Comparison

Light Magick 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

Light Magick

Enhance your photos with beautiful glow effects. Easily add lines, text, and shapes with a simple touch interface. Save and share your creations to popular social media platforms.

Highlights
  • Add beautiful glow effects
  • Free line and color options
  • Free text with various fonts and colors
  • 100+ shapes and colors
  • Undo, Redo, and Reset editing
  • Share to social media
Features
Read full description

Light Magick add beautiful glow effect to your photo. Easy to use just move your finger or tap on the photo. -Free line and colors -Free text, fonts and colors -100 of Shapes and colors -Edit Undo, Redo and Reset -Share to other apps Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Line etc.

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

Light Magick4 screens
RED Tools4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: RED Tools at 3.3 against Light Magick's 1.0. RED Tools also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). Light Magick's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 21 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, review sentiment and device support 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. Light Magick sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. RED Tools asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

RED Tools holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RED Tools has 15 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 50% and 50% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Light Magick ships an update every 2 weeks, RED Tools every 21 months. The most recent releases landed on June 2, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Light Magick versus RED Tools: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLight MagickRED Tools
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)3.3 (15 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings115 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 21 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKenichi KobayashiRED Digital Cinema

Customer experience

Light Magick

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

RED Tools

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

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Light Magick

One-time1
  • Unlock 100 of Shapes and Remove Ads$0.99
None

RED Tools

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Light Magick free?
Light Magick is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RED Tools free?
RED Tools is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Light Magick or RED Tools?
RED Tools is rated higher. Light Magick averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while RED Tools averages 3.3 from 15 ratings.
Do Light Magick or RED Tools have ads?
Light Magick shows ads; RED Tools does not.
Which is updated more often, Light Magick or RED Tools?
Light Magick ships an update every 2 weeks, and RED Tools every 21 months. Most recently, Light Magick was updated on June 2, 2026 and RED Tools on September 19, 2026.

Other comparisons