Comparison

Mea Camera Obscura vs SmartLab35

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ€” with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Mea Camera Obscura

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Side by side with you in your darkroom, start at the develop and advise you with sound periodically or before the end of the baths (stop, fixing, etc.); another sound at the end of the baths. All without need of manual intervention. Became a safe light with a single tap, while continuing to count the running time or times. Also as a dark green light to inspect film.

About

SmartLab35

Features
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With the innovative photo enlarger, you can create prints from your film negatives in a completely new way. This is possible for colour and black and white photos. In black and white mode, you can set an exposure time of up to 999 seconds. You can set the intensity of the enlarger to up to -4.0 f-stops. For multi-grade paper, you can select the gradation from 00.0 to 5.0. Use the function buttons to control the enlarger. Use the FOCUS light to adjust the sharpness of your image. Use the SAFE light to insert the paper. Start and pause the exposure with the centre button. In colour mode, you can set an exposure time of up to 999 seconds. You can control the colour gradation of your image by setting the intensity of the individual colour channels. In the options menu, you can choose between CMY and RGB colour systems. Control the enlarger with the function buttons. You can use the FOCUS light to adjust the sharpness of your image. Start and pause the exposure with the centre button.

Screenshots

Mea Camera Obscura3 screens
SmartLab354 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SmartLab35 at Free against Mea Camera Obscura's $8.99. SmartLab35 also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 10 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

SmartLab35 is free to download; Mea Camera Obscura costs $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mea Camera Obscura ships an update every 10 months, SmartLab35 every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Mea Camera Obscura versus SmartLab35: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMea Camera ObscuraSmartLab35
Price$8.99Free โ€” better
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 5 weeks โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac โ€” betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS16.416.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size2 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuca BarbinaSANTIAGO FRANCISCO RAMIREZ SONNTAG

In-app purchases

None

Mea Camera Obscura

No in-app purchases

None

SmartLab35

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mea Camera Obscura free?
Mea Camera Obscura costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SmartLab35 free?
SmartLab35 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Mea Camera Obscura or SmartLab35 have ads?
Neither Mea Camera Obscura nor SmartLab35 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mea Camera Obscura or SmartLab35?
Mea Camera Obscura ships an update every 10 months, and SmartLab35 every 5 weeks. Most recently, Mea Camera Obscura was updated on November 3, 2026 and SmartLab35 on November 4, 2026.

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