How To Get Started With Moment Pro Camera App

The Pro Camera App has always been centered around bringing your favorite big-camera controls to your smartphone camera. With unique features such as timelapse, slow shutter motion blur, zebra stripes, and full-stock manual controls over ISO, shutter speed, and focus — you can turn your smartphone into your favorite mirrorless big rig or DSLR. Its impeccable intuitive design helped revolutionize how we use our everyday devices into something bigger, cooler, and more efficient.

We are now fully functional on the newest iPhone and iOS devices! This includes improved features, better optimizations, and tighter workflows. We've spent quality time ensuring a solid app for all types of creators: professionals and beginners alike.

Let's walk through the Moment Pro Camera App and discuss all the settings to maximize your photo and video potential.

1. Capture Modes and The Settings Menu

Open the app, and you’ll notice a ton of different capture modes to utilize. To switch modes, tap the bottom right-hand corner icon and select which of the four options you wish to use. Before we get started with the details of each mode, let’s go over their purposes.

• Photo - Photograph images with partial or full manual control.
• Video - Record short films with partial or full manual control.
• Slow Shutter - Achieve soft, creamy blurs or light trails when capturing dreamy effects or movements.
• Timelapse - An intuitive and powerful way to capture time-lapses on your phone; set up the tripod and let Pro Camera do its magic.

The general settings menu can be accessed by tapping the lower left-hand corner next to your camera gallery. You’ll see a table organized into sections, including viewfinder, exposure, photo, video, and audio settings. Each option can be adjusted to your liking. Here's what each of them means:

General Settings:

• Location: Enable or disable location access to control whether photos will be tagged with your current location
• Add Siri Shortcut: Set up phrases to control the app with Siri
• Osmo Mobile: Connect Bluetooth to devices like the Osmo 3.
• App Icon: This is a cool one! Tap which icon you’d like to represent the Moment Pro Camera app on your iPhone.
• App Theme: Customize the look of your app by changing the color theme: green, orange, blue, and classic.
• Disable All Announcements: Switch the toggle on/off if you'd like updates from the developers.

Viewfinder Settings:

• Grid: Choose between square, third, or golden ratio grids to help frame the composition of your photos or videos
• Grid Level Haptics: Choose whether your phone vibrates when it’s perfectly level
• Volume Button Shutter: Turn this on if you want the volume button to capture images.
• Volume Button Burst: Select which volume button should allow bursting capturing when held

Exposure and Focus:

• Focus Peaking: Toggle on/off to enable highlighted sections showcasing if something is in focus.
• Histogram: Toggle on/off if you want a graph showing light distribution in an image.
• Highlight Clipping: Toggle on/off if you want overexposed areas of your image to be shown in the viewfinder.
• Shadow Clipping: Toggle on/off if you want underexposed areas of your image to be shown in the viewfinder.
• Bracketing: Enable this if you want to take multiple images of the same scene at different exposures to stack later in your favorite editing software.

Photo Settings:

• Filename: Choose the default format (IMG_XXXX) or a date-based format (MMNT_yyyMMDD_HHmmssSSS) for image filenames.
• Standard Image Format: Choose between HEIF (high efficiency) or JPG (most compatible).
• RAW Format: Choosing "RAW" only may result in low-quality previews because RAW files are unprocessed. "RAW+JPG" will use more storage but gives you the flexibility of RAW for editing and JPG for nice-looking, shareable images.
• ProRAW Format: Choosing "ProRAW"-only captures a single RAW file. "ProRAW+JPG" captures a RAW file and a JPG but uses more storage.
• Photo Quality: Choose either Speed, Balanced, or Quality. This controls the amount of built-in processing iOS applies to your photos.
• Mirror Front Camera: Toggle on/off to mirror the orientation of the selfie camera.

Video Settings:

• Standard Video Format: Choose HEVC (high efficiency) or H.264 (most compatible).
• Stabilization: Toggle on/off to enable in-body image stabilization (best if you don't have a gimbal).
• Bitrate: Choose either NTSC or PAL.
• RGB Histogram: Toggle on/off if you want an active RGB histogram on your screen display.
• Waveform: Toggle on/off if you want an active waveform on your screen display.

Audio Settings:

• Audio Levels: Toggle on/off if you want the audio levels displayed on your screen.
• Simple Rate: Choose either 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz.
• Bit Depth: Choose either 16-bit or 24-bit.
• Audio Channels: Select either "Stereo" or "Mono."
• Built-In Mic: Select which mic you want to record with: either Bottom, Front, or Back. Only works when recording in Mono.
• Bluetooth Mic: Toggle on/off if you have a microphone attached.

2. Top Bars

This is the manual camera app we have always wanted on our phones. Inspired by our big cameras, we provide the manual controls you need for better exposure, focus, and framing. Select your tools, slide to adjust, and keep shooting.

Within the Photo mode, you’ll notice icons at the top of your screen. In order from left to right, here’s what you need to know.

• Flash - Turn on or off the flash for an image.
• Timer - Either turn on the timer for 3 or 10 seconds.
• Format - Choose JPEG (HEIF), TIFF, and RAW (or ProRAW). You can read more on this under the Adjusting Manual Controls section above.
• Moment Lens - Select which Moment Lens you’re currently using.

You’ll notice additional icons in video mode at the top of your screen. In order from left to right, here’s what you need to know.

• Color Profile - Choose between Default, Flat profile, or Log profile.
• Resolution - Choose between 4k, 1080p, or 720p. Higher resolutions will appear sharper but use more storage.
• Frames Per Second (FPS) - Options vary depending on device capabilities, but many modern phones can go up to 240 FPS. Select PAL under Frame Rates in the settings menu to enable 25 and 50 FPS.

3. How To Select the Correct Lens Profile

Using a Moment Lens with our app? Awesome! Here's how.

Firstly — determine whether you have a M-Series or T-Series lens interface. Our M-Series lenses were made for phones made before 2022, whereas our T-Series lenses are made for phones newer than 2022. 

Then, in the lower right-hand corner, you’ll find a circle icon. Click that, and a vertical list of different lens options will appear. Cick the toggle to determine your M-Series or T-Series interface. Next, if you have a Moment Lens, click which lens you're attaching (either Wide 18mm, Tele 58mm, Macro 10X, 1.33X Anamorphic, Fisheye 14mm, or 1.55x Anamorphic. Selecting a lens allows the app to include this information in your image metadata and gives you access to extra distortion and de-squeeze controls for the fisheye and anamorphic lenses. Click the empty circle icon again to return to the Camera Screen if you do not have a lens attached.

To switch between Rear and Front Selfie cameras, click the cycling-arrows symbol in the viewfinder on the bottom right. If you’d like to switch between your smartphone’s native Ultra-Wide, Wide, and Tele lenses (availability depending on your specific model), click the icon below that says “1x”.

4. Anamorphic Lenses and De-Squeezing Your Files

Lucky for you, we couldn’t have made this process easier. To automatically de-squeeze anamorphic footage, press the Settings button on the lower left-hand side of your bottom screen. Scroll down to where you’ll see “Apply De-Squeeze to Saved File” and click the toggle. When the toggle is blue, any images or videos you take while selecting the anamorphic lens in the toolbar will be de-squeezed in the camera roll.

5. Photography in the Moment Pro Camera App

When documenting our life’s greatest adventures with our smartphone, it’s easy to point and tap. However, our phone’s sensor automatically sets the camera’s parameters, making manual functions nearly impossible for the photographer. Luckily, with third-party applications like the Moment Pro Camera App, you can independently control each setting for any desired look. Adjust the ISO, shutter speed, white balance, and more... all in the palm of your hand to really get the most out of your mobile work. Pfft, who needs a big camera?

Below are various photography-specific settings to help you maximize your photography potential with your camera phone.

6. Select Lens Resolution

Devices these days are advancing, allowing for more image file formats just like a pro-level camera has.

THE FORMATS:

JPEG - the standard compressed file format you're used to shooting on

TIFF - a lossless file format that retains all the image details for printing and editing

RAW - a lossless, high-quality file format loved by the pros

RAW is a particular image file, available on most newer mobile devices, that captures all image data recorded by the camera’s sensor when the image is taken. Alternatively, when shooting in a format like JPEG, the image information is compressed and lost, often resulting in lower-quality imagery. Because no information is being compressed under RAW format, you can create higher-quality photographs and correct problem areas that would otherwise be unrecoverable if shot in JPEG.

Shoot your photos in RAW to capture greater detail and have a better base image to edit.

ProRAW - this is Apple’s take on the RAW format, combining high-quality data with the built-in image processing that makes iOS photos so stunning.

7. Manual Photo Settings

ISO

ISO is the level of your camera’s sensitivity to available light in the scene. The lower the ISO number, the less sensitive it is to the light, while a higher ISO number increases the sensitivity of your camera. The level of ISO will greatly depend on when and where you are taking your photographs.

When you're shooting outdoors in the daylight, use a lower ISO — we recommend starting at ISO 32 in the Moment Pro Camera App. For shooting indoors or in darker conditions, you'll want to bump your ISO higher but be cautious not to go too high as the higher the sensitivity becomes, the more grain or "noise" will be added to the image.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed refers to how long the camera’s shutter is open. Think of it as the length of time your image sensor ‘sees’ the scene you’re attempting to capture.

The lower the denominator, the slower the shutter is, allowing more light to reach the camera sensor. A slower shutter speed is great for low-light conditions and capturing motion blur. When you’re using a shutter speed of anything lower than 1/60, you’ll most likely need a tripod to reduce the blur in your photo. Conversely, fast shutter speeds are great for action shots.

White Balance

Not all light is created equal, and that's where White Balance comes in. Adjusting your White Balance will help you get more true colors in your images.

Artificial light sources often create overly warm tones, so adjust your white balance to cool it down. Shooting in shady conditions will be cooler, so you can use white balance to warm them back up.

Focus

Attaining a relatively sharp image first comes with proper focal range. Many DSLR shooters capture with autofocus because it’s simple, effective, and reliable. However, having the option to manually focus on a particular subject or part of a subject is crucial to finalizing the perfect picture. Manual focus especially comes in handy when the camera can’t quite fix what part of the frame you need.

A focus slider, like in the Moment Pro Camera App, allows you to focus manually by sliding the focal point from near to far. This is particularly useful when shooting portraits or other subjects in the foreground. Paired with the focus peaking setting, manual focus is a breeze in the Pro Camera app.

8. Slow Shutter Mode

You can create stunning light trails, motion blur, bursts, and more using our Slow Shutter mode. To enable this setting, click the icon at the bottom right-hand screen and tap "Slow Shutter."

Light Trails & Motion Blur

One of the most beloved tools for any motion blur / long exposure tactics is the shutter speed adjustment—a resource responsible for changing the brightness of your photos and creating exciting, dramatic effects with movement. Understanding the basic fundamentals of shutter speed is crucial for any beginner photographer, especially for the topic we chose to discuss in this article.

However, in addition to manually controlling shutter speed to create long exposure light trails, there's a feature to explore: “Slow Shutter.”

What is a slow shutter? It’s how you add the illusion of motion to your photography. Set your tripod, tap the shutter button, and stop when you have the shot. The end result is a new kind of Live Photo that you can review on your phone and then export as a beautiful image or short video.

Like everything we do with Pro Camera, we give you the manual control to pick your type of blur and select how long you expose the shot. We have two kinds of image blur. Motion Blur adds a smooth motion blur effect; it can be used to emphasize moving subjects' paths or smooth running water. On the other hand, light trails draw streams of light coming from moving subjects in the scene; they can be used to capture trails of cars on a night highway or the chaotic path of exploding fireworks. When you’re done, we save your images to your camera library as a Live Photo. Press and hold to see what you shot, or export it in your desired format.

9. How To Make a Custom Preset

Presets within the app are not fun colorized filters but rather a set of already programmed manual settings that you set to use repeatedly during particular shooting scenarios. For instance, you can create a preset by toggling the ISO, shutter speed, and focus settings to your liking. Presets are a fantastic way to set up an existing mode of operation when you open your app. Work smarter, not harder.

Loading an Existing Preset:

1. Click the “Preset” button to the right of the shutter button at the bottom of your screen.
2. Click one of the presets to load the corresponding settings. To start, you can choose from one of the default presets: “Cinematic Video,” “Hyperlapse,” “Slow Mo,” or “Bulb Light Trails”.

Creating a Preset:

You can also save an entirely new preset for, say, indoor photography or outdoor videography.

1. First, adjust the capture mode and settings in the viewfinder to your liking.
2. When you’re ready, click the “Presets” button again and select “Create a new Preset” to save and name your preset.

10. Filmmaking in the Moment Pro Camera App

Gorgeous mobile filmmaking is more than swiping into the native app and hitting record. Understanding your manual settings will affect the final output of your video. By understanding manual settings like frames per second, resolution, and shutter speed, you’ll be shooting movies on your phone like a true pro in no time.

Below is everything you need to know to get the best video on your mobile device.

Color Profiles

Color is an incredibly complex subject for both photography and videography. Luckily, color profiles help define what colors we can capture with our device and see on our computational displays. For instance — a particular shade of red captured on your camera might look much different than what can be displayed on your computer screen. Color profiles can not only help adjust the subset of colors that cameras can capture and display but help them keep consistent between the two. Very important. Color profiles are also particularly useful for post-processing procedures, as they help increase dynamic range, retention, and striking contrast. You can choose from three color profile logs:

• Default refers to the camera's automatic settings to what it thinks is the most natural-looking real-time color profile.
• Flat refers to the low contrast, high dynamic range that provides a solid base for color grading in post.
• Log refers to an even lower contrasted version of a flat color profile.

11. Resolution

A big topic of conversation is the major differences when shooting in 1080p vs. 4K. To put these in simple, technical terms — 4K resolution is exactly 3840 x 2160 pixels, whilst 1080P consists of 1920 x 1080 pixels. So, yeah. 4K is the ultimate resolution setting for ultra-high-definition outputs.

The truth is if you have enough storage space on your phone, then always shoot your video in 4K. Although each video file is massive in size, you’ll be able to tell the difference in quality between the two variants. At an aspect ratio of 16:9, 4K contains almost four times the number of pixels on a screen compared with 1080p technology — more than eight million pixels for 4K and just two million pixels for 1080.

Your smartphone’s native app won’t be able to control these settings easily; that’s why our Moment camera app comes in handy when wanting to control how each scene is portrayed.

12. Frame Rate

A frame rate is the frequency at which motion video sequences are displayed. Higher frame rates (like 120 FPS) make fast-action scenes look smoother when put in slow motion, while a slower frame rate (like 24FPS) allows the footage to appear more cinematic. Frame rate is also crucial to determine how life-like the motion appears. A too-slow frame rate will look jagged and awkward, while a fast live-action movie filmed at an unnecessary 48 FPS will mimic a soap-opera quality that audiences tend to dislike.

If you’re shooting a normalized scene at a life-like speed, but are still aiming for a cinematic spice, shoot at either 24ps or 30fps.

For slow motion with buttery movements, switch to either 60fps or 120fps to add production quality to your film.

13. Manual Settings For Video

Shutter Speed For Filmmaking

Shutter speed refers to how long the camera’s shutter is open. Think of it as the length of time your image sensor ‘sees’ the scene you’re attempting to capture in motion.

Most filmmakers follow what’s coined as the “180 rule”. With your camera’s physical shutter, 180 means it's open for half of the exposure and closed for the other half. So at 24fps, you'd want an effective exposure of 1/48. At 50fps, it would be 1/100. At 100fps, it would be 1/200. So on and so forth. Of course, you’re more than welcome to utilize a higher shutter speed, although that is not generally recommended as it will look more haggard.

In many cinema cameras, there’s something called the 180º shutter angle rule, which, if you set it to 180º, will automatically adjust the shutter speed for you. Granted, some cinematographers like to switch up the shutter speed or shutter angle based on stylistic preference.

ISO

ISO is the level of your camera’s sensitivity to available light in the scene. The lower the ISO number, the less sensitive it is to the light, while a higher ISO number increases the sensitivity of your camera. Always begin with an ISO at the lowest possible number. This will introduce the least amount of noise into the frame, which is crucial for producing a high-quality video. High noise levels produced with a high ISO are extremely noticeable in video and can be uncomfortable to stare at for long periods of time.

If you want to shoot in low light – how far can you bump up your ISO without making it look terrible? You’re safe for anything under an ISO of 600, but anything over may require a tripod or external lighting system.

White Balance

Not all light is created equal – so it’s imperative to understand the basic essentials of white balance and how we can adjust it accordingly.

Light sources emit a range of color temperatures measured in a unit called the “Kelvin.” No, not the terrible Instagram filter from 2012 (though I see why they got the name), but a colorful spectrum that runs from blue to yellow/orange. The cooler the image, the bluer in tone, and the warmer the image, the more yellow in tone. Simple, no?

One of the best ways to ensure you’re in the correct white balance setting is by holding up a white piece of paper in front of the sensor. Adjust the kelvin setting to a higher number (cool) or a lower number (warm) until the piece of paper looks white to your naked eye.

Focus

Attaining a relatively sharp image first comes with proper focal range. Most DSLR shooters capture with autofocus because it’s simple, effective, and reliable. However, having the option to manually focus on a particular subject or part of a subject is crucial to finalizing the perfect picture. Manual focus especially comes in handy when the camera can’t quite fix what part of the frame you need.

A focus slider, like in the Moment Pro Camera App, allows you to focus by sliding focal points from near to far manually. This is particularly useful when shooting portraits or other subjects in the foreground.

14. Bitrates

Bitrates refer to the number of bits per second that are transmitted along with a digital network. For video files, the bitrate represents the amount of data contained per second of footage, whereas higher bitrates translate to better quality – less compression and more color detail. 1 byte contains 8 bits, so a video file in which 1 second of the video contains 1 megabyte of data has a bitrate of 8 megabits per second (8 Mbps).

When choosing what bitrate is best for your mobile workflow, it’s important to consider what device your video will be played on. Various platforms — internet videos, smartphone videos, and tv videos — all greatly vary in bitrate. If you’re a mobile filmmaker, consider a standard 30 or medium 60 bitrate.

With Moment’s new app update, you can now get precise control over video quality with standard, medium, and high bitrates.

15. RGB Histogram

For a mobile filmmaker’s workflow, a color histogram represents the distribution of colors in an image. The histogram can be immensely helpful in tracking how saturated each color is for every video frame (note: the histogram changes in a fluid fashion with each frame captured).

RGB histograms and color profiles go hand-in-hand; dial in your video color, balance, and exposure with a live RGB histogram while selecting from default, flat, or log color profiles to get the most out of your files in post-processing.

We’re beyond pleased with Moment Camera Pro’s latest updates, in which users can now select video color, balance, and exposure with our new live RGB histogram.

16. Waveforms

Waveform displays are used to monitor the brightness of a video signal with respect to both time and space. Each part of the monitor corresponds to a certain part of your image – for example, the left side of the monitor corresponds to the left side of your footage. The y-axis of the display measures luminance. If the bottom of the monitor is lit up, the corresponding portion of the image contains pixels with low brightness. Similarly, if the very top of the monitor is lit up, that region contains potentially overexposed data. A well-exposed frame will show mostly in the center of the monitor – neither too high nor too low.

Waveform histograms are similar to RGB histograms, but they show details for specific regions of the image and consider overall brightness instead of individual colors. Graphs, as illustrated below, can be used to visualize and observe the level of luminescence within each frame.

FAQ:

Q: Does the pro camera app work on the new iPhone 14 or iPhone 15?

Yes, it sure does! We've entirely revamped the app to operate with the latest firmware updates for iOS devices.

Q: How is the pro camera app different from the native camera app?

Moment Pro Camera is exactly that — an app for your phone that allows users to control the look of their photos and video footage manually. It's perfect for creators wanting to step up their mobile game or to use specialty Moment Lenses more seamlessly.

Q: Why isn’t my phone taking 48-megapixel photos?

Due to hardware restrictions, several conditions must be met before your device will take a 48 MP photo:

1. Device must be an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max
2. Format must be set to ProRAW, not RAW or ProRAW+JPG
3. ProRAW Photo Size must be set to 48 MP
3. The main 1x lens must be used
4. Photo quality must be set to “Balanced” or “Quality,” not “Speed.” Even with these conditions met, the hardware may decide to shoot anywhere between 12 MP and 48 MP – 20 MP is common. This behavior is the same as the stock Camera app.

Q: How to connect to a Bluetooth microphone?

Connecting a BT mic is the same as you would connect any other BT device.

1. Put the BT mic in pairing mode.
2. Go to BT settings on your phone - Settings - Bluetooth settings - the mic should appear under “other devices” at the bottom.
3. Go to the Moment App.
4. Go to Settings (gear icon) under “audio settings” and toggle “Bluetooth Mic” ON.

Q: How to select the lens you’re using?

On the viewfinder’s lower left corner, the icon that has a number on it followed by an “x” is your lens indicator. Pressing this will bring out the phone lens selector, where you can choose which one of your phone’s native lenses you wanna use.

Q: Which built-in lens should I use my moment lens for the best results?

You’ll always get the best result with the Main 1x camera on your phone. That camera will have the best low-light performance, stabilization, and resolution.

Q: Dual/triple lens selection. Which lens on your phone is being used, and which Moment Lenses work best over native wide vs native tele?

If you have a double or a triple-camera phone, you can use Moment lenses on the Main 1x camera and the telephoto camera.

However, make sure you have the camera selected that has the Moment Lens attached. You’ll know if you have the wrong one selected because the Moment lens will show in your image. If this happens, use the phone lens selector to switch to the right lens.

• All Moment lenses will work on the Main 1x camera.
• All Moment lenses work on the Telephoto camera as well, but with different results.
• The Moment Macro lens will get even more mind-blowing magnification.
• The Tele lens will also get more magnification, turning it into a true long telephoto lens. Please note that you’ll wanna use a tripod to stabilize the phone.
• The Anamorphic Lens will also be magnified, so you’ll get a close-up view but still anamorphic.
• The Wide 18mm lens will get a magnification, but the end result will almost be the same as using it on the Main 1x camera, so it really makes no sense to put it on the Telephoto.
• The Fisheye will have a reduced field of view, so putting it on the Telephoto will defeat the purpose of the lens.