Carbon - B&W Filters & Effects

• Carbon Membership (Monthly) — $4.99/month
• Carbon Membership (Monthly) — $29.99/year ($2.49/mo)
• 10 Magical Bokeh Effects — $3.99
• 22 Grunge Texture Variations — $3.99
• B&W Photography Filters — $3.99
• Carbon Full Access — $9.99
• Carbon Full Access — $19.99
• Duotone Madness — $3.99
• Grain and Dust Textures — $3.99
• Old Photo Collection — $3.99

Last verified 5 Sep 2026

4.7 12525 ratings · App Store

1. 5/5Great but still room for improvement

   B&W filters are awesome and worth the $ investment. Overall the app is really good but I want to share what I would like to see on future upgrades: 1) edit aspect ratio and crop options within other image editing options, for now you need to do it before you can edit the photo, 2) zoom in on the photo while editing, even with the iPhone plus size screen it can be hard to review the smaller details on the photo, 3) marks or numbers on the edition bar, there are no marks when you increase or lower brightness, contrast, etc. therefore harder to remember what was your previous mark, 4) save your filter edition so you can apply it on other photos for a faster workflow, 5) option to change the square canvas color as it is applied a grayish color border, wish it was white, 6) new 25mp output is a really nice addition but it still compresses the images, maybe in future we can see a lossless export option to keep the same image quality - current output is optimal for for online content though. Keep up the good work. Thanks.

   eriatarka.pt · 5 Sep 2026

2. 5/5Beautiful design

   Love the sleek black and white filters, really makes my photos look professional. Looking forward to the next update ! Update: been using this app for a while and I'd say it's become a standard part of my workflow. It's missing some stuff but overall I'm happy with it. No other apps have the diversity of black and white filters that carbon has and this is the key reason I keep coming back. Suggestions for the developers is to add in percentages for the sliders, increase output resolution options, allow us to save editing sequences and also to bulk edit photos. Good stuff so far. Looking forward to the updates! Update 2: I have another suggestion for you guys. One thing that I noticed was that sometimes, the hashtag feature won't let me post all the tags, the post will just be cancelled, and so I have to manually delete a couple before it will work. If we could set a number on the tags we wanted to copy, that would be great! I use the tag feature a lot so that would be amazing!

   Jam7382 · 5 Sep 2026

3. 5/5ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! GET IT NOW! YOU WON’T REGRET

   I’ve tried countless black and white photo apps over the years, and this one is in a league of its own. The filters don’t just strip away color, they add depth, mood, and timeless character to every image. The contrast is beautifully balanced, the grain looks natural instead of artificial, and every preset feels thoughtfully crafted rather than overprocessed. What impressed me most is how effortlessly it transforms an ordinary photo into something that looks gallery worthy. Whether you’re after a classic film aesthetic, dramatic high contrast, or soft vintage tones, this app delivers consistently stunning results. The interface is intuitive, fast, and refreshingly free of unnecessary clutter, making the editing experience enjoyable from start to finish. If you’re serious about black and white photography or simply want your photos to have a more artistic, cinematic feel, this app is absolutely worth downloading. Easily one of the best photo editing apps I’ve used.

   Reese Pelajeaux · 5 Sep 2026

4. 5/5Love the way you can achieve a multidimensional true B/W

   I’ve used many black and white effects and it was obvious to me that the red, blue and green in using a basic black and white could highlight or lowlight. I know what makes a good black and white I.e. contrast, shadows etc. What I learned on CARBON was depth. What I mean by this is you have a landscape image that has water trees sky etc. in dimensions and defining the different layers from the back to the front or vice versa in the original image. CARBON creates an image that is so multidimensional with my preselected undertones on the APP making this image for me a true black and white and every shade of gray in between and not by turning off RGB and going to grayscale on other editing pages. I want a real absence of color in my WHITE looking through the leaves, a branch, the reflection, light, contrast, and shadows that if a tiny bird was on a branch in the distance you can see it in various grays and then the final mixture of all colors that make BLACK. CARBON does this for me.

   pDOYLEolson · 5 Sep 2026

5. 5/5Versatile, Easy to use App for Creative B&W photos

   I’ve recently started shootings more black and white photos and have been looking for an app to allow for more creativity in editing. While I have a DSLR and use Lightroom, I’ve been using my phone more and wanted an app to use for b&w editing. Before talking about the app, let me say that I actually had issues with the app not allowing me access to the packages I had purchased. I sent an email and promptly received a reply and the issue was sorted very quickly. The developer is very easy to communicate with, I feel that this alone is a unique characteristic of the app. About the app: I’m shooting on an iphone 8plus and this really adds dimension to my b&w photos, as well as color photos that I’m trying give a rustic or grainy feeling too. The filters are versatile and there are tons of them with a wide range of contrast levels. I use the textures to add grains to my images and thoroughly enjoy the lightning and color fog to certain select photos. You’re able to adjust the intensity on all of the filters which really allows versatility in editing. I used the free version and decided that I wanted to explore other filters so I quickly upgraded. This was a rather low investment compared to what I’ve spent on my gear and monthly on Lightroom and I really enjoy the final edits. Personally I don’t understand why some people feel that apps need to have tons of free content. There’s obviously a lot of time and thought put into this one’s development. I will say the free version did offer a good look at its potential, so I highly recommend downloading and giving it a worthy chance.

   TCK1808 · 5 Sep 2026

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