pCAM Pro vs ChromaCalc
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
pCAM Pro
This app provides 27 essential tools for cinematography and photography professionals and students. It offers instant calculations for depth of field, field of view, exposure, and more, with a user-friendly interface designed for on-the-go use.
- Depth of Field calculations
- Field of View preview
- Focal Length matching
- Exposure calculations
- HMI Flicker-free settings
- Speed Booster adapter calculations
- VFX tracking markers
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Plan shots, choose lenses, calculate exposure, and pre-visualize the frame in seconds. 27 pro tools. Every result illustrated. 2,000+ camera formats plus unlimited user-defined formats. I've deliberately kept pCAM Pro a one-time purchase, with none of the subscriptions that have crept into so many apps. • Universal app for iPhone, iPad, Apple Silicon Mac, and Apple Vision Pro • Depth of Field (hyperfocal, total depth, near and far, image circle) • Field of View (and angle of view) • Field of View Preview in both Portrait & Landscape camera positions (8 images to pre-visualize & size shots by distance & focal length) • Focal Length (lens) Matching — match to horizontal, vertical, or diagonal dimensions • Relative Size (compares sensors) • Exposure calculations • HMI Flicker-free (safe shutters & safe camera speeds) • Reference (technical charts, lists & tables. Cine film stocks with film can labels, cine lens specs, false color/exposure change, diopter distance table, miniature shooting, safe panning speeds, zone system) • Insert Slate (4 font colors plus white or black backgrounds) • Splits — Aperture Finder calculation • Speed Booster® Adapter — calculate reduced Focal Length & Boosted Aperture with various adapters. Also create camera format profiles with attached adapters for use in other tools • Eye Light (soft-edged light shapes — Full Screen, Oval, Ring, and Strip) • Chroma Key & VFX Tracking (green and blue screen and VFX tracking markers) • Light Effects for handheld light or via Apple AirPlay to HDTV. Includes templates for: fire, television, siren, neon, strobe, flashbulb, lightning. Create unlimited custom animations • Mired Shift — Gel Selector • Conversion calculator • 4 Test Charts (incl. Siemens Star) • Triangulate calculation (calculate distances, image circle, etc.) • Film Running Time to Length • Shooting to Screen Time • Color Correction (chooses color correction filters) • Time Lapse (shooting interval, event duration, screen time) • Scene Illumination (beam intensity) • Light Coverage (width/distance) • Underwater Distance • Diopter (lens focus, diopter power) • Macro (object distance, magnification, corrected stop, DoF, object size, image size, fill percentage) • Built-in user guides on each screen • Calculates instantly & automatically as each entry is entered • 2,000+ camera formats plus unlimited customizable, user-defined camera formats, CoC & filters • Designed by a working camera technician who understands that calculations must be done simply and on-the-run AND ONE THING THAT ISN'T A CALCULATOR Crew Wheel — spin to settle who's buying the coffee. Not a tool, just a small gift for the standing-around time. Every long day needs one. TRUSTED WORLDWIDE BY DPs, Photographers, Camera Assistants, Camera Operators, Production Designers, VFX, Videographers, Gaffers, plus Film, Television, and Digital Media students. INDUSTRY RECOGNITION • Membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Production and Technology Branch). • 75th Primetime Emmy Awards — Emmy® for "Outstanding Achievement in Engineering, Science & Technology" from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. • 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards — Engineering Plaque for "Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development" from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. • Technical Achievement Award from Society of Camera Operators — "For outstanding contributions to cinematography through the design and development of the pCAM Film+Digital Calculator."
ChromaCalc
This tool helps cinematographers match and find equivalent colors for LED lighting fixtures. It uses spectral data from real instruments to achieve desired color intentions with various lighting and camera settings.
- Match LED lighting fixtures
- Find equivalent light colors
- Use spectral data
- Configure lighting instruments
- Adjust camera settings
- Achieve color intent
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With the advent of LED lighting fixtures for cinematography, it can be a challenge to match different lighting instruments to each other or to an intended color reference or to find equivalent light colors under different white points. This calculator uses spectral data measured from real world lighting instruments to help you find the best combination of settings to use on a variety of popular lighting instruments and cameras to achieve your intent. This app is licensed under the standard Apple license agreement which can be found here: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ChromaCalc at Free against pCAM Pro's $34.99. ChromaCalc also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). pCAM Pro's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 8 months) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
ChromaCalc is free to download; pCAM Pro costs $34.99 up front. pCAM Pro sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and ChromaCalc sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
pCAM Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: pCAM Pro has 222 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two.
pCAM Pro ships an update weekly, ChromaCalc every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | pCAM Pro | ChromaCalc |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $34.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (222 ratings) — better | 4.7 (14 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 97.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 222 — better | 14 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #159 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | David Eubank | Chromatic Applications LLC |
Customer experience
pCAM Pro
ChromaCalc
Bugs and requests
pCAM Pro
Reported bugs
1 issue- None explicitly mentioned, but feature requests imply areas for improvement.
Requested features
3 requests- Access iPhone camera for exact POV simulation
- Implement a night mode
- Relocate hyperfocal 'apply' button in Depth-of-Field calculator
ChromaCalc
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
pCAM Pro
- Small Tip$1.99
- Medium Tip$4.99
- Large Tip$7.99
ChromaCalc
- Monthly Subscription$9.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription$99.991 Year









