Pinhole Assist vs Filter Simulation
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pinhole Assist
This app acts as a light meter and exposure calculator for various photographic techniques, including pinhole, view camera, and wet-plate. It offers features like reciprocity compensation, built-in timers, and the ability to save camera and film settings.
- Light meter with spot and incident metering
- Exposure calculation with reciprocity compensation
- Built-in exposition timer and bubble level
- Save and recall camera and film settings
- Extensive library of pinhole cameras and films
- Log shot information and export data
Read full descriptionHide full description
*** Feb 8, 2019 "My favorite pinhole app!! "This is my go to app for pinhole photography…this has made getting good results much easier…" bizzy *** Dec 16, 2016. "Wow. This app blew me away with its features and calculations (especially reciprocity fail). - Horacekenneth *** Feb 19, 2014 Wonderful!! "This app is perfect for the pinhole photographer in the field. I love that I can save settings for all my cameras and recall them instantly in the moment. - Papskier" *** So useful! May 26, 2013 "This takes the guesswork out of exposure calculation, since it turns your iPhone into a light meter and suggests the correct exposure! Works like a charm. Great app for pinhole photographers." *** May 16, 2012 : "Pretty much the perfect app for pinhole", Gavin Lucas *** March 26, 2012 "Pinhole photography - Great app! This will make pinhole photography much simpler to do", Zone v *** November 28, 2011 "Great solution !! - Thank you for this Pinhole timing app. I have many different pinhole cameras and this will help me figure timing on all of them. Thank you !!Greg." Pinhole Assist will be your companion to argentic and numeric pinhole, as well as view camera photography and wet-plate . The range of aperture and sensitivity (starting at 0.05 ASA ) allows for film, photo paper, wet-plate and as well as pinhole. * Built-in camera computes exposure; * alternatively enter EV reading for any lightmeter * or enter time metering to compute reciprocity effect. * Use built-in exposition timer and bubble level for optimal shot; * The light meter has a spot-meter feature and allows for incident metering; * Enter your camera aperture from the predefined list (170+ pinhole cameras) or compute it; * Let the assistant automatically compensate for reciprocity of film (correction for long exposures, 60+ different curves included), or use your own curves. * Save, restore and presets (combos) : aperture, predefined cameras, ASA and reciprocity settings • 30+ builtin filters (red, ND…), add your own, mafast acess your favorites , * Log shot information : preview, exposure, metering, location, interactive map , date and a shot. Export as picture, CSV or JSON file. You can create film and set reciprocity curve from within Pinhole Assist. Crete new ones, or tweak existing ones. Use iTunes (on Mac/PC) to import/export access the films you created, or exchange them via email m curves (Go to the app Web Site for instructions) * timer usability : now tapping the chrono icon directly starts the timer starting the chronometer automatically create a log. * Combos : edit for your camera+ film combination (combo) the aperture or the predefined camera, as well as film speed and reciprocity. * Choosing a film reciprocity now sets the film speed. * 119 different films, including Multigrade paper and Harman positive paper * 300+ different pinhole and zone plate cameras : Ondu, Diana, Holga, Sténoflex, Reality soSubtle, Lensless, Ilford, Stenopéika, Vermeer, 8banners, ZeroImage, Leonardo, Carlos, Nopo, Spiral, Sharan… Any other camera can be accommodated. Go to the Settings to : * adjust scales can be by ½ EV or ⅓ EV, * enable bellow correction: a button will appear on the main screen to allow bellow adjustment, allowing to use view cameras; * adjust the cell and incident metering constant; * start the timer automatically or not; * adjust log behavior. Please note: this is not a camera app: it does not take picture. This is a sophisticated exposure calculator to take argentic (ou DSLR) shots with an pinhole camera.
Filter Simulation
Simulate the effects of real optical filters for black and white photography. This app accurately mimics the luminance modulation of red, yellow, green, blue, and orange filters. It also includes an automatic shutter speed calculator for ND filters and a pinhole photography simulator.
- Simulate optical filters for B&W
- Mimics red, yellow, green, blue, orange filters
- Custom CIColorKernel shaders
- Automatic shutter speed calculator for ND filters
- Pinhole photograph simulation
Read full descriptionHide full description
Simulate real optical filters in black & white. This app uses custom CIColorKernel shaders to modulate grayscale luminance based on color vector similarity—accurately mimicking red, yellow, green, blue, and orange filters as used in film photography. Then, if needed, save the filtered image with filter information. Then, swipe left and find an automatic shutter speed calculator for applying various ND filters And that's not all; keep on swiping and you can simulate pinhole photographs before shooting!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Filter Simulation at Free against Pinhole Assist's $2.99. Filter Simulation also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). Pinhole Assist's advantage is chart position (#150 vs unranked) and ratings volume (19 vs 3). On rating, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Filter Simulation is free to download; Pinhole Assist costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Pinhole Assist against 5.0 for Filter Simulation. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pinhole Assist has 19 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 98% of Pinhole Assist's written reviews are positive against 100% of Filter Simulation's.
Pinhole Assist ships an update every 3 months, Filter Simulation monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pinhole Assist | Filter Simulation |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (19 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 97.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 19 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #150 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Le bord de la piscine | Ari Jaaksi |
Customer experience
Pinhole Assist
Filter Simulation
In-app purchases
Pinhole Assist
No in-app purchases
Filter Simulation
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pinhole Assist free?
Is Filter Simulation free?
Which has better reviews, Pinhole Assist or Filter Simulation?
Do Pinhole Assist or Filter Simulation have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pinhole Assist or Filter Simulation?
Other comparisons















