Kadraj: Learn Photography

Kadraj is a camera that teaches you to use your phone's camera — and a manual camera, a film studio and a video camera in one app.

A CAMERA THAT TEACHES

Smart mode picks the right way to shoot for the light in front of you: a single frame in daylight, several frames merged in dim light, darker frames merged when the sky is bright and the shadows are deep. After each shot the coach tells you, in one plain sentence, why a photo came out blurred, too dark or with burnt-out sky — measured from the photo itself — and offers to fix it and shoot again.

THE ACADEMY

Eleven modules, from the basics to real jobs: light, composition, portraits, weddings and events, products and food, landscapes, street, macro, video and editing. Many lessons happen in the camera: you take the same scene two or three ways and see your own photos side by side. Others walk you through setting up a scene with a checklist. The first lesson is free.

FULL MANUAL WHEN YOU WANT IT

ISO, shutter speed, focus distance and white balance in kelvin, each switchable between automatic and manual. Tap to focus and meter; separate the exposure point if you like. Pick the ultra-wide, main or telephoto lens as a real physical camera. Long exposures up to what your sensor allows. Choose "Professional" on first launch and the lessons and hints step out of the way.

RAW THAT MEANS RAW

Save DNG, JPEG or both. Merge mode captures several raw frames, aligns them tile by tile and writes one merged DNG — average for lower noise, median to erase people walking through, brightest for light trails, bracketed for shadows — and develops a shareable JPEG on the phone.

VIDEO

4K, 1080p or 720p at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps where your phone supports it, stabilisation, H.264 or HEVC, sound with a level meter. ISO, shutter, focus and white balance stay manual in video too, with the 180° rule shown on screen.

THE STUDIO

Film and retro looks — old digital CCD, warm consumer film, soft portrait film, tungsten cinema film, black-and-white, instant, cross-processed, faded seventies — with grain, halation, light leaks and vignette. See a look live in the viewfinder, or apply it later. Frames (white border, instant print, film strip, square), an orange date stamp like old cameras, and exposure, shadows, highlights, warmth and tint. The original is never touched; the result is saved as a new photo.

TOOLS WHILE YOU SHOOT

Histogram, RGB parade and waveform, zebra stripes, false colour, focus peaking, two-axis level, grids, timer, volume-key shutter and a red night theme. Save your settings as recipes and load them with one tap.

YOUR DATA

Photos and videos are saved to your phone's DCIM/Kadraj folder and never leave the device. No account, no ads, no analytics. The internet is used only for the optional Kadraj Pro purchase through Google Play.

KAMERA PRO

The camera, Smart mode, the coach, the first lesson and a few looks are free. Kadraj Pro unlocks every lesson and every Studio look — monthly, yearly or once for life.