Lightframer Pro vs RecceBoard
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lightframer Pro
This app transforms your iPhone into a professional cinema viewfinder, allowing you to preview shots with specific camera and lens combinations. It also features real-time sun tracking to help plan shoots around natural light conditions and exports scout photos with detailed metadata.
- Real-time AR viewfinder
- Camera and lens simulation
- Sun path tracking
- Customizable frame lines
- Metadata export
- Golden hour and blue hour prediction
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Lightframer Pro turns your iPhone into a professional cinema viewfinder with real-time sun tracking. PREVIEW YOUR FRAME Select from a library of cinema cameras and lenses — ARRI, RED, Sony, Canon, Blackmagic, and more. See exactly how your chosen setup frames the shot, right on location. No guesswork. No rental truck needed. TRACK THE SUN Plan your shoot around the light. Lightframer Pro shows the sun's path across the sky in real time — golden hour, blue hour, sunrise, and sunset — overlaid directly on your viewfinder. Know your light before you call "action." FRAME LINES FOR EVERY RATIO Overlay frame lines for any aspect ratio: 2.39:1 anamorphic, 1.85:1 theatrical, 17:9 DCI, 16:9 HD, 4:3 open gate, or set your own custom ratio. See your final deliverable frame while you scout. EXPORT WITH FULL CINEMA DATA Every capture includes a metadata strip with camera, lens, focal length, aspect ratio, sun position, compass heading, and white balance. Share scout photos your entire crew can reference. BUILT FOR CINEMATOGRAPHERS - Real-time AR viewfinder matched to your camera and lens - Sun path with golden hour, blue hour, sunrise, and sunset times - Compass heading overlay - Portrait and landscape modes - Frame line shading and color controls - Photo export with cinema metadata Whether you're a DP scouting a commercial, an indie filmmaker planning your next short, or a director blocking scenes on location — Lightframer Pro gives you the tools to plan every shot with precision.
RecceBoard
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A recce board for directors, cinematographers. Previz made simple. Walk a location, film the shots you're thinking of, and push them around until the order feels right. Then press play and watch the whole thing as a film. The camera opens already framed to the board's format, and the lens buttons are labelled in millimetres — the real focal length, so it means the same on any iPhone. Stop recording and you're in the trim. Next takes you back to the camera for the following shot. Shots sit where you put them, and the order of the film is the arrangement: left to right, top to bottom, the way a page reads. Move a shot and you've changed the cut. Record a voice-over over the whole thing or over a single shot, and lay music underneath. Export the film as a video or the board as a contact-sheet PDF, with your frame lines burned in. Boards sync through your own iCloud account, so you can start on the phone at the location and finish on the Mac. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. Share a board with a six-character code. Nothing is collected — no analytics, no tracking, no third-party SDKs. One purchase, no subscription. Want it to do something it doesn't yet? mail@carlooppermann.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: RecceBoard at Free against Lightframer Pro's $19.99. RecceBoard also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). Lightframer Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On 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
RecceBoard is free to download; Lightframer Pro costs $19.99 up front. RecceBoard sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Lightframer Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.
Lightframer Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, RecceBoard every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Lightframer Pro | RecceBoard |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | eric Hernandez | Carlo Oppermann |
In-app purchases
Lightframer Pro
No in-app purchases
RecceBoard
- 7-Day TrialFree
- RecceBoard$8.99









