Comparison

Focus Chart vs RED Tools

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Two focus charts with siemens star
  • Prevents device standby
  • Back focus adjustment
  • Lens testing
  • Swipe left/right for chart switching
Features
Read full description

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.

About

RED Tools

This app assists filmmakers and camera operators with camera setup by providing tools for crop factor, recording time, flicker-free video, depth of field, panning speed, and exposure. It offers customizable settings for various shooting situations and RED camera systems.

Highlights
  • Crop factor preview
  • R3D recording time evaluation
  • Flicker-free video calculation
  • Depth of field estimation
  • Panning speed guidance
  • Exposure assistance
Features
Read full description

RED Tools is a convenient reference tool designed for use by filmmakers and camera operators to outline best practices in camera set-up for a variety of shooting situations. Each tool is customizable based on a selected RED camera and sensor type. Standard film formats are also included for comparison. RED Tools is also included in the RED Control app, which also provides free, full-featured camera control and video streaming for RED’s latest DSMC3 products. TOOLS INCLUDED: CROP FACTOR Preview how a given focal length will appear depending on resolution setting and sensor type. Illustration depicts viewable area relative to a traditional 35 mm stills photography sensor by default, but other reference sensors are selectable within the drop-down menu. R3D RECORDING TIME Evaluate the video data rate and available recording time based on your RED camera settings. This can help you understand media requirements and production costs in advance of a shoot. FLICKER FREE VIDEO Find a flicker-free shutter speed and frame rate combination when shooting under artificial lighting. DEPTH OF FIELD Understand how various camera settings influence depth of field. PANNING SPEED Estimate the panning speed where judder will likely become too pronounced. The goal is to provide a more accessible tool than the charts and tables commonly referenced in cinematography manuals. It uses the standard rule of thumb that camera panning should not cause objects to transit the entire horizontal extent of an image in any less than seven seconds. EXPOSURE Assist with exposure when one camera setting has to change. Example usage scenarios include when a higher frame rate needs to be used for slow motion, when the T-stop has to change for depth of field, or when the shutter angle has to change to minimize flickering in artificial light. NIKKOR Z Lens Coverage Use this tool to understand how NIKKOR Z lenses will look on your RED Z Mount camera bodies. The tool shows the extent the light will fall off at different sensor formats, and if any hard vignetting occurs.

Screenshots

Focus Chart3 screens
RED Tools4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Focus Chart at 100% against RED Tools's 50%. Focus Chart also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.3) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Focus Chart holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 15 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Focus Chart's written reviews are positive against 50% of RED Tools's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Chart ships an update every 16 months, RED Tools every 21 months. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Focus Chart versus RED Tools: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus ChartRED Tools
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (9 ratings) — better3.3 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings915 — better
Update frequencyEvery 16 months — betterEvery 21 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCadrage GmbHRED Digital Cinema

Customer experience

Focus Chart

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

RED Tools

All ratings13 ratings
Positive53.8%
Neutral7.7%
Negative38.5%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral16.7%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

Focus Chart

No in-app purchases

None

RED Tools

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focus Chart free?
Focus Chart is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is RED Tools free?
RED Tools is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Focus Chart or RED Tools?
Focus Chart is rated higher. Focus Chart averages 4.4 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while RED Tools averages 3.3 from 15 ratings.
Do Focus Chart or RED Tools have ads?
Neither Focus Chart nor RED Tools shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus Chart or RED Tools?
Focus Chart ships an update every 16 months, and RED Tools every 21 months. Most recently, Focus Chart was updated on October 4, 2026 and RED Tools on September 19, 2026.

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