HDRI Prep vs Splatcatcher
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HDRI Prep
This utility helps visual effects professionals create HDRI bracketing sets for RICOH THETA 360 cameras. It allows for quick definition, organization, and reuse of bracket settings, streamlining on-set workflows for HDR photography.
- Define custom bracket sets (3-19 photos, 1-3 stops apart)
- Set Aperture, ISO, and Color Temperature for all photos at once
- Define Center Shutter Speed to extend exposures
- Name, organize, and reorder brackets by show
- Duplicate and move bracket sets between shows
- View photos read directly from the camera
- Quickly adjust camera speaker volume and auto-sleep time
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Build a library of HDRI exposure brackets for your RICOH THETA V, Z1 or X, and fire them off on set in seconds. The THETA can shoot multi-exposure brackets, but setting them up in the official app is slow, and you can't save them to reuse later. HDRI Prep fixes that. Set up a bracket once, name it, file it under your show, and call it up whenever the lighting calls for it. BUILD BRACKETS THE WAY YOU THINK • Choose 3 to 19 photos, 1 to 3 stops apart. No need to set each exposure by hand. • Pick a center shutter speed, and the bracket spreads evenly above and below it. • Set aperture, ISO and color temperature for the whole bracket at once. Choices are limited to what your camera can actually do. ORGANIZED FOR PRODUCTION • Name brackets, group them by show, drag to reorder, and copy or move them between shows. • Each bracket is tinted by its color temperature, so tungsten and daylight setups stand out at a glance. ON SET • Live View, flat or as a 360° view you can drag around, to check the frame before you shoot. • A shot counter and timer while the bracket runs, and Cancel if you need to stop. • View the photos from that bracket the moment it finishes. • Browse the camera's photos, inspect them full screen or in 360°, share them to Photos, Files or AirDrop, or delete them from the camera. • Find nearby THETAs and join their Wi-Fi from the app. Cameras you've used are remembered. • Adjust the camera's shutter volume and sleep delay. TRY IT WITHOUT A CAMERA Demo Mode loads sample 360° brackets so you can explore every feature before you plug in a THETA. Works on iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo, and includes a built-in Manual. GOOD TO KNOW • HDRI Prep connects over the camera's own Wi-Fi (the camera's access-point mode). • Shutter volume and sleep delay are saved to the camera itself, so they stay set even when HDRI Prep isn't running. • HDRI Prep focuses on bracketing. It isn't a replacement for the official THETA app, which works well alongside it. Built by a VFX artist for VFX artists. If "HDRI" and "THETA" mean something to you, this was made for you. HDRI Prep is not affiliated with or endorsed by RICOH. RICOH THETA is a trademark of Ricoh Company, Ltd. Site and Privacy Policy: https://squirrelfx.llc/hdri-prep.html
Splatcatcher
Capture 3D Gaussian Splatting training data including images, camera poses, and a point cloud using your iPhone's LiDAR. Export a ready-to-train .zip file for processing on a PC with compatible software.
- Real-time point cloud accumulation
- Manual and auto-capture modes
- Live camera and point cloud preview
- Tracking quality indicator
- Loop closure guidance
- Export transforms.json and PLY point cloud
- One-tap .zip export
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Splatcatcher captures everything you need for 3D Gaussian Splatting training in a single session — images, camera poses, and a dense colored point cloud — using your iPhone's LiDAR sensor. IMPORTANT: Capturing requires the LiDAR scanner, which is only available on iPhone Pro models (iPhone 12 Pro and later Pro / Pro Max). Non-Pro iPhones do not have LiDAR and cannot capture. Walk around any object or scene and Splatcatcher handles the rest. Each capture records the camera frame, full intrinsic and extrinsic parameters, and accumulates a spatially-deduplicated point cloud from the LiDAR depth buffer in real time. When you're done, export a ready-to-train COLMAP dataset — cameras.bin, images.bin, a colored points3D.bin, and your images — without ever running COLMAP or any other SfM pipeline on a desktop. Just load the folder into LichtFeld Studio (free), Postshot (paid), or any other COLMAP-based trainer and you're good to go. Or skip the copying altogether: pair Splatcatcher with Forge, our free companion app for Mac and Windows, and tap Send to PC. Your capture goes straight to your own computer over your network — never through our servers — Forge trains the splat with Spirula Studio or LichtFeld Studio, and the finished splat comes back to your iPhone to view. Get Forge at splatcatcher.warp-gate.com/forge. Features: - Real-time dense point cloud accumulation from LiDAR depth with spatial deduplication - Manual shutter mode with volume button trigger - Continuous auto-capture mode with distance/angle thresholds and blur rejection - Live camera-perspective and overhead point cloud preview during capture - Tracking quality indicator with motion and feature warnings - Loop closure guidance to improve reconstruction accuracy - On-device pose refinement — an optional one-tap optimization pass tightens camera poses and re-aligns the point cloud for sharper training results, no desktop SfM needed - Exports a standard COLMAP dataset with per-frame camera intrinsics and extrinsics, so autofocus shifts are carried through to training instead of averaged away - Colored COLMAP point cloud (points3D.bin), written in the same world frame as the cameras for splat initialization - One-tap export to Dropbox, AirDrop, Files, etc for transport to PC for processing - Train on your own Mac or PC: pair with the free Forge app by scanning a QR code, send a capture, and follow training from your phone. Close the app once the upload finishes; training carries on - Built-in splat viewer: orbit, pan and zoom around your trained splats on iPhone (iOS 27 or later; earlier versions show a preview image) Output is directly compatible with LichtFeld Studio, Postshot, and other trainers that read the standard COLMAP images + sparse/0 format. Requires an iPhone Pro model with the LiDAR scanner (iPhone 12 Pro or later Pro / Pro Max). Non-Pro iPhones are not supported for capture.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: HDRI Prep at 100% against Splatcatcher's 50%. HDRI Prep also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Splatcatcher's advantage is price (Free vs $9.99) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 9 months). 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
Splatcatcher is free to download; HDRI Prep costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
HDRI Prep ships an update every 9 months, Splatcatcher every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HDRI Prep | Splatcatcher |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | — | 3.8 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Squirrel FX LLC | Warpgate LLC |
Customer experience
HDRI Prep
Splatcatcher
In-app purchases
HDRI Prep
No in-app purchases
Splatcatcher
No in-app purchases









