MZed vs ShotDeck
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MZed
Access a library of film-making education courses on your mobile device. Download lessons for offline viewing and learn on the go. Offers a Pro subscription for expanded access.
- Film making education courses
- Downloadable lessons
- Offline viewing
- Mobile access
- Pro subscription
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Watch MZed’s film making education courses on your iPhone or iPad with the official MZed app. Download lessons to watch offline and on the go. Terms of use - https://www.mzed.com/terms-of-service Privacy policy - https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/8137241
ShotDeck
Access the world's largest collection of searchable cinematic images. This tool helps directors, cinematographers, and visual artists find inspiration, conduct research, and reference shots with detailed information on cast, crew, and technical aspects. Explore and discover new visual ideas for your projects.
- Largest collection of searchable cinematic images
- Detailed image metadata (cast, crew, camera, lens, etc.)
- Inspiration and research tool
- Visual discovery for creative projects
- Collaborative professional tool
- Time-saving image search
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Shotdeck is the largest collection of meticulously keyworded fully searchable high quality cinematic images in the world. Hello directors, cinematographers, designers, ad folks, film students and visual artists, you’ve just discovered your new secret weapon, the best collaborative professional tool for bringing your vision to life - from pitch, to prep to post. Each image has information on cast and crew, aspect ratio, framing, lighting, camera, lens, shooting location, and a dozen more. This time saving app will help you not just find the exact image you are looking for but allow you to discover ones that you never new existed. You'll wonder how you ever worked without Shotdeck. Inspiration - Research - Reference - Education - Discovery Start exploring Shotdeck totally free today and witness your vision come to life and your creativity reach new heights.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: MZed at 75% against ShotDeck's 28%. MZed also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.0) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). ShotDeck's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ratings volume (43 vs 8). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. MZed sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $299.99 per year. ShotDeck asks for nothing beyond the download.
MZed holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ShotDeck has 43 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of MZed's written reviews are positive against 28% of ShotDeck's.
MZed ships an update weekly, ShotDeck every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MZed | ShotDeck |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (8 ratings) — better | 3.0 (43 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better | 28.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 | 43 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.2 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 74 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | The Dorsia Group LLC | Filmmakers Research Lab, LLC |
Customer experience
MZed
ShotDeck
Bugs and requests
MZed
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
ShotDeck
Reported bugs
35 issues- UI issues
- Low quality grabs
- App crashes constantly
- App quits after a few searches or image saves
- App crashes when searching
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- Age verification required
- New account creation with Apple ID required
- iPad app crashes every time search is used
- App crashes when entering a search term
- Infinite loading
- Won't allow sign up or log in
- Password reset email not received
- Enlarged images opened in a new page
- Search feature completely useless
- App wouldn't load anything
- Servers down error
- No more than 5 minutes without crashing on iPads and iPhones
- Images take too long to load
- Images won't load
- System error causing refund
- Asked to sign in, not sign up
- Application would shut down itself when looking for more shots
- App entirely crashes when swiping through full sized photos on iPad
- App crashes after a few minutes of use on iPad
- Search engine never works
- Search bar not working
- Filters don't work in search function
- Burned 2 hours saving images to a deck, but they are not in the deck
- App crashes repeatedly
- Periodic crashing (typically when choosing to browse similar shots)
- Quick add doesn't seem to work
- Unpredictable search results
- Pages don't load or have errors
- Searches with fairly common words don't yield any results
- Cannot use split screen or a floating window with the app on the iPad
Requested features
8 requests- Update app to be a great companion to desktop site
- Fix login with Apple ID issue
- Fix age verification and account creation hurdles
- Make a widget that cycles random shots
- Improve UI/UX
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- Add more data to search and tags
- Add dark mode
- Faster way to add shots to favorites
In-app purchases
MZed
- MZed Pro$299.991 Year
- Lighting People - On Location$44.99
- The Language of Lighting$46.00
- Cinematography for Directors$56.99
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- The Art & Science of Lenses$57.99
- How to Start a Podcast$90.99
- Anamorphic Cookbook Part 2$113.99
- Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18.5$170.99
- Filmmaking for Photographers$229.99
- Master the Moment$284.99
ShotDeck
No in-app purchases
