light & deep vs back
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
light & deep
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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.
back
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From script to finished blocking. back-to-one is the blocking tool for directors and cinematographers. Import your screenplay as FDX and the app builds the project for you: every scene with its slugline, and every character. Instead of starting from scratch, you start where the work begins. SCRIPT IMPORT - Import FDX, TXT or PDF - FDX creates the project, scenes and characters automatically - Pick scenes individually, OMITTED scenes are excluded - Each scene's text laid out in proper screenplay format CANVAS AND STAGING - Top-down canvas, smooth on iPhone, iPad and Mac - Place characters, cameras, lights, walls and props - or drag them straight from the menu onto the stage - Room scan: on LiDAR devices the app captures walls, doors and windows and turns them into a usable floor plan - Import a floor plan as a background image - Scene templates, and save your own - 146 props at true size - furniture, tableware and decor, animals, vehicles, film gear - each drawn in its own material, and the material switches off for plain outlines - Import your own PNG props - Background actor groups as a single object - Copy the walls and openings of one scene into another CAMERAS - Auto-aim: the camera turns with the character it is linked to - Field of view from focal length and sensor format (S35, FF, S16, MFT, ARRI LF, anamorphic) - Six rig types: tripod, Steadicam, handheld, drone, action cam, crane - Camera icon size adjustable, setup number large on the label or in the body - Multi-cam setups, grouped by color - 180-degree line with a crossing-the-line warning - Viewfinder: live image in the project's aspect ratio, focal-length wheel, shutter - the frame lands on the shot of the camera you picked SHOT LIST - Every camera creates a shot, linked both ways with the canvas - Shot numbers by setup (1A/1B) - A storyboard image per shot - drop it on the plan too, tied to its camera - Coverage status: open, shot, cut - also visible on the plan, as a tick or cross on camera and storyboard - Estimated shooting time per shot, with totals - Shoot day per scene, and a shoot-day filter ANIMATION - Timeline with keyframes, play, loop, speed - Characters walk to waypoints, facing direction per keyframe - Camera moves and orbits on smooth curves, dolly track drawn on the plan - Follow: the camera tracks a character LIGHT AND EXTERIORS - Key, fill, back, practical, HMI, Kino, reflector - Watts, dimmer, gel, diffusion, height, color temperature - Real sun position by location, date and time, with golden hour detection SET DOCUMENTS, READY TO HAND OUT - Scene PDF with plan and shot table - also as a compact one-pager per scene - Lighting plot with numbered fixtures and a legend - Project overview as a PDF - Shot list as Excel and CSV - Canvas as an image ON SET - Full-screen presentation mode - Dim, night and red-light modes for a dark set - Works offline: open, edit and save in airplane mode, iCloud catches up when you are back online PROJECTS AND COLLABORATION - iCloud sync between iPhone, iPad and Mac - Share projects through iCloud sharing - Scene-level merge, auto-save, backups, duplicate whole projects - Colour labels per scene, with a filter - shared along with the project YOUR DATA No server of our own, no tracking, no ads. Your content stays on your device and in your iCloud. Available in English and German. For iPhone, iPad and Mac. SUBSCRIPTION Pro is available as an auto-renewing subscription (monthly or yearly, with a 7-day free trial) or as a one-time Lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation. A subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel subscriptions in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://back-to-one.de/datenschutz.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: back at every 3 days against light & deep's every 2 weeks. back also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. light & deep sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and back sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
light & deep ships an update every 2 weeks, back every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | light & deep | back |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mikhail Rybakov | ERIK HAFFNER |
In-app purchases
light & deep
- Light & Deep Pro$11.99
back
- Back-to-One Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$7.991 Month
- Back-to-One Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$79.991 Year
- Back-to-One Pro (Lifetime)$179.99









