Comparison
Cutvey Viewfinder and the Magic ViewFinder apps
The Magic ViewFinder apps are free to start, one app per camera maker, with banner ads unless you pay for Premium in each one. Cutvey Viewfinder is one app across 37 camera makers and 3,926 lenses, with no ads, at $19.99, once. If you only ever shoot one brand and want something free today, a Magic app is a fair place to begin.
On this page
Who each one suits
Magic ViewFinder is not one app. Roman Medvid publishes one free app per camera maker: Magic ARRI, Magic Cinema for Blackmagic, Magic Canonic, Magic Sonic, Magic Nikonian, Magic Reds, Magic Lumixus and Magic Film. Each app knows its maker's bodies and their sensor modes. Pick the camera from a menu, turn a wheel to the focal length, and the phone shows the field of view. That suits an owner-operator who shoots one brand and wants a framer in the bag at no cost.
Cutvey Viewfinder suits the DP, operator or camera assistant who shoots whatever the job rents. It holds 722 camera bodies from 37 makers in one app, with their recording modes, and 3,926 lenses in 707 series from more than 100 lens brands, counted November 2, 2026. Monday is a Sony, Thursday a RED, and the favorites for both sit side by side.
| Magic app | Maker it covers | US ratings, November 2, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Magic ARRI | ARRI | 4.78 from 177 |
| Magic Cinema | Blackmagic Design | 4.63 from 82 |
| Magic Canonic | Canon | 4.62 from 50 |
| Magic Sonic | Sony | 4.69 from 42 |
| Magic Nikonian | Nikon | 4.62 from 39 |
| Magic Film | Film formats | 4.12 from 25 |
| Magic Reds | RED | 4.87 from 23 |
| Magic Lumixus | Panasonic | 4.82 from 11 |
Those are real ratings earned over years. Cutvey Viewfinder came out in October 2026 and has none yet.
The price, ads included
| A Magic app (Magic ARRI, Sonic and Reds) | Cutvey Viewfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| The download | Free, with banner ads | Free, locked until bought |
| Premium | $1.49 a month or $4.99 once, in each app | No ads at any price |
| What Premium adds | Ads off, frame guides, optical adapters, anamorphic indices, more LUTs | All of it is in the one purchase |
| Two camera brands | Two apps, two Premiums | One app: $19.99, once |
Checked November 2, 2026, on the US App Store pages of Magic ARRI, Magic Sonic and Magic Reds, which list the same two Premium prices and "Contains Advertising". The other Magic apps show their prices on their own pages.
A shoot with two brands of camera
A music video. A camera is an ARRI ALEXA Mini LF in 4.5K LF 3:2 Open Gate with Cooke Anamorphic/i Full Frame Plus lenses, 1.8x squeeze, at 40, 50 and 75mm. B camera is a handheld Sony FX9 in FF 6K 17:9 on Sigma Cine FF High Speed primes at 35 and 85. Both are framed for 2.39, and the colorist has sent a show LUT.
With Cutvey Viewfinder
- In Setup, pick the ALEXA Mini LF and its 4.5K LF 3:2 Open Gate mode, frame 2.39, and build the kit from the Cooke 1.8x series. The squeeze is applied to the frame, so what you see is the desqueezed picture. Save it as a favorite.
- Make the B camera favorite: Sony FX9, FF 6K 17:9, the Sigma 35 and 85, framed 2.39 to match.
- Import the `.cube` LUT as a named look and leave it on. Both cameras are now seen in the show's look.
- Walk the set and flip cameras with the quick-swap card. If a lens sees wider than the phone's widest camera, the edge of the frame is drawn as a plain band, so you know the picture there is missing.
- Record a take of the dolly move: the composed frame with letterbox, lines and look burned in, HEVC up to 1920 px, 30 fps (24 if the phone runs hot), up to 10 minutes.
- Trim it, put a title card in front, and AirDrop it to the director.
With the Magic apps
Magic ARRI lists the ALEXA LF among its cameras, and Magic Sonic lists the FX9 with its FF 6K, FF crop 5K and S35 4K modes, so the job takes two downloads, each with its own banner ads and its own Premium. Anamorphic indices are part of Premium. Each app saves stills with the focal length and the camera and lens, and it can upload to Frame.io, which Cutvey Viewfinder cannot do. Its store text mentions no sun path, depth of field or PDF shot list.
Feature by feature
| On the scout | Magic ViewFinder | Cutvey Viewfinder |
|---|---|---|
| Camera makers in one app | One | 37 |
| Recording modes | A few sensor modes per body, by its store text | 2,309 across 722 bodies, each with its source line |
| Lens choice | A focal length wheel | Real lens series, kits, favorites, your own lenses |
| Anamorphic | Premium | Yes, 108 series |
| Adapters | Tele adapters, Premium | Speedboosters, extenders and phone clip-on lenses |
| Frame guides | Premium | 13 presets plus custom, a second line inside |
| Looks | Preset LUTs; more in Premium | Color wheels, your own `.cube` LUTs and Photoshop curves |
| Sun path and depth of field | Not stated | Both |
| Shot list PDF | Not stated | Three depths |
| Apple Watch | No | A remote for the iPhone app |
| Picture on a monitor | Not stated | A clean feed on a cable or an AirPlay screen, with a lower third |
| Frame.io upload | Yes | No |
| Android, Vision Pro | Yes | No |
| Oldest iOS | 12 | 17 |
| Ads | Banner ads unless Premium | None |
Prices are Apple's US prices, checked November 2, 2026, on each app's App Store record. Ratings are US App Store counts on the same day, and they move daily. "Not stated" means we found nothing either way on the seller's own pages.
What Magic ViewFinder does that Cutvey Viewfinder does not
- A free start. You can frame an ARRI today at no cost, ads and all.
- Android. Magic ARRI is also on Google Play. Cutvey Viewfinder is iPhone and iPad only, with an Apple Watch remote.
- Vision Pro and older devices. The Magic apps run on visionOS and on iOS back to 12.
- Frame.io. Stills upload to Frame.io from inside the app.
On privacy the two labels differ in kind. Magic's App Store label lists third-party advertising among the data not linked to you. Cutvey Viewfinder shows no ads and carries no third-party SDK. Its label lists email, user ID and device ID as linked to you, which is what signing in with a Cutvey account needs, and shots stay on your devices unless you save, share or export them.
When a Magic app is the right call
- You shoot one maker's cameras and nothing else.
- You want something free today and do not mind banner ads.
- You also carry an Android phone, or a Vision Pro.
- Your stills go straight to Frame.io.
When the job crosses brands, needs real lens series, or needs the sun and focus worked out on the scout, Cutvey Viewfinder is the one app for it. See how the app works, the anamorphic calculator, anamorphic lenses in the app, and the other comparisons.
Questions
Is Magic ViewFinder one app or several?
Several. There is one Magic app per camera maker, such as Magic ARRI, Magic Sonic and Magic Reds, each a separate download with its own Premium. Cutvey Viewfinder is one app for 722 camera bodies from 37 makers.
Does Cutvey Viewfinder have a free version?
It is free to download and locked until bought: $19.99, once, through the App Store, covering iPhone and iPad with the Apple Watch app included. It is also included per seat in a Cutvey plan.
Does Cutvey Viewfinder show ads?
No. It shows no ads and carries no third-party SDK. Its optional diagnostics are first-party and can be switched off on the first screen or in Settings.
Can I upload stills to Frame.io from Cutvey Viewfinder?
Not from inside the app. Save stills and takes to Photos, or share them through the iOS share sheet to any app installed there.
Can I frame an anamorphic lens on the free Magic app?
By its App Store text, anamorphic indices are part of Magic's Premium. In Cutvey Viewfinder anamorphic is part of the one purchase, with 108 anamorphic series and any squeeze up to 2.05x on a series you add yourself.
Camera and lens names are trademarks of their respective owners, used only to identify the equipment.
One app for every camera on the job
722 camera bodies from 37 makers, with their recording modes and real lens series. $19.99, once.