Fireworks look great in the sky and terrible in the gallery. The default Android camera picks a shutter speed made for daylight scenes, blows out the highlights, and folds the result through an HDR pass that turns the burst into a smear. The fix is not a bigger lens, it is a camera app that lets us pick the shutter speed by hand, lock focus at infinity, and shoot RAW so the highlights come back in editing. These seven best apps for fireworks photography on Android cover free open-source cameras, paid pro-camera apps, and one long-exposure tool that stacks frames so the trails last.
Our picks were tested on recent Pixels, Galaxy phones, and a mid-range OnePlus during summer displays. Each app got the same routine: mini tripod, manual focus at infinity, ISO fixed low, shutter tuned by hand. The notes below reflect what actually worked at the display, not what the store screenshot promised.
What to look for in a fireworks photography app
Fireworks pull three tricks the stock camera cannot handle. Getting the shot means finding an app that unlocks the right controls, not the one with the best filters.
- Manual shutter speed up to at least two seconds. Short bursts read well at half a second. Longer trails need one to four.
- RAW/DNG capture. JPEG throws away the highlight headroom you need to recover the sky.
- Manual focus with focus peaking. Autofocus hunts on a dark sky. Setting focus at infinity once and leaving it there is the trick.
- ISO lock. Auto-ISO ramps to hide the shutter you actually want. Locking ISO to 50 or 100 keeps the fireworks crisp.
- Delayed shutter or interval mode. A two-second timer or an interval lets us press the button once and shoot a run.
- Level and grid overlays. A horizon guide matters more than it sounds when you are shooting up.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Paid | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Camera | Free full-manual shooter | Fully free, open source | None | Bulb mode, DNG, no ads |
| Camera FV-5 | Photographer-grade UI | Camera FV-5 Lite (limited resolution) | One-time purchase | Long-exposure bulb, RAW DNG, EXIF control |
| ProShot | Everyday RAW without the learning curve | 7-day trial | One-time purchase | Custom modes, light painting |
| HedgeCam 2 | Open Camera fork with focus peaking | Fully free, open source | None | Focus peaking, zebras, magnifier |
| Motion Cam Pro | RAW video and burst stacking | Motion Cam free | Motion Cam Pro (one-time) | RAW10 burst, dual-exposure merge |
| Adobe Lightroom | Capture, edit, and stack in one app | Free basic capture | Creative Cloud plan | Pro DNG capture, cloud sync |
| Footej Camera 2 | Fast HDR bursts on older phones | Freemium | Optional in-app upgrade | Continuous burst, gif export |
The apps
1. Open Camera — Best free full-manual shooter
Open Camera is the app most photographers reach for first, because it does everything the stock camera hides and it does not charge for it. Bulb mode lets us hold the shutter open as long as the finger stays down, focus-lock works with a long press, and DNG output gives us room to pull the sky back to black in editing. There is no upsell screen and no cloud account.
Where it falls short: The UI is a wall of buttons with no built-in tutorial. It relies on the Camera2 API, so a few older or Chinese-brand phones lose some controls.
Pricing:
- Free: everything, forever
- Paid: none
Platforms: Android
Bottom line: Start with Open Camera if we want manual control without spending a rupee, dollar, or real.
2. Camera FV-5 — Best photographer-grade UI
Camera FV-5 puts a proper DSLR interface on the phone. The layout mimics a real camera body, with a shutter dial, ISO wheel, exposure compensation, and separate metering modes. Long-exposure bulb goes up to about thirty seconds, and RAW DNG capture is included.
Where it falls short: The interface feels dated on newer phones, and it has not seen a big update in a while. Some Snapdragon 8-series ISPs report reduced control.
Pricing:
- Free: Camera FV-5 Lite, resolution capped and no RAW
- Paid: one-time purchase for the full version, roughly a takeaway lunch
Platforms: Android
Bottom line: Pick Camera FV-5 for fireworks photography if a real-body layout feels more natural than a stack of touch controls.
3. ProShot — Best RAW without the learning curve
ProShot hits a rare balance for fireworks photography: full manual controls plus a light-painting mode that stacks frames automatically. Custom shooting modes save the whole configuration, so we can flip from portraits to a preset called “fireworks” without touching dials.
Where it falls short: The one-time price sits higher than Camera FV-5. A few controls hide behind swipe gestures that are not signposted.
Pricing:
- Free: 7-day trial
- Paid: one-time purchase, roughly two takeaway coffees
Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows
Bottom line: Pay for ProShot if a saved fireworks preset is worth more than tuning every shot by hand.
4. HedgeCam 2 — Best open-source with focus peaking
HedgeCam 2 started as an Open Camera fork and added the two features hobbyist photographers keep asking for: focus peaking that highlights the sharp edges of the scene, and zebras that show blown-out highlights before we press the shutter. Both help enormously when the whole scene is dark except for a burst.
Where it falls short: The forked codebase gets updates less often than Open Camera. The UI carries some of the same clutter without the recent polish.
Pricing:
- Free: everything, forever
- Paid: none
Platforms: Android
Bottom line: HedgeCam 2 for Android fireworks photography is the pick when checking focus at 10x zoom mid-shoot is the deciding feature.
5. Motion Cam Pro — Best for burst stacking
Motion Cam Pro is the odd one on the list because it does not just take a photo, it records a short RAW10 burst and merges the frames into a single high-dynamic-range image. For fireworks, that means we can catch several bursts in one composite without any Photoshop work later. It also captures RAW video, which lets us grab stills from a clip after the fact.
Where it falls short: File sizes are large. The learning curve is steeper than the other picks, and the phone gets warm on long sessions.
Pricing:
- Free: Motion Cam (base version) with limited features
- Paid: Motion Cam Pro, one-time purchase
Platforms: Android
Bottom line: Motion Cam Pro is worth the price when a single stacked frame beats a folder of near-duplicates.
6. Adobe Lightroom — Best all-in-one capture and edit
Adobe Lightroom flew under the radar for a long time as a mobile camera, and that is a shame. Pro mode gives us manual shutter, ISO, focus, and RAW DNG capture, and the file lands straight in the Lightroom catalogue so editing can start on the same device. Presets sync across phone, tablet, and desktop.
Where it falls short: Full editing needs the Creative Cloud plan. The capture UI puts filters ahead of controls, which slows setup.
Pricing:
- Free: capture and basic edits
- Paid: Creative Cloud Photography plan, a monthly subscription roughly the price of a streaming service
Platforms: Android, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Windows, web
Bottom line: Adobe Lightroom is the pick when the edit matters as much as the capture and the desktop syncs its own catalogue already.
7. Footej Camera 2 — Best for continuous burst on older phones
Footej Camera 2 rewards the older Snapdragon 6-series phones that other pro cameras ignore. Continuous burst mode fires long strings at up to twenty frames a second, and the built-in gif exporter turns a burst into a looping share in about two taps. Manual controls include shutter, ISO, and focus.
Where it falls short: RAW DNG lives behind the paid upgrade. Some 2026 phones report the manual focus slider does not read the full range.
Pricing:
- Free: full camera with ads
- Paid: one-time in-app upgrade removes ads and unlocks RAW
Platforms: Android
Bottom line: Footej Camera 2 gives an older phone one more summer of usable fireworks shots.
How to pick the right one
- If we want to spend zero money: Open Camera first, HedgeCam 2 if focus peaking is a must.
- If we want the pro-camera feel: Camera FV-5 with ProShot as a secondary.
- If we want the shot without post-processing: Motion Cam Pro stacks the bursts.
- If we already own a Creative Cloud plan: Adobe Lightroom and shoot straight into the desktop catalogue.
- If we shoot on an older phone: Footej Camera 2 keeps the burst rate high.
The routine we settled on: mini tripod, phone in one of the manual apps above, ISO 100, shutter one to two seconds, focus locked to infinity, two-second timer, and a burst of six to ten shots per firework. That is more keepers than any point-and-shoot mode gives us.
FAQ
What is the best free fireworks app for Android?
Open Camera. It is fully open source, needs no account, has bulb-mode long exposure, and writes DNG RAW files on any Camera2-capable phone.
Do I need RAW to shoot fireworks?
Not strictly, but RAW makes a huge difference. Fireworks are extreme highlights on a nearly black sky, and DNG lets us recover the sky and pull back the burst without banding. JPEG bakes the exposure choices in.
What shutter speed works best for fireworks on a phone?
Around one to two seconds for a full trail. Half a second freezes the burst, four seconds turns it into a smear. Start at one second on a tripod and adjust from what we see.
Can I take fireworks photos handheld?
We can, but it costs quality. A one-second exposure without a tripod produces motion blur even on a stabilised phone. A pocket-sized tripod or a wall works. Motion Cam Pro also handles this by stacking short bursts.
Which app has the longest exposure on Android?
Camera FV-5’s bulb mode goes up to about thirty seconds, longer than most consumer apps. Open Camera’s bulb is limited by phone thermal and the Camera2 API on the device.
