Comparison

CamPlot Director's Viewfinder vs CDNC

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

Head to head
About

CamPlot Director's Viewfinder

Simulate professional cinema cameras and lenses on your iPhone. Accurately view shots with real sensor geometry, a vast lens kit, and live LUT grading. Scout locations with sun path and LiDAR distance.

Highlights
  • Simulates real cinema camera bodies and sensors
  • Extensive lens kit with primes and zooms
  • Live LUT grading with 200+ cinema looks
  • Sun path visualization for location scouting
  • LiDAR distance measurement on Pro iPhones
  • Organized library of all captures and scans
  • Exportable shot lists with QR codes
Read full description

Hold up your iPhone and see the shot through the real camera. CamPlot Director's Viewfinder simulates professional cinema cameras and lenses with honest optics — the same tool built into CamPlot, as its own app. THE CAMERA, NOT AN APPROXIMATION Pick the body — ARRI Alexa, Sony FX6 and Venice, RED Komodo, Canon C-series, DJI Ronin 4D, and more — choose Full Frame, Super 35, or MFT, and set frame lines for 16:9, 2.35, 2.39, or 4:3. The image you see is computed from the real sensor geometry. YOUR LENS KIT ON A ROLL Swipe through your lenses on an endless roll — primes snap, zooms ride a focal-length wheel with real stops. Add your own primes and zooms, or sign in to CamPlot and your project's lens inventory appears automatically. A LUT LIBRARY THAT LEAVES WITH YOU Grade the image live with true 3D LUTs on the GPU: 200+ cinema looks in nine packs, plus your own .cube files. Press and drag the LUT dial to spin the whole library with the picture regrading under your finger. And every look exports for your actual camera — pick your log format and CamPlot composes the conversion, so what you saw on the phone is what you load into the camera. SUN PATH WHILE SCOUTING See the sun's arc drawn over your framed shot for any date, using your location and compass. Know exactly when golden hour lands where you want it — weeks before the shoot. LIDAR DISTANCE On Pro iPhones, a measure mode reads the exact distance to your subject — aim, tap, and get feet and inches. THE LIBRARY Every frame, take and room scan you have made, in one place — each with the readings that were live when you shot it: camera, sensor window, lens, ISO, shutter, aperture, white balance, LUT, bearing, horizon, distance and where you stood. Photos, videos and room scans on their own shelves. A shot takes the whole screen with its instruments riding on top — one tap clears them, one brings them back. SHOT LISTS Build a list, name every shot in it, and add rows for shots you have not taken yet. Export it as a PDF contact sheet: the frame, its name, its readings, and a QR code that opens where it was shot in Apple or Google Maps. CAPTURES THAT REMEMBER Every capture burns in the body, sensor mode, focal length, and heading, saves silently to a CamPlot album in Photos, and carries its full readings inside the file itself. FREE TO TRY The app runs free with a generic full-frame body and a demo lens range, so you can see the whole thing before deciding. CamPlot Plus or CamPlot Max unlocks every camera body, your lens kits, the LUT library and LUT export, sun path, LiDAR, and capture — one account across the Viewfinder, the Calculators, and all of CamPlot at camplot.studio. The CamPlot Calculators are free with any account, including the free one. SUBSCRIPTIONS CamPlot Max: $49.99/year or $4.99/month. CamPlot Plus: $29.99/year or $3.99/month. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your device Settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://camplot.studio/privacy.html

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. 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

CamPlot Director's Viewfinder4 screens
CDNC3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: CamPlot Director's Viewfinder at 100% against CDNC's 50%. CamPlot Director's Viewfinder also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. CamPlot Director's Viewfinder sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month 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

CamPlot Director's Viewfinder holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CamPlot Director's Viewfinder has 17 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of CamPlot Director's Viewfinder's written reviews are positive against 50% of CDNC's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CamPlot Director's Viewfinder ships an update every 2 days, CDNC every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
CamPlot Director's Viewfinder versus CDNC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCamPlot Director's ViewfinderCDNC
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (17 ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB1.3 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRomany Films Inc.CDNC Studio LLC

Customer experience

CamPlot Director's Viewfinder

All ratings17 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

CDNC

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

CamPlot Director's Viewfinder

Subscriptions4
  • CamPlot View+ Monthly$3.991 Month
  • CamPlot Creator Monthly$4.991 Month
  • CamPlot View Plus Annual$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • CamPlot Creator Annual$49.991 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 CamPlot Director's Viewfinder free?
CamPlot Director's Viewfinder 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, CamPlot Director's Viewfinder or CDNC?
CamPlot Director's Viewfinder is rated higher. CamPlot Director's Viewfinder averages 5.0 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while CDNC averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do CamPlot Director's Viewfinder or CDNC have ads?
Neither CamPlot Director's Viewfinder nor CDNC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CamPlot Director's Viewfinder or CDNC?
CamPlot Director's Viewfinder ships an update every 2 days, and CDNC every 2 weeks. Most recently, CamPlot Director's Viewfinder was updated on September 26, 2026 and CDNC on September 23, 2026.

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