Comparison

Photography Tools vs DeepFrame

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

Head to head
About

Photography Tools

Features
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Aperture is the precision photography toolkit designed for serious photographers who want accurate calculations in the field. Whether you're shooting long exposures at dusk, planning a milky way session, asking an AI photography question, or calculating the perfect depth of field for a portrait - Aperture has every tool you need in one place. CALCULATORS ND Filter Calculator Calculate the correct shutter speed when adding ND filters. Enter your base exposure and filter strength, get the perfect long exposure shutter speed instantly. Depth of Field (DOF) Calculator Find your exact near and far focus limits. Enter aperture, focal length, and subject distance to see your full depth of field in metric or imperial units. Hyperfocal Distance Maximize sharpness across the entire frame. Calculate the hyperfocal distance for any lens and aperture combination to get everything in focus from foreground to infinity. Equivalent Exposure Match exposure across different settings. Change ISO, aperture, or shutter speed while keeping the same exposure - perfect for bracketing or switching from tripod to handheld. Sunny 16 Rule A quick reference guide for outdoor exposure without a meter. Organized by light condition from full sun to deep shade. PLANNING Sun and Moon Data See precise golden hour, blue hour, nautical dawn, astronomical dawn, sunrise, and sunset times for any date and location. Moon phase, illumination, moonrise, and moonset included. Golden Hour Countdown Live countdown to the next golden hour or blue hour from your current location. Never miss the light again. Milky Way Planner Find the best night window and direction to photograph the galactic core. See moon illumination, peak altitude, azimuth bearing, and the three best months of the year for your location. REFERENCE Scene Settings Guide Starting camera settings for 15+ scenes including landscapes, portraits, night, waterfalls, street, macro, and more. A quick-start reference for any shooting situation. PRO FEATURES AI Assistant Ask any photography question and get instant, personalized advice. Scene analysis, gear recommendations, technique tips - powered by AI and tailored to your current setup. Star Trail / NPF Rule Calculate the maximum shutter speed to avoid star trailing. Uses the NPF rule for pin-sharp stars based on your camera sensor, focal length, and aperture. Reciprocity Failure Essential for film photographers. Calculate the corrected exposure time for long exposures on film, accounting for reciprocity failure for major film stocks. Crop Factor Calculate the full-frame equivalent focal length and aperture for any crop sensor camera. Understand your actual field of view and depth of field on any sensor size. Shoot Planner Plan your next shoot in advance. Set date, location, notes, and checklist. Organize upcoming shoots and never forget your gear list. Scout Locations Save location scouting notes with map pins and photos. Build your personal library of promising spots. Shoot Log Document completed shoots with gear, conditions, settings, and notes. Build a photographic record of your work over time. Year Card Generate a shareable summary of your year in photography - total sessions, unique locations, best session, and most-used gear - all in a beautiful exportable card. Designed for photographers by photographers. Dark, instrument-style interface with golden accents. SF Mono for all technical values. Clean, focused, and distraction-free. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

DeepFrame

Features
Read full description

eepFrame is a deep-sky imaging planner for astrophotographers. Point it at your location and any night — tonight or a simulated one — and it shows exactly what's worth shooting and when. WHAT IT DOES • Plots every catalogue object's path across your sky from dusk to dawn, with a midnight marker. • Picks out the imageable window — where each object is high enough (alt ≄ 25°) and culminating near midnight — so you know the best hours to capture it. • Draws your rig's true field of view around any object, so you can judge framing before you set up. • Overlays a real all-sky survey photo, the Milky Way, constellations, named stars, the ecliptic, planets and the Moon — toggle each layer to taste. • Masks YOUR local horizon: capture a 360° skyline with the camera (a guided sweep, or import a panorama), edit the sky away, and objects that never clear your trees and buildings are flagged as blocked. • Keeps your imaging log: per-object sessions with date, scope, camera, filters and exposure, your own processed thumbnails, and how far each got — finished, captured-but-unprocessed, or stacked-with-no-result-yet. • Lays your own processed shots on the chart, on their own icon, at the exact field of view they were taken at — so you can see what you've already covered. • Browse your whole imaging database: a searchable, sortable, groupable list of every object with each night underneath. Tap a picture for the full frame; tap a name to jump to it on the sky. BUILT FOR THE FIELD • Works fully offline — the ~5200-object catalogue, all maths and your data live on device. • Fast, gesture-driven all-sky chart: pan, pinch to zoom, tap any object for its card, tracks and imaging log. • A time capsule to preview any past or future night. EVERYTHING IS FREE The full catalogue, every object type, magnitude and size, unlimited rigs, locations and your own shots — all free. No account, no ads, no tracking. Built with open astronomy data (OpenNGC, VizieR/CDS) and public survey imagery (Pan-STARRS via CDS; NOIRLab all-sky photo). Full credits in the About screen.

Screenshots

Photography Tools4 screens
DeepFrame4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: DeepFrame at none against Photography Tools's 3. DeepFrame also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Photography Tools sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. DeepFrame asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Photography Tools ships an update every 2 months, DeepFrame monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
Photography Tools versus DeepFrame: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhotography ToolsDeepFrame
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS1817.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB80 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKarol JaworskiArnulf Friedemann Jurgen Keese

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Photography Tools

Subscriptions3
  • Aperture Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Aperture Pro Yearly1 Year trial$39.991 Year
  • Aperture Pro Yearly$39.991 Year
None

DeepFrame

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Photography Tools free?
Photography Tools is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DeepFrame free?
DeepFrame is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Photography Tools or DeepFrame have ads?
Neither Photography Tools nor DeepFrame shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Photography Tools or DeepFrame?
Photography Tools ships an update every 2 months, and DeepFrame monthly. Most recently, Photography Tools was updated on October 17, 2026 and DeepFrame on October 12, 2026.

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