I’ve been switching between Halide and Indigo for a couple of weeks now, and some clear differences have emerged in how they behave – and what they encourage.

Halide forces me to slow down and think. It refuses digital zoom, which I actually appreciate – it keeps me disciplined. I get full manual control over focus, exposure, ISO, and white balance. It takes more time, but the results are technically cleaner, especially in RAW. Halide feels like a tool, not a filter.

Indigo, on the other hand, is more convenient. It often produces great-looking shots straight out of the app, especially in daylight. But I’ve noticed something strange: in low-light scenes, green pixels sometimes appear in the shadows. Something in its noise reduction or AI pipeline introduces artifacts, which makes dark shots occasionally unusable for me.

I like both – but in different ways. Halide when I want control. Indigo when I want something quick and good-looking in decent light. But in the dark, Halide wins. Every time.