With video, you only get one take.

Where autofocus ruins the clip

A photo that autofocus gets wrong costs you one frame. A video it gets wrong costs you the take — and the focus usually breaks at the worst moment, when the subject is closest and the shot finally matters.

• Aircraft and distant subjects. Far enough away that autofocus has nothing to lock onto, so it hunts back and forth through the entire approach.
• Through car and train windows. The camera settles on the glass, or on the rain sitting on it, instead of the scene moving past outside.
• Past things that get in the way. Forest, fencing, or a crowd drifting between you and the subject — each one pulls focus off and the clip is spoiled.
• Product shots and close work. The smallest movement makes autofocus re-evaluate and breathe in and out for the rest of the recording.

Set the focus before you hit record, and it stays put for the whole clip.

What it looks like when it goes wrong

Aircraft landings filmed on a phone. The camera holds focus, then loses it on the approach and spends the rest of the clip hunting for something to lock onto — by which point the aircraft is down and the take is gone.

More failed takes, and the same landings shot with manual focus, in the full video.

Focus presets — the part you can't do with any stock camera

Save a focus distance to a button, then recall it mid-recording with a single tap. The camera animates smoothly to it rather than snapping, so the move looks deliberate — a focus pull, done on a phone, with your thumb.

1. Set the focus you want to keep. Drag the vertical slider, or tap the preview to autofocus, until the subject is sharp.
2. Double-tap a preset button. It turns orange to show it is ready to capture the current focus.
3. Tap it once to save. That focus position is now stored on the button.
4. Recall it any time. A single tap animates the focus back to it. The active preset is outlined in yellow.

Presets can be renamed and set to exact values in Settings, and the Focus Transition setting controls how fast the camera moves between them — quick for a snap change, slow for a cinematic pull.

What's in it

Also: pinch to zoom, tap to autofocus on a point when you want it back, and a torch toggle for low light.

What's free, and what isn't

The app is free to download and there is no trial to expire, no account to make and no subscription. Every focus feature on this page works in the free version, with no limit on how much you record.

A side benefit of the unlock: the free version re-encodes each clip to burn the watermark in, which takes a moment. Paid recordings save straight away.

Nothing leaves your phone

The app records video and audio only while you are recording, and saves straight to your device's Photos library. Nothing is collected, transmitted or shared — no account, no analytics, no ads. In-app purchases are handled by Apple, so payment details never reach us.

Read the privacy policy

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