Comparison

Viewfinder Preview vs Positive View

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Viewfinder Preview

Preview camera framing for any camera and lens combination. Select film/sensor size and focal length to visualize framing before setting up your main camera. Ideal for photographers and filmmakers for pre-visualization, location scouting, and storyboarding.

Highlights
  • Camera and lens framing preview
  • Customizable film/sensor formats
  • Configurable light meter
  • Photo capture with metadata
  • Photo gallery with data display
  • Album and PDF creation
  • Film stock emulation
Features
Read full description

Viewfinder Preview is an iPhone app for previewing camera framing for any combination of camera and lens. Instead of spending all that time setting up your big camera, just choose your desired film/sensor size and focal length in the app and point the iPhone camera at what you want to photo to verify framing. If you are happy with the framing then you can get the big camera out. The app has a large database of camera sensors details and film formats but if the format you desire isn’t there you can add your own custom format. The app is targeted at stills photographers or film makers working in either film or digital. If you don’t have your big camera with you, Viewfinder Preview is still great for photo sketching, location scouting or story boarding. The app includes - Customisable menus so you can include the film/sensor formats and focal lengths you care about. - A fully configurable light meter. - You can take photos with it, so you have a record of shots you were framing. - Photos taken with the app include additional data that describe the film format, focal length and lighting meter settings at the time the shot was taken - Add notes to your photos - A photo gallery for viewing photos taken with the app which also displays the additional data - Share images in emails, messages - Create albums of photos from the same project, trip etc - Create PDF documents of albums - Film stock emulation - Wide angle lens adapter support

About

Positive View

Transform your phone into a live viewer for photographic negatives. Instantly see positive images from color or black-and-white film in real time. Ideal for quickly previewing, selecting, and referencing your film scans.

Highlights
  • Live negative viewing (color & B&W)
  • Automatic color balancing
  • Brightness, contrast, warmth controls
  • Freeze, zoom, and pan frame
  • Save positive image to Photos
  • Calibration for illumination and lens
  • Use second device as light panel
Features
Read full description

Positive View turns your iPhone camera into a high quality live viewer for photographic negatives. Place a color or black-and-white film over an even light source, point the camera at it, and Positive View displays a positive image in real time. Use it to quickly see the images, select the best ones for scanning, or make a quick reference image. Features: • Live color and black-and-white negative viewing • Automatic color balancing, with a lock for consistent viewing • Brightness, contrast, and warmth controls • Freeze, zoom, and pan a frame for closer inspection • Save the current positive to Photos • Calibrate for even illumination and to counter lens falloff • Turn a second device into a plain white light panel Camera processing happens on your device. Positive View has no ads, accounts, analytics, or tracking. Images are saved only on your device and only when you tap Save. For best results, use an even, diffused light source with low flicker and keep the film flat.

Screenshots

Viewfinder Preview3 screens
Positive View3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Positive View at Free against Viewfinder Preview's $4.99. Positive View also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Viewfinder Preview's advantage is ratings volume (300 vs 3) and chart position (#139 vs unranked). On ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Positive View is free to download; Viewfinder Preview costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Positive View holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Viewfinder Preview has 300 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Viewfinder Preview ships an update every 3 months, Positive View fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Viewfinder Preview versus Positive View: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterViewfinder PreviewPositive View
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (300 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings300 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#139 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdam FowlerMikhail Rybakov

Customer experience

Viewfinder Preview

All ratings295 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.7%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews103 reviews
Positive86.4%
Neutral4.9%
Negative8.7%

Positive View

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Viewfinder Preview

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • White screen on startup
  • App crashes repeatedly
  • Exposure offset resets when app closes
  • Notes and shot data disappear after weeks
  • In-app purchase screen loops indefinitely
Show 6 more
  • Focal length inaccuracy on iPhone 14 Pro
  • Manual metering mode shows darker frame than preview
  • Tiny 1px border on cropped images
  • Battery drains excessively
  • App not loading on iOS 16
  • Glitches requiring app restart

Requested features

20 requests
  • Embed camera/lens metadata directly in saved images
  • Save custom film stock names
  • Persistent exposure offset settings
  • More film stock options (Kodak Gold 200, Fuji 400H, Catlabs 320 Pro, Ilford XP2, etc.)
  • Lower ISO settings (support for ISO 0.5 and below)
Show 15 more
  • Additional aspect ratios (6x17, 65x24)
  • Save images with exposure data as overlay or separate versions
  • Grid lines and level indicators
  • Focus distance display
  • Telephoto lens support (65mm-400mm)
  • Wider focal lengths (below 35mm)
  • Camera profile presets for quick switching
  • Custom aperture values (e.g., f/3.5)
  • Shift lens simulation for architectural photography
  • Watermark saved photos with camera data
  • Toggle HDR on/off for better film simulation
  • Video tutorial or in-app help guide
  • Ability to disable auto-display of config on images
  • Telephoto lens compatibility
  • Correct focal length rendering for newer iPhone models

Positive View

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Viewfinder Preview

No in-app purchases

None

Positive View

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Viewfinder Preview free?
Viewfinder Preview costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Positive View free?
Positive View is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Viewfinder Preview or Positive View?
Positive View is rated higher. Viewfinder Preview averages 4.7 out of 5 from 300 ratings, while Positive View averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Viewfinder Preview or Positive View have ads?
Neither Viewfinder Preview nor Positive View shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Viewfinder Preview or Positive View?
Viewfinder Preview ships an update every 3 months, and Positive View fortnightly. Most recently, Viewfinder Preview was updated on October 24, 2026 and Positive View on October 17, 2026.

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