Most questions about Scrim are versions of the same one: why won’t it just give me a number? Here are the answers.
The horizon angle is computed from the horizontal part of the gravity vector, and that part shrinks to nothing as the phone tilts toward the sky or the floor. The same sensor noise then translates into a much larger angular error: ±0.12° upright, ±3.48° at 88° of pitch. When the band grows past 3° there is no angle left to print, so Scrim stops printing one. Bring the phone back toward vertical and the number returns.
If almost the whole frame sits below preview code 5, there is no scene to measure — only quantisation. Scrim says so instead of reporting a range built from rounding error.
Between “level” and “tilted” the band can straddle the tolerance. Neither claim is available, so Scrim shows the third answer. Steadying the phone — a wall, a rail, a tripod — narrows the band and usually resolves it.
Because one end is saturated. A pixel sitting at the ceiling might be one stop over or five; the preview keeps no record of the difference. The honest statement is a floor, so Scrim writes a floor. Lower the exposure until the clipping clears and the range becomes a real interval with a band.
Clipping is observed — the fraction of pixels at the ceiling is a measurement. Its size is not observable from the preview. Scrim reports the first and refuses the second. Under 0.2% of pixels it does not call clipping a defect at all: at that level it is a lamp or the sun itself, and pulling exposure down for it buries the rest of the frame.
Because without a field of view the convergence cannot be computed at all — it is not a refinement, it is the input. A default here would be a made-up number wearing the clothes of a measurement. Pick the option closest to the lens you are using; the assumption Scrim makes about the façade is printed next to the result.
No. You choose an assumed HDR gain ratio and compare it with example display capacities. The HDR Delivery view does not import a photo or inspect its gain map or measure the recipient’s screen. The view is a planning comparison.
Version 1.5.5 does not include Studio. In version 1.6.0 or later, try the sample free. Personal photo import, editing and new exports require Pro or a previous permanent tools purchase. Existing projects and saved files remain accessible without editing access.
Choose a supported JPEG, PNG or HEIC image in Photos or Files. A selected iCloud file may need a system download. Studio keeps a private original copy and saved edits on this device. Adjust exposure, choose a crop ratio, rotate in quarter turns, compare with the original and use undo or redo. New exports are SDR JPEG or PNG; HDR editing, video and cloud AI are not included.
If an import or export is interrupted, reopen Studio and follow its recovery message. Only validated retained originals offer recovery. Saving or sharing a recovered original preserves its bytes and may include location, EXIF or other private metadata; read the warning before choosing a destination. An unavailable recovery action does not mean the source file was deleted. Do not uninstall the app to troubleshoot files you still need.
Created files remain in private app storage and are shared only when you choose Share. Separately shared copies and backups are outside that storage. For a failure, contact support with the app version, format and message shown; do not send private images unless you choose to.
From version 1.5, Scrim is free to download. Frame and Light stay free, and the free version keeps one scene. Scrim Pro is an optional auto-renewing subscription — $3.99 a month or $24.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan for eligible new subscribers. These are US prices; the App Store shows your local price before you confirm. Pro adds unlimited scenes, projects, scene sheets, Verticals and HDR Delivery. Payment is charged to your Apple Account, and the subscription renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel it in Settings under your Apple Account.
If you bought Scrim before Pro — the paid download or the 1.3 planning unlock — Verticals and Delivery stay yours; update to the latest version and use the same Apple Account. If access is still missing, contact support with your app version and the message shown.
The watch shows the phone’s decision; it does not measure on its own, because the light measurement needs the phone’s camera. Open Scrim on the phone, keep both devices in range, and the decision appears. If the connection drops, the watch says so rather than leaving the last decision on screen — a stale verdict on a changed frame is the one thing worse than no verdict.
No. It measures the live frame and leaves capture to the system camera. Saving a scene keeps one reference frame on this device. In version 1.6.0 or later, Studio can also import the photo you choose in the system Photos or Files picker; it does not scan the whole library or add outputs to Photos automatically.
Measurement settings and the counts and dates used to space review requests stay in the app’s local settings store. Saved scenes — their reference frame and notes — stay on this device. A connected paired Apple Watch can receive measurement results and framing guidance, including the decision, its reason and reading-validity information; it does not receive camera images. Purchases and review prompts use Apple’s services. See the privacy policy.
iPhone and iPad on iOS 17 or later, Apple Watch on watchOS 10 or later. There is no Mac version: Scrim’s inputs are a camera preview and an accelerometer, and a Mac target would be an empty product rather than a smaller one.
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Write to hello@norea.studio with what the screen said and what you expected. If a measurement is wrong, that is a defect in the core, and the core is where it will be fixed and tested.