Comparison

Zone Meter vs FaveFrame

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

Head to head
About

Zone Meter

Features
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Zone Meter is a professional light meter for photographers who shoot manual - on film, with legacy lenses, or in the studio. Point your iPhone at a scene and Zone Meter instantly reads the light from the camera sensor, calculating exposure values in real time. Scroll the drum wheels to set your aperture, shutter speed, or ISO, and Zone Meter works out the third value for you. LIGHT METER - Live EV reading from the iPhone camera sensor - Four metering modes: Aperture Priority (Av), Shutter Priority (Tv), ISO Priority, and Manual (M) - Classic drum-roller wheel pickers for aperture, shutter speed, and ISO - Tap anywhere on the live preview to spot-meter a specific area of the scene - Switch between lenses (0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x) to meter a distant subject with the telephoto - Live colour temperature reading with descriptive label (Tungsten, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade) - EV condition display from Very Dark to Very Bright HISTOGRAM - Live luminance histogram overlaid on the camera preview - tap the chart icon to show or hide - Shadows on the left, highlights on the right - just like every other histogram you know - Colour-coded bars: blue for shadows, white for midtones, amber for highlights - Clip indicators warn when shadows or highlights are being lost - In Manual mode, the histogram shifts left or right to predict how your chosen settings will affect the tonal distribution MANUAL MODE - Set aperture, shutter speed, and ISO independently - nothing is computed or locked - Exposure delta bar shows how far your settings deviate from the metered value - Bar shifts left for underexposure, right for overexposure - consistent with the histogram - Contextual label: Correct exposure, Overexposed by 1.3 stops, Underexposed by 2 stops - Use with the histogram to dial in exposure before you shoot ND FILTER CALCULATOR - Calculates long-exposure shutter speed for any ND filter - Presets for all standard filters: ND2 through ND32000, Little Stopper, Big Stopper, Super Stopper - Custom stop input - Uses the live meter reading or a manually chosen base shutter speed - Warns when exposure exceeds 30 seconds (Bulb mode required) DEPTH OF FIELD CALCULATOR - Hyperfocal distance calculator for any lens and sensor format - 8 sensor formats: Full Frame, APS-C (Canon and Nikon/Sony), Micro 4/3, 1-inch, Medium Format, 4x5, 8x10 - 18 focal length presets from 14mm to 600mm - Shows near focus limit, far focus limit, and total depth of field - Visual range bar showing subject position relative to hyperfocal distance - Contextual advice: tells you exactly how far to refocus to bring infinity sharp STROBE CALCULATOR - Guide number calculator for flash and studio strobes - Presets for speedlights and studio heads from 100Ws to 1200Ws - 8 power settings from Full to 1/128 - Solve for aperture (given distance) or distance (given aperture) - ISO-aware: guide numbers automatically adjust for any ISO - Fill light ratio calculator: instantly shows the aperture difference for 1:1 through 16:1 ratios READING HISTORY - Save and name any meter or strobe reading - Add notes to any saved reading - Share individual readings or export the full history - Organised by name, date, light condition, and exposure values DESIGNED FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS - Clean dark interface designed for use in any light - Metric or imperial measurements (set in Help) - Available in English, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Korean - Full help documentation built in: explains EV, hyperfocal distance, guide numbers, and more - No ads. No subscription. No account required. Zone Meter is the meter you always have with you.

About

FaveFrame

Features
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FaveFrame saves an exact frame from a video as a photo. Choose a video from Photos or Files. Use the timeline, slow playback, and frame controls to find the moment you want. Tap the capture button to save that frame directly to your Photos library. FaveFrame works well with concert clips, sports videos, family moments, travel footage, pet videos, and other recordings where timing matters. Key features • Move backward or forward one frame at a time • Skip by 5, 10, or 30 frames • Press and hold the frame buttons for continuous movement • Play video at 0.1Ɨ, 0.25Ɨ, 0.5Ɨ, or normal speed • Use the timeline to move quickly through longer videos • Pinch to zoom and pan while reviewing a frame • Save captures as HEIF or JPEG • Preserve HDR when saving compatible videos as HEIF • Preserve the source video date and location when available • Save captures to a dedicated FaveFrame album when enabled • Review recent captures after reopening the app • Share or delete captured frames • Undo an accidental capture • Open videos stored in Photos, iCloud, or Files • Choose light, dark, or system appearance • Configure haptics, automatic playback, and remembered playback speed Private processing FaveFrame processes videos and captured frames on your device. The app does not upload your videos or photos to a server. Access Your first frame capture is free. A one-time purchase unlocks unlimited captures. There is no subscription. Customers who purchased an earlier paid version keep full access.

Screenshots

Zone Meter4 screens
FaveFrame3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Zone Meter at none against FaveFrame's 1. Zone Meter also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. FaveFrame sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Zone Meter asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
Zone Meter versus FaveFrame: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZone MeterFaveFrame
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGreg AndersonChristopher Broughton

In-app purchases

None

Zone Meter

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

FaveFrame

One-time1
  • Full Unlock$4.99

Questions

Is Zone Meter free?
Zone Meter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is FaveFrame free?
FaveFrame is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Zone Meter or FaveFrame have ads?
Neither Zone Meter nor FaveFrame shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zone Meter or FaveFrame?
Zone Meter ships an update every 2 months, and FaveFrame every 2 months. Most recently, Zone Meter was updated on September 19, 2026 and FaveFrame on September 11, 2026.

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