Magic Film ViewFinder
• For a cinematographer: looking for an angle and view in your next shoot?
• For a director: creating your next storyboard?
• For a photographer: scouting for a shoot location?
• For a camera man: want to see your next shot framing without the camera in your hands?
Magic ViewFinder presents you a precise framing preview for the real camera/lens combination you will be shooting with, right where you stand with your phone/tablet. It simulates the framing of large & medium format camera / lens and helps thousands of professionals in photography at the preproduction.
PLEASE READ: this app does not turn your smartphone into an external monitor, but operates as a stand-alone directors viewfinder.
If you have any issues please email us for a quick support: [email protected]
The app is a digital director's viewfinder -- it helps you see the exact 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 formats / cameras:
- 35mm
- 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7 cm, 4x5"
- Pentax 645D
- Hasselblad H5D-40, H5D-50, H5D-60
- Phase One digital backs P25+, P30+, P45+, P40+, P65+
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, tilt and roll, 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.
At the start there is a constant middle-speed center-based auto focus engaged to keep your images focused. But you can tap the live screen to focus on particular objects. Long-click to return to continuous AF.
If the field of view of your real camera is wider than your in-device camera, Magic ViewFinder adds 'padding' around the image, since the device cannot 'see' what is beyond its scope. It is the best solution that we developed first, and other viewfinder apps copied this feature from Magic ViewFinder.
Please note that position of your Android device corresponds 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.
Depth-Of-Field tool: If you want to check depth-of-field, press DOF icon and calculate the near and far limits of DOF while changing the aperture and the focus distance.
Ad policy: The ads help me continue the development of the app. Also by watching a video ad you can turn on Premium Features totally free for 2 hours.
To activate additional settings, to increase the range of supported cameras to Blackmagic, ARRI Alexa, Red, as well to Sony, Canon, Nikon and 4/3 formats, to use all available optical adapters, frame guides and anamorphic indexes and to turn off advertising, please subscribe to paid Premium Features or purchase advanced Magic Universal ViewFinder app.
Please keep in mind that this app will perform best on the devices oriented for HD or Full HD display. On older and smaller devices this program may perform awkwardly.
Specifically, Calibration is recommended for a precise operation of the app. You can start Calibration process from the menu, the instructions are on the web site.
Please read the description and manual at: http://dev.kadru.net
Category : Photography
Reviews (18)
Like other reviewers and the developer have noted, this app is not fully functional on all Android phones (e.g., my phone, Samsung Galaxy S21 FE). I work with medium format and the app cannot render the entire field of view for much of the focal length I need. If this is a hardware limitation, it seems that user should be able to get around it by some sort of custom profile options (and perhaps an external wide angle lens as well). But since these options are not available, this app is of no use for someone like me.
Excellent. This app shows the image with various focal length lenses and even provides depth of field information. It allows you to add settings for the specific lenses you own. Request: Please add longer focal lengths like f45 and f64, which are used by large format photographers.
Wondering why the image doesn't fill the display. Lots of real estate given over to controls and info. I'm just wanting to see what the picture is going to look like. Why, for instance, do you need to use up a big chunk of the bottom to display the focal length?
Not perfect, but the best viewfinder app for film shooters. Have been communicated with the developer, he is planning to update the app in the future.
Cool app for visualizing framing before you take a shot! Possible feature request: looking at using this on a pinhole camera; would setting absurd pinhole f numbers (looking at f 168 for Goodman Scura) and film ISO allow for rough shutterspead exposure calculator? Would certainly be cool to add to the metadata too, Thanks!!
I have a brand new galaxy s21. I shoot 4x5 and this is not accurate for any of my lenses. On top of that the viewfinder is not even 4x5. It looks like it is 6cm x 9cm. Very disappointed.
good overall. but awful UI design and lack of ability to choose custom format size.
Iffy, but still perfectly usable as an external viewfinder. It even passes the selfie test, allowing for you to take a selfie with an actually good camera instead of your phone, and in my case, a film camera
Sort of useful. Setting for focal length is twitchy. DoF values (for 4x5) aren't even close.
I appreciate that it's free, but it wasn't at all accurate, I compared my 4x5 camera, 150mm lens to it with the same settings, it wasn't close at all
Fantastic application, very useful and helpful. Free
Seems to work well. It was hard to understand the user interface but the developer was of great help. Thanks for developing this app.
Horrible App! Worked one time on my Samsung Note 8 and then stopped working.. quits every time I try to use it.. F-
Not working on Samsung Galaxy S9+. The app is freezing up after opening.
The apps very very supper.cinematic.
If I set camera to 6x6 the viewfinder is still 4x3
There's no 6x9!
I only shoot photos as a hobby but this app easily fits all my needs. I've been finding it really useful to take out and get a test photo (especially if I don't have my camera with me). I don't mind watching the occasional ad to get access to the more premium features as well (eg 3x2 aspect ratio)