Comparison

PQ Calc vs Tech Scout Camera

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

Head to head
About

PQ Calc

Easily convert luminance levels (nits) to digital values and vice versa using the SMPTE ST 2084 (PQ) electro-optical transfer function. Supports various bit depths and ranges for professional video workflows.

Highlights
  • Bi-directional conversion
  • Luminance (nit) to digital level
  • Digital level to luminance (nit)
  • Supports Full, SMPTE, SDI-Full ranges
  • Calculations in float, percent, 8-16bit
Features
Read full description

PQ Calc offers a quick and easy way to convert values along the SMPTE ST 2084 (PQ) electro-optical transfer function (EOTF). The app is bi-directional and will convert the luminance level (nit) to the digital level in Full, SMPTE, or SDI-Full range and vice versa. Calculations are available in float, percent, 8bit, 10bit, 12bit, and 16bit.   To use, enter a value in either the "Level" field or the "Nits" field and choose your range. The application will then populate the other fields simultaneously-- it's that simple!

About

Tech Scout Camera

This app offers professional-grade photography tools by bypassing standard phone processing. It emulates various cinema cameras and color science, providing advanced exposure controls and film emulation for creative professionals.

Highlights
  • Cinema camera emulation
  • Advanced exposure tools
  • Director's viewfinder
  • Sun position visualization
  • Film emulation effects
  • RAW capture support
Features
Read full description

Tech Scout bypasses iOS’s computational photography pipeline by leveraging film industry post production color workflows and advanced film emulation tools, bringing an entirely new type of photography to your iPhone. A still camera with a motion picture camera under the hood. Accurately emulate all major motion picture cameras. Any look, any camera, right in your pocket. At Tech Scout’s core is its camera system. Motion picture image science and film emulation tools have been fully ported to run locally on device, without cloud compute or AI-assisted image processing. Apple's computational photography image pipeline is replaced by wide color gamut, ACES-derived log workflows, standardizing to the same image pipeline film industry professionals work with every day. Tech Scout has fully native image science support for the Arri Alexa and Alexa 35, the Sony Venice family of cameras, all modern RED Digital Cinema cameras, Fujifilm Eterna, DJI, Canon Log 3, and BlackMagic version 5 color science, as well as both Apple Log and Apple Log 2. All of these gammas/color spaces are available on all supported iPhone models, and can be accurately previewed live with the LUT of your choice using our unique Scout Viewfinder. Also included are Scout custom looks, pulled from Brook Willard's personal LUT library and tuned to the capabilities of the iPhone camera system. Scout's Film Emulation engine is Brook's own design; Tech Scout is the first public release of a previously internal tool developed for use on some of the largest motion pictures in history. Director’s Viewfinder: Load your show LUT and scout like you shoot. With a library of dozens of cameras, hundreds of record modes, thousands of lenses, and cinema camera image science, Tech Scout is a major step forward for phone-based directors viewfinders. And sharing projects is easier than ever. You can AirDrop, iMessage, or email your Tech Scout projects instantly, including not only your project settings but your custom show LUT as well. Sun Position: Every director’s viewfinder capture features a sun position visualizer, showing relative sun position, sunrise, sunset, and other critical metadata. Whether you’re a cinematographer, director, or locations, your viewfinder captures will carry enormously valuable information for your crew. Exposure Mode: Tech Scout’s exposure mode allows you to accurately measure scene exposure on your chosen camera system. With waveform monitors, false color, EL Zone, and both LUT and log preview of your project’s look, exposure mode is a quick and accurate way to judge scene dynamic range and light levels. Film Emulation Scout’s Film Emulation engine features motion picture quality film grain, halation, edge softening, glow, and dye layer light scattering. Camera Mode Tech Scout includes a fully-featured camera mode, with support for Bayer RAW capture, Apple ProRAW Capture, and Scout Pro mode on supported phones. Fully manual controls, LUT and film emulation support, burst mode, flash support, and every other feature that you would anticipate in a dedicated professional camera app. Love your favorite cinema camera’s look? Have a preferred LUT? Wish you had a film camera in your pocket? Tired of AI-assisted photography? Tech Scout’s camera mode is the tool you’ve been waiting for. Scout Viewfinder In order to accurately display Scout’s image science live onscreen, the Scout Viewfinder bypasses iOS’s camera preview altogether. Instead, Tech Scout captures and processes full-resolution RAW images in realtime and displays them live. This novel approach brings accurate look preview to the full range of supported iPhone models. Tech Scout is designed and engineered by cinematographer and former digital imaging technician Brook Willard. Tech Scout is a $19.99/year auto‑renewing subscription with a 7‑day free trial.

Screenshots

PQ Calc2 screens
Tech Scout Camera4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Tech Scout Camera at Free against PQ Calc's $4.99. Tech Scout Camera also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 22 months) and ratings volume (10 vs 1). PQ Calc's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (14.2 vs 17.2). On rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Tech Scout Camera is free to download; PQ Calc costs $4.99 up front. Tech Scout Camera sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $19.99 per year. PQ Calc asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for PQ Calc against 5.0 for Tech Scout Camera. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tech Scout Camera has 10 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PQ Calc ships an update every 22 months, Tech Scout Camera fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
PQ Calc versus Tech Scout Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPQ CalcTech Scout Camera
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings110 — better
Update frequencyEvery 22 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS14.2 — better17.2
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB315 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAvicalBrook Willard

Customer experience

PQ Calc

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Tech Scout Camera

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

PQ Calc

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Tech Scout Camera

Subscriptions1
  • Tech Scout7 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is PQ Calc free?
PQ Calc costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Tech Scout Camera free?
Tech Scout Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PQ Calc or Tech Scout Camera?
PQ Calc and Tech Scout Camera are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 10 ratings respectively.
Do PQ Calc or Tech Scout Camera have ads?
Neither PQ Calc nor Tech Scout Camera shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PQ Calc or Tech Scout Camera?
PQ Calc ships an update every 22 months, and Tech Scout Camera fortnightly. Most recently, PQ Calc was updated on October 9, 2026 and Tech Scout Camera on October 11, 2026.

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