Comparison

Manual Flash Calculator vs Second View

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

Head to head
About

Manual Flash Calculator

This app assists photographers by calculating camera and flash settings for manual flash photography. It allows users to create gear lists and kits, and then use this information to determine the fourth parameter (like flash power) when any three of the four relevant settings are known.

Highlights
  • Manual flash photography calculator
  • Configure camera and flash settings
  • Calculate missing parameter from three inputs
  • Create and manage gear lists
  • Organize gear into custom kits
  • Persistent local data storage
Features
Read full description

Get the Manual Flash Calculator to help configure your camera and flash setting when doing manual flash photography. Based on the flash and camera you use, setting any 3 of the 4 relevant parameters the fourth can be calculated. E.g. calculate the required flash power based on your ISO, F-Stop, subject distance and used flash specifications. The app support creating a list of the gear you use and combine them in a kit. You can add as much gear as you like and create as many kits to your use cases. Further to that you can add a flash calculator to a kit. And you can add as many calculators as you want. All data is saved persistently and remains available between sessions. What is included: * Gear List. Make an inventory of your gear. This gear list will provide you with a structured overview of the equipment you have in use. * Kit List. A kit can be seen as a collection of gear you target to use in specific cases. I.e. like for a kit dedicated to street photography, a kit dedicated to nature photography etc. Just create what suits you and add the relevant gear. * Flash Calculator. Based from your kit a calculator can be added that will use the gear part of the equipment to feed the relevant parameters input to the flash calculator. * Data is maintained in local database and will persist over several sessions. Add data once and just use it as you see fit. * Can be used on iPhone, iPad and Mac. It optimizes the use of the available canvas for each * A detailed release note, with what is new, changed, updated etc., is included in the app

About

Second View

This tool assists photographers in planning shots by simulating their actual camera's field of view and aspect ratio. It includes a light meter, filter logging, and reciprocity correction for film stocks. Features like LiDAR distance measurement and composition guides help refine framing and exposure before taking the shot.

Highlights
  • Precise field-of-view matching
  • Real-time light meter with spot metering
  • ND, polarizer, and color filter logging
  • Reciprocity failure correction for 60 film stocks
  • LiDAR distance measurement
  • Composition and grid tools
  • Panorama simulation
Read full description

PLEASE READ FIRST Second View is not a camera app and does not take photos for you. It helps you frame, meter, and plan shots before you press the shutter on your own camera. The photos it saves are framing aids, not final images. --- Second View turns your iPhone into a precision field toolkit for analog photographers. Set your lens and format, and it crops the iPhone camera to match what your film camera will capture: same field of view, aspect ratio, and framing. Supports 35mm, medium format (6x4.5 through 6x17), large format (4x5, 5x7, 8x10), digital sensors, and custom sizes. VIEWFINDER Precise field-of-view matching for any focal length and format. Portrait or landscape, control side of your choice, preview rotation per kit. AUTOMATIC LENS SELECTION Frames through the sharpest back camera that holds your crop (ultra-wide, wide or tele), so long lenses look crisp. Calibrate each lens with a sheet of paper. FRAMES MODE Rangefinder-style bright lines for every lens in your kit at once. WORKSPACES Design your own control panel and switch layouts with a swipe. FREEZE MODE Hold a full-resolution still to compose rise and shift, spot-meter, and measure distance without the scene moving. LIGHT METER Pick your aperture and get the shutter speed. EV compensation, hyperfocal distance, auto/manual modes, and whole/half/third stops. SPOT METERING Meter the whole frame or a spot down to 1° through the telephoto. METER CALIBRATION Calibrate against your reference meter at several light levels, per lens. BELLOWS COMPENSATION Folds close-focus light loss into the reading, set manually or by LiDAR. LENS FILTERS Log ND, polarizer, and color filters. The meter compensates and every capture records them. RECIPROCITY CORRECTION 60 film stocks with accurate reciprocity curves, plus your own: Portra, CineStill, Tri-X, Velvia, ECN-2 and more. Exposures over one second are corrected automatically. FILM PREVIEW Simulate B&W film with color filters, and preview color-film white balance from the loaded stock. LONG EXPOSURE TIMER Countdown with a full-screen progress ring, on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, with an optional end alert. HARDWARE BUTTONS Map the volume buttons, Camera Control, the Action button or a Bluetooth remote to shutter, timer, freeze, lens steps and more. LIDAR DISTANCE AND PARALLAX Measure subject distance with LiDAR (iPhone 12 Pro and later) or enter it manually. Parallax between the iPhone and your lens is corrected automatically. RISE, FALL AND SHIFT Simulate view camera movements in 1mm steps, up to your kit's maximum travel. COMPOSITION TOOLS Rule of thirds, phi grid, golden triangle, square, and custom grids up to 12x12. Bubble level with roll and pitch. PANORAMA SIMULATION Preview a stitched multi-frame panorama and save it as a plan. SHOT CHECKLIST Run a per-kit checklist in the viewfinder. One step can fire the shutter automatically. CAMERA KITS Save complete setups and switch instantly: lenses, format, stocks, workspace, parallax, and checklist. Pick a body and the format picker shows only the masks it can shoot. FILM ROLL TRACKING Know which roll is loaded and when every frame was exposed. CAPTURE AND GALLERY Save a reference photo with the exact framing and full metadata: lens, format, stock, filters, exposure, rise/shift, GPS, and time. Export with a data overlay, add notes, group into rolls, and export a CSV log. --- Terms of Use : https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy : https://secondview.app/privacy

Screenshots

Manual Flash Calculator4 screens
Second View4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Second View at 56% against Manual Flash Calculator's 0%. Second View also leads on price (Free vs $2.99) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.1). Manual Flash Calculator's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On update cadence 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

Second View is free to download; Manual Flash Calculator costs $2.99 up front. Second View sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per year. Manual Flash Calculator asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Manual Flash Calculator ships an update every 11 days, Second View weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Manual Flash Calculator versus Second View: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterManual Flash CalculatorSecond View
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating—4.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews55.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.116.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWinterinkBenoit Linard

Customer experience

Manual Flash Calculator

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Second View

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral11.1%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

Manual Flash Calculator

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Second View

Subscriptions2
  • Second View Basic Yearly7 Days trial$7.991 Year
  • Second View Pro Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Manual Flash Calculator free?
Manual Flash Calculator costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Second View free?
Second View is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Manual Flash Calculator or Second View have ads?
Second View shows ads; Manual Flash Calculator does not.
Which is updated more often, Manual Flash Calculator or Second View?
Manual Flash Calculator ships an update every 11 days, and Second View weekly. Most recently, Manual Flash Calculator was updated on October 25, 2026 and Second View on October 24, 2026.

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