Focus Chart vs Magic Sonic ViewFinder
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Focus Chart
This tool displays focus charts with a siemens star to assist with camera lens adjustments and testing. It keeps your device awake during critical focus calibration, offering two distinct charts for easy switching.
- Two focus charts with siemens star
- Prevents device standby
- Back focus adjustment
- Lens testing
- Swipe left/right for chart switching
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This app displays two different focus charts with a siemens star. It prevents the phone from going to stand-by while you're adjusting the back focus of your camera or testing your lenses. Swipe left and right two switch between the two charts. It's a simple yet effective tool for cinematographers, photographers and camera assistants.
Magic Sonic ViewFinder
This app simulates the field of view for various camera and lens combinations, aiding filmmakers in preproduction. It allows users to preview shots with different focal lengths, aspect ratios, and color presets, and save them for future reference.
- Precise framing preview
- Simulates digital camera field of view
- Supports numerous camera models
- Tele adapter and anamorphic lens simulation
- Aspect ratio frame guides
- Color presets (LUTs)
- Save shots with metadata
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Magic Sonic ViewFinder presents you a precise framing preview for the real camera/lens combination you'll be shooting with, right where you stand with your iPhone / iPad. It simulates the field of view of digital cameras and can help thousands of professionals in filmmaking at the preproduction. PLEASE READ: this app does not turn your Apple device into an external monitor, but operates as a stand-alone director's viewfinder. The app contains ad banners, which can be turned off with additional in-app purchase. The app is a digital directors viewfinder -- it helps you see the field of view for your future shot. Select the camera from the menu and rotate the wheel to select the focal length of the lens. Supported cameras: - Alpha a99 II, 7RIII, 7RII - Alpha 7III, 7S II, 7R - Alpha a77, a6500, a6300, a5100 - FS100 / FS 700 - F3 / FS5 / FS7 - FX9 FF 6K / FF crop 5K / S35 4K - RX100 (1" sensor) - Venice 6K / 4K / 3.8K Magic ViewFinder simulates using tele adapters or anamorphic optics on your camera (see menu). From the menu you can also select the aspect ratio of the frame guide overlaying your image. Magic ViewFinder also lets you apply some commonly used color presets (also known as LUTs)to the live picture, which brings you even closer to the final shot. When you have found the right view, you may save it for future reference, with additional data like the focal length, date and time and camera / lens information. While taking a photo, you may lock exposure and turn on and off the auto focus to better control the captured picture. You can set camera to work in constant auto-focus mode, or lock the focus temporarily. You can also tap the live screen to focus on particular objects (which turns on the focus-locked mode). White balance may work in Auto, Locked or Manual mode. If the field of view of your real camera is wider than your in-device camera, the app adds 'padding' around the image, since the device cannot 'see' what is beyond. It is the best solution that we developed first amongst other viewfinder apps. Please note that position of your iPhone or iPad should correspond to the 'nodal point' of your real lens, which is somewhere in the middle of the lens. This point is, so to speak, the weighted center of the optics. Ad policy: Ads can be turned off (see below). Additional info about the app may be read at: http://dev.kadru.net/index.php/magic-viewfinder/ If you have any issues please email us for a quick support: dev@kadru.net To activate additional settings (i.e. to use all available optical adapters and frame guides) and to turn off advertising, please subscribe to (Option #1) or purchase Premium Features (Option #2) in 'About the App' menu. In-App Purchase Option #1: - Title of service: Premium features: subscription - Length of subscription: a month (auto-renewable) - Contents of service: Turned off ads and additional options for frame guides, optical adapters, anamorphic indices, more LUTs - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase - Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable In-App Purchase Option #2: - Title of service: Premium features: purchase - Length of subscription: once and forever - Contents of service: Turned off ads and additional options for frame guides, optical adapters, anamorphic indices, more LUTs Terms of Use: http://dev.kadru.net/tos.html Privacy Policy: http://dev.kadru.net/privacy_policy/Privacy_Policy_Magic_Sony_ViewFinder.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Focus Chart at none against Magic Sonic ViewFinder's 2. Focus Chart also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 86%). Magic Sonic ViewFinder's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 16 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Magic Sonic ViewFinder sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Focus Chart asks for nothing beyond the download.
Magic Sonic ViewFinder holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 42 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Focus Chart's written reviews are positive against 86% of Magic Sonic ViewFinder's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Focus Chart ships an update every 16 months, Magic Sonic ViewFinder monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Focus Chart | Magic Sonic ViewFinder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (9 ratings) | 4.7 (42 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 85.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9 | 42 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 16 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cadrage GmbH | Roman Medvid |
Customer experience
Focus Chart
Magic Sonic ViewFinder
In-app purchases
Focus Chart
No in-app purchases
Magic Sonic ViewFinder
- Premium features: subscription1 Month trial$1.491 Month
- Premium features: purchase$4.99
Questions
Is Focus Chart free?
Is Magic Sonic ViewFinder free?
Which has better reviews, Focus Chart or Magic Sonic ViewFinder?
Do Focus Chart or Magic Sonic ViewFinder have ads?
Which is updated more often, Focus Chart or Magic Sonic ViewFinder?
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