features, it lacked the smoothness and a swift and easy user interface when compared to its counterpart.

Add to that the absence of video mode or panoramic mode or the ability to create GIFs, Camera FV-5 Lite loses out to Bacon Camera by a decent margin.