Comparison

Second View vs CDNC

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

Head to head
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 ultra-wide 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 panoramic), large format (4x5, 5x7, 8x10), digital sensor sizes, and custom sizes. VIEWFINDER Precise field-of-view matching for any focal length and format. Portrait or landscape, control side of your choice, even upside down. WORKSPACES Design your own bottom control panel. Arrange the controls you use, then switch layouts with an edge-swipe. Start from built-in layouts or build your own per kit. FREEZE MODE Pause the frame on a full-resolution still to compose rise and shift, spot-meter, and measure distance, all without the scene moving. LIGHT METER Select your aperture and the app calculates the shutter speed. EV compensation, hyperfocal distance, auto/manual modes, readout in shutter speed or EV, and whole/half/third-stop increments. BELLOWS COMPENSATION A meter cell folds close-focus light loss into your reading for macro and large-format work, set manually or by LiDAR. SPOT METERING Meter the whole frame, or switch to spot mode to read a small area with a reticle, calibrated against your reference meter. LENS FILTERS Log the ND, polarizer, and color filters on your lens. The meter compensates automatically, and every capture records them. RECIPROCITY CORRECTION 60 built-in film stocks with accurate reciprocity curves, plus your own. Exposures over one second are corrected automatically. Portra, CineStill, Tri-X, Velvia, and more, plus an ECN-2 category. Custom stocks support color or B&W, white balance, and a tunable curve. FILM AND FILTER PREVIEW Simulate B&W film with color filters in the preview and captures, and preview color-film white balance from the loaded stock. LONG EXPOSURE TIMER A countdown timer for long exposures, with a 3-second pre-countdown and a full-screen progress ring. LIDAR DISTANCE MEASUREMENT On iPhone 12 Pro and later, measure the distance to your subject with LiDAR by tapping the viewfinder. On other devices, enter it manually. PARALLAX CORRECTION Compensates for the physical offset between the iPhone and the taking lens, using LiDAR or a manual distance, applied automatically. RISE, FALL AND SHIFT Simulate the movements of a view or technical camera. Offset the crop up, down, left, or right in 1mm steps. COMPOSITION TOOLS Rule of thirds, phi grid, golden triangle, square 1:1, and a custom grid up to 12x12. Bubble level with roll and pitch readout. PANORAMA SIMULATION Preview a stitched multi-frame panorama before you shoot it, and save it as a plan. SHOT CHECKLIST Build a step-by-step checklist per kit and run through it in the viewfinder. One step can fire the shutter automatically when you reach it. CAMERA KITS Save complete configurations and switch instantly. Each kit stores its lenses, format, preferred stocks, workspace, parallax offsets, and checklist. Pick a body and the format picker narrows to the masks it can shoot, with a film-advance guide for multi-format cameras. FILM ROLL TRACKING Track your rolls from first frame to last, so you always know which is loaded and when it was exposed. CAPTURE AND GALLERY Save a reference photo cropped to the exact framing, with full metadata: focal length, format, stock, filters, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, rise/shift, GPS, and timestamp. Optionally export a frame with a data overlay. Edit data, 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

About

CDNC

This app offers professional video capture with manual controls and advanced color grading tools. It allows users to apply cinematic looks, refine footage with detailed color adjustments, and export in high-quality formats. Features include ProRes recording, shutter drag for motion blur, and stabilization.

Highlights
  • Manual capture controls (exposure, shutter, focus, white balance)
  • Built-in Film Looks with live preview
  • Advanced color grading tools (wheels, curves, HSL)
  • ProRes 422 HQ recording
  • Shutter drag for motion blur
  • CDNC Steady stabilization
  • Framing guides and histogram
Read full description

Professional capture. Cinematic color. CDNC is an iPhone video camera with manual capture controls, built-in Film Looks, and precise color grading tools. Set exposure, shutter, focus, and white balance before you roll, then shape the finished image in the same app. START WITH GOLD 200 Gold 200 is included free: monitor with it while filming, refine your clips, save finished edited versions, and export. Core recording, supported capture formats, manual controls, import, playback, basic editing, original-file export, framing guides, and the histogram are also included. CHOOSE A FILM LOOK Try other built-in Film Looks live in Camera or in the Editor before upgrading. Camera labels a Pro preview and asks you to unlock or switch to free Gold 200 before recording. CDNC Pro unlocks recording while monitoring these Looks, saving finished edited versions, and export, plus reusable creative presets and advanced monitoring tools. REFINE THE COLOR Shape your image with exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, temperature, tint, saturation, skin tone, primary color wheels, curves, and seven-band HSL controls. Make color adjustments before the Film Look, then refine texture with diffusion, grain, lens blur, and sharpening. Dedicated Frames, Resize, and Trim tools help finish the composition. Preview Effects while editing. CDNC Pro is required to save or export with active Effects. To finish for free, choose Gold 200 without Effects and keep your color and composition adjustments. RECORD IN PRORES 422 HQ Capture ProRes 422 HQ original recordings in supported Apple Log and Apple Log 2 modes on compatible iPhones. HQ preserves a 10-bit 4:2:2 original for further grading. It requires substantially more storage than HEVC. Finished graded video exports use HEVC. SHUTTER DRAG. MADE IN CAMERA. Create native 1/5-second motion blur on supported camera configurations. Record and play back normally, then refine your Film Look and color in the Editor. The exposure blur is part of the recording; your grade stays editable. STEADIER SHOTS. SIMPLER FINISHING. Use CDNC Steady (Beta) to analyze a clip, choose Smooth Motion or Fixed Tripod, and adjust the amount. An optional camera Level helps line up your shot. Select your whole Media library and copy or move originals with saved CDNC edits to a Files location or external drive. ONE PRO TIER. YOUR CHOICE. Choose a monthly subscription, annual subscription, or one-time lifetime unlock. Each provides the same Pro access. Lifetime includes future core app improvements and additions to the standard CDNC Film Look collection; separate future products, services, or licensed collaboration packs are outside that promise. Monthly and annual subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled. See the in-app purchase screen for current local prices and terms. Manage subscriptions through your Apple Account. A lifetime purchase does not automatically cancel an existing subscription. Capture formats and monitoring options depend on your iPhone and system support. CDNC focuses on capture and look/color refinement, not a multitrack editing timeline. Questions? hello@cdnc.app Privacy Policy: https://www.cdnc.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Second View4 screens
CDNC3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Second View at 4.0 against CDNC's 3.7. Second View also leads on update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). CDNC's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 56%). On price, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Second View sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per year and CDNC sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Second View holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 3 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 56% of Second View's written reviews are positive against 75% of CDNC's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Second View ships an update weekly, CDNC fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Second View versus CDNC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSecond ViewCDNC
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (5 ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews55.6% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better3
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB691 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBenoit LinardCDNC Studio LLC

Customer experience

Second View

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

CDNC

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

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
3 purchases

CDNC

Subscriptions2
  • CDNC Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • CDNC Pro Annual$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • CDNC Pro Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Second View free?
Second View is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CDNC free?
CDNC is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Second View or CDNC?
Second View is rated higher. Second View averages 4.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while CDNC averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Second View or CDNC have ads?
Both Second View and CDNC show ads.
Which is updated more often, Second View or CDNC?
Second View ships an update weekly, and CDNC fortnightly. Most recently, Second View was updated on October 2, 2026 and CDNC on October 10, 2026.

Other comparisons