Last month, digital photography brand Blackmagic Design launched its Blackmagic Camera app for Android, but it was limited to a select few Galaxy and Pixel phones. On those phones, it gave users access to professional-grade cinema tools, and now the company has revealed that it is expanding the availability of its software to older devices.
The announcement went largely unnoticed, as it was made on social media rather than its official blog. According to its post, Blackmagic Camera version 1.1 is now available on the Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, the entire Pixel 6 lineup, OnePlus 11, and OnePlus 12. For non-US users, the app is also available for the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 14. You can download it directly from the Google Play Store.
Just to give you an idea of what you're getting, Blackmagic Camera offers “advanced configuration options” to help you set up the right shots, tools to help you check exposure, and support for “multiple video resolutions,” among other things.
There is a requirement that must be met, but thankfully it is not strict. Android Central indicates that the phone must have Android 13 or later, which should not be a problem with these models.
New features
In addition to the expansion, version 1.1 introduces multiple new features and adjustments to the software. These include, but are not limited to, an improvement in overall performance, optional image noise reduction, the ability to dim the display during recording, and 3D LUT support.
The last one is 3D Lookup Tables. These are a collection of color presets that can be added to photos or videos to achieve a certain look. For example, lookup tables can help correct the colors in an image, enhance shadows, or add a sepia filter. Groups and businesses should also appreciate the new connection to Blackmagic Cloud for Organizations. This is a proprietary cloud service where people can come together to share files for a project.
As good as smartphone photography is these days, nothing beats a good camera. If you're looking for recommendations, be sure to check out TechRadar's list of the best cameras for 2024.
