Comparison

light & deep 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

light & deep

Features
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Light & Deep is a viewfinder, light meter and LiDAR rangefinder for film, cinema and custom made cameras. Choose your format and focal length, meter the light and measure your subject distance. With Pro (one purchase, no subscription), see the estimated depth of field as zebra stripes over the live scene, and watch it change as you adjust the aperture. Originally built for a handmade camera without a finder or meter, it brings the same practical tools to medium-format, large-format and panoramic photography. SEE DEPTH OF FIELD — PRO Explore which nearby parts of your scene would be sharp for your format, focal length, aperture and focus distance. Open the aperture and the highlighted zone narrows. Stop down and it grows. METER THE LIGHT Set your film ISO, choose aperture or shutter priority, and read the corresponding exposure setting. Pro adds spot metering and calibration for each iPhone lens. FRAME YOUR SHOT Set your format and focal length to preview composition. Free offers 35mm full frame and 6x6 medium format. Pro offers 53 film, digital and cinema formats, including large format, XPan, Instax, Polaroid, Super 8, and IMAX. MEASURE THE DISTANCE On a LiDAR-equipped iPhone, tap a point to measure its distance. The free distance zebra highlights surfaces near the selected distance. Pro adds depth-of-field visualization and can keep measuring a fixed point in the scene even as you move the phone. SAVE A REFERENCE — PRO Keep a reference photo with a settings strip and image metadata. Record aperture, shutter speed, ISO, format, focal length, distance, a film note and optional location, so you can refer back to your setup later. FREE, WITH NO TIME LIMIT • Reflective light meter with aperture and shutter priority • 35mm full-frame and 6×6 frame overlays • Focal-length control • LiDAR distance measurement, tap-to-measure and target-distance zebras on supported hardware PRO - ONE PURCHASE, NO SUBSCRIPTION • Depth-of-field visualization on supported hardware • All 53 formats • Spot metering and light-meter calibration • Reference photos with settings and metadata • Fixed-point distance tracking • Ultrawide camera support on compatible devices • Black-and-white view and virtual horizon • Frame, zebra and crosshair customization • Parallax correction for a phone mounted on a camera • Cinema tools: shutter angle, project frame rate and anamorphic squeeze Pro is an optional one-time in-app purchase. The free features remain available without upgrading. REQUIREMENTS iPhone with iOS 17.6 or later. Distance measurement, distance zebras and depth-of-field visualization require a LiDAR-equipped iPhone: iPhone 12 Pro or 12 Pro Max, or a later model with LiDAR. Metering and framing work without LiDAR. LiDAR is intended for nearby subjects, with a useful range of about five metres depending on conditions. Depth coverage is limited to the central area in ultrawide view. The depth-of-field overlay estimates acceptable sharpness; it does not simulate lens bokeh or guarantee the final photograph's sharpness. PRIVACY No account, ads or analytics. Camera, depth and exposure processing happens on your device. Optional location data is used when you choose to include it in a reference photo.

About

Second View

This app acts as a digital viewfinder and light meter for analog photographers. It helps you precisely frame shots, calculate exposure settings, and plan complex scenes before using your physical camera. It supports a wide range of film formats and offers advanced tools for metering and composition.

Highlights
  • Precise field-of-view matching
  • Automatic lens selection
  • Rangefinder-style bright lines
  • Integrated light meter
  • Zone System planning
  • Reciprocity correction for film stocks
  • Sun and moon planner
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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. ZONE SYSTEM Log spot readings on a zone scale from 0 to X and slide it to place shadows and highlights. Zone V sets the exposure, with contrast range, an N+/N- hint and film latitude. 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. SUN AND MOON PLANNER The day's sun path, golden and blue hour and the moon drawn over your frame. Plan any date and place on a map with sunrise, sunset and moon directions. 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, time, and sun and moon position. 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

light & deep4 screens
Second View4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: light & deep at 5.0 against Second View's 4.0. light & deep also leads on ads (none vs shown). Second View's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Both are free to download. light & deep sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Second View sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

light & deep holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Second View has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

light & deep ships an update every 2 weeks, Second View weekly. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
light & deep versus Second View: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterlight & deepSecond View
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews—55.6% of reviews
Number of ratings15 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMikhail RybakovBenoit Linard

In-app purchases

1 purchases

light & deep

One-time1
  • Light & Deep Pro$11.99
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 light & deep free?
light & deep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Second View free?
Second View is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, light & deep or Second View?
light & deep is rated higher. light & deep averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Second View averages 4.0 from 5 ratings.
Do light & deep or Second View have ads?
Second View shows ads; light & deep does not.
Which is updated more often, light & deep or Second View?
light & deep ships an update every 2 weeks, and Second View weekly. Most recently, light & deep was updated on November 5, 2026 and Second View on November 5, 2026.

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