Comparison

GrayZone 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

GrayZone

This app provides precise light metering for photographers, allowing for accurate exposure control in complex lighting situations. It offers zone system and spot metering modes, ideal for both film and digital manual shooters.

Highlights
  • Zone System Mode
  • Real SPOT Metering
  • Direct Exposure Control
  • ISO setting
  • Half-stop support
  • Manual mode with over/underexposure scale
  • Live preview
Read full description

GrayZone reads light where you decide — not where your camera guesses. Built by Max of max&douglas — professional photographer with 25 years in editorial and advertising photography. Zone System Mode Measure a reference area first (Zone V), then check where the other tones will fall and their relative EV difference, for precise and consistent exposure. Real SPOT Metering Reads light exclusively in the area you select. Ideal for portraits, complex lighting and critical situations. Calibrated to render the selected area as neutral gray. Direct Exposure Control Set ISO before metering, like a dedicated light meter. Instant precise combinations of shutter speed and aperture. Exposure lock with AE LOCK. Half-stop support for finer control. MANUAL mode with over/underexposure scale. Essential Interface Live preview in your sensor's native ratio. NEW UI color inversion Shows only what you need. Nothing else. Complete Privacy No ads. No photos saved. No data collected or transmitted. For manual shooters — on film or digital. It does not replace your camera. It works alongside it.

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

GrayZone4 screens
Second View4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Second View at Free against GrayZone's $2.99. Second View also leads on rating (4.0 vs 2.8) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). GrayZone's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment, ratings volume, 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; GrayZone costs $2.99 up front. Second View sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per year. GrayZone asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Second View holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 5 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of GrayZone's written reviews are positive against 56% of Second View's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
GrayZone versus Second View: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrayZoneSecond View
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating2.8 (5 ratings)4.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews — better55.6% of reviews
Number of ratings55
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMassimiliano SchenettiBenoit Linard

Customer experience

GrayZone

All ratings5 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative37.5%

Second View

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

In-app purchases

None

GrayZone

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 GrayZone free?
GrayZone costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Second View free?
Second View is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, GrayZone or Second View?
Second View is rated higher. GrayZone averages 2.8 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Second View averages 4.0 from 5 ratings.
Do GrayZone or Second View have ads?
Second View shows ads; GrayZone does not.
Which is updated more often, GrayZone or Second View?
GrayZone ships an update weekly, and Second View weekly. Most recently, GrayZone was updated on October 31, 2026 and Second View on October 31, 2026.

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