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Zerocam wants to be the cure to over-processed smartphone photography
- Zerocam is a bare-bones alternative to camera apps with an emphasis on post-processing and effects.
- The app lets you shoot up to 5 pics a day without a subscription.
- Subscription prices start at $1 a month, with a discount if you go annual.
The rise of powerful AI tools has created a situation where there’s a lot of pressure to use them to solve pretty much every problem under the sun. And while that can lead to some impressive results, it can also perversely highlight when a less-is-more approach might be superior. That feels especially true when we’re talking about photography, and while software algorithms have been enhancing our pictures for years, there’s growing pushback against AI output that’s over-processed and lacking natural charm. Now a new camera app for Android takes that sentiment and runs with it, offering what the devs call an “anti-AI” camera.
Zerocam embraces that minimalism right in its name, and upon firing up the app for the first time, it’s clear that approach extends to its user interface, as well: “stark” would be an understatement. You get your viewfinder, a big shutter button… and that’s about it.
While there is processing going on here, Zerocam insists that it’s more about trying to undo the stuff your phone’s camera does by default, rather than aiming to “enhance” anything. In a move that’s a little unintuitive for an app that’s trying “do” as little as possible, full access is locked behind a subscription — without one, you’ll only be able to snap five AI-free shots a day. That counter for your remaining pics is the app’s biggest UI element after the shutter button itself, and tapping through reveals your pricing options: $1 a month, or $11 a year.
As for the output, we snapped a few comparisons on a Pixel 7 Pro between Google’s camera with default settings and Zerocam. Scroll down slowly and see if you can tell which is which.
Think you know which is Zerocam’s and which is Google’s? Here’s one more demo, with the differences between the two approaches a little more pronounced:
That pic on the left is immediately warmer, softer, and overexposed compared to the right. And sure enough, this is Zerocam on the left, with the Pixel camera shooting the branch on the right. We swapped things around for the cats further up, with the regular image on the left, and Zerocam’s output on the right. While the tone’s more consistent between the two, the Zerocam shot is once again much softer there — look at the brick texture in the background.
It’s not for everyone, but if that sort of look feels just about to right to you, head on over to the Play Store, where you can pick up Zerocam right now.