The worst thing in developing cutting edge software is that you can’t share your excitement the moment you achieved something great. And by the time you can publicly talk about it the excitement is long gone. So this is a special moment for me: talking about an app that’s still in the works, although the major pillars are already in place. And this app is the successor of our Viewfinder family, the Mark II Artist’s Viewfinder.

There isn’t a single piece of code that we haven’t touched during the making of the Mark II. Everything is modernized, made simpler, faster, and better – and have its design updated.

The flat, simple design iOS 7 brought resonates with me deeply. So my goal was to create something that looks every bit as great as it works. I can go on for hours telling stories, and probably will during the coming weeks (just keep in mind that finishing the app is my top priority right now).

For now I’d like to present you a list of what’s new (from the announcement press release):

• By utilizing the Retina display, frame lines are now 1/3 of their former width. This, along with their increased opacity and contrast, results in drastically improved visibility and reduced interference with the composed shot.
• The main screen now handles like a camera, complete with auto-exposure lock, auto-focus lock, AF confirmation beep and single shot/continuous AF support. A new Quick Control Screen for accessing frequently needed functions and a customizable Fn Key make the new app more productive.
• The Mark II can save clean full-resolution photos with location and simulation metadata, so it can be also used as a regular camera.
• The number of simulated equipment setups (now named “virtual cameras”) was increased from 4 to 20. The number of custom cameras and backs was increased from 5 to 20 each. The number of custom focal lengths per virtual camera was increased from 3 to 20.
• A new menu system is provided for configuring non-simulation parameters of the app.
• Track logs can be managed from within the app, with no need to connect to a computer via iTunes File Sharing.
• Quick Lens Change for quickly modifying the lens list of the active virtual camera.
• Automatic, configurable length image review (can be also turned off).
• All features and cameras of the former Pro and Cine editions are now available in a single app, no additional in-app purchases needed

And were are already working on cool things that aren’t even on the list ;)

So make sure to visit and keep an eye on the app’s new microsite, available at: https://www.direstudio.com/viewfinder.