Comparison

Developer Box for Film vs Darkroom Timer

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

Head to head
About

Developer Box for Film

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This app contains various tools and counters that are useful when developing black and white film. It can be used with most film developer tanks, some adjustments have made to make it fit with the Lab-box from ars-imago. Neither this tool nor the creator of it are affiliated with ars-imago or the Lab-box in anyway.

About

Darkroom Timer

Features
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The chart says 7:30 at 20°C. Your water says 21.5°C, and your stock developer is on its sixth film. This app exists for exactly that moment: it moves the published time to YOUR conditions and then walks you through every step of the run. It is not a licensed time database. It is an engine on top of YOUR recipes — and it works for black-and-white, C-41 and E-6 alike. HOW THE ENGINE WORKS • You enter a recipe: film, developer, dilution, and the published time from the data sheet. A small starter catalog compiled from public manufacturer sheets is included, with the source noted on every row. • Temperature: an exponential model consistent with the published compensation curves moves the chart time to the temperature you actually measured. At 22°C, reading the chart flat would overdevelop by about 16%. • Chemistry age: every bottle keeps its own ledger. Reused stock slowly exhausts, so the timer quietly adds the per-use extension — and tells you when a mix has reached its capacity or its shelf life. • Dilution: pick your tank, get the exact millilitres of developer and water to pour. • Push or pull a stop or two; the time follows. IN THE DARK • A step timer for the whole run — develop, stop bath, fix, wash, or the C-41/E-6 sequence — with agitation cues and a loud chime at every hand-off. • Safelight mode turns the entire screen red-on-black and keeps it awake. No white flashes in the darkroom. • Each step waits for you: pour, then start the clock. Pause, skip or bail out and save half a run — your call. WHAT YOU GET • A Lab screen with the whole time-vs-temperature curve for the selected recipe, today's corrected time, and the bottle ledger with per-bottle fatigue. • A session log: film, developer, temperature, applied time, push/pull, rolls. • Trends: day streak, films this week and this month, film stocks tried, and a monthly calendar of sessions and fresh mixes. • Challenges every day, week and month, plus 90+ badges for the habits that make consistent negatives — hitting the temperature, retiring spent bottles, finishing the wash. HONEST ABOUT WHAT IT IS The times are calculations, not gospel. They derive from your recipe's published figure with a model consistent with the manufacturers' own compensation charts — sanity-check a new recipe against the current data sheet before a roll you care about. Everything works offline, stays on your device, and asks for no account. °C or °F, your choice. The maths is the same underneath. SUBSCRIPTION Film Timer Pro is offered as a monthly auto-renewing subscription, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of that period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://doesonejob.com/devtank/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://doesonejob.com/devtank/privacy/

Screenshots

Developer Box for Film4 screens
Darkroom Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

Developer Box for Film and Darkroom Timer are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Developer Box for Film sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Darkroom Timer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Developer Box for Film versus Darkroom Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDeveloper Box for FilmDarkroom Timer
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.2 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerzlent solutions ouYUSUF OCAL

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Developer Box for Film

One-time1
  • Donation$1.99
2 purchases

Darkroom Timer

Subscriptions1
  • Film Timer Pro · Monthly$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • Film Timer Pro · Lifetime$13.99

Questions

Is Developer Box for Film free?
Developer Box for Film is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Darkroom Timer free?
Darkroom Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Developer Box for Film or Darkroom Timer have ads?
Neither Developer Box for Film nor Darkroom Timer shows ads.

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