Comparison

Pinhole Assist vs foolcontrol

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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 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.

About

foolcontrol

This app provides comprehensive remote control for RED DIGITAL CINEMA cameras over a network. Adjust camera settings, manage focus, apply looks, and control playback from your iOS device.

Highlights
  • Full camera control over network
  • Advanced focus control with presets
  • In-camera grading with curves
  • Clip playback and management
  • Metadata and slate management
  • Camera menu navigation
Features
Read full description

foolcontrol lets you get full control over a RED DIGITAL CINEMA DSMC™ camera connected to the same network as your iOS device, WEAPON, EPIC-W, SCARLET-W and RAVEN all have built in WiFi while EPIC / SCARLET cameras require additional wireless accessories to work with foolcontrol (see below). - PREVIEW : recording state, format, project / sensor frame rate, timecode, pre-record, frame trigger frame tagging, OLPF, REDcode, lookaround, shutter angle / speed, histogram, goal posts, traffic lights, gamma / color space, recording mode, frame processing, HDRx, Motion Mount, iris vale, white balance, tint, ISO, tools, RAW view, magnify, production info, scene and take metadata, VU meter, battery level / time left, media remaining / recording time, clip count, clip name, previous clip info. Indicators for : LAN, ext. timecode, sync, genlock, RIG, errors, camera fan speed and temperature. Eject media, power saving modes and shutdown the camera. - FOCUS : Circular focus disc with advanced features : colored users marks, smooth bezier rack focus with adjustable speed, add hard stop for near/far focus, select 1,2,3,4,5 or 10 knob turns for super precise focusing without loosing any previous marks, searchable preset focus discs markers, create, recall, sort, rename and export your own user focus distance discs : unique mode lets you add repeatable distance marks for your lenses. AF mode selection, autofocus trigger, AF zone size and center, rack focus mode points recall, iris, magnify, record start stop, audible marks and more. - LOOK : set camera look using a multi speed slider or manual value input : contrast, exposure, saturation, shadow, brightness, RGB gains, kelvin, tint and FLUT. Color temperature presets, auto white balance, ISO, color / gamma space. - CURVES : Shape luma, red, green and blue curves to create in-camera grades. Drag curves points using 3 different modes for normal, fine, and super fine curve adjustment. - PLAYBACK : list all the clips on your media with timecode, thumbnail and duration. Play forward, backward, frame by frame, go to end and beginning, set in/out points, navigate marked frame, set playback speed and looping mode. - KEYS : navigate your camera menu using knob, buttons or gesture pad. Access to all buttons and menu pages. - PRESETS : create and apply camera presets. A preset can include one or several parameters from look, curves, camera settings, slate and many more. Presets can be sorted, renamed and exported by email. - SLATE : quickly set metadata values for production, director, DOP, scene, shot, take, project info, camera operator, unit and location. GPS location (on GPS enabled devices). Set timecode mode and value. - CAMERA MENU tree - RECORD SETTINGS with access to advanced record formats, mode and options. - LINEAR FOCUS for single operators ------------- To use an EPIC or SCARLET camera with foolcontrol on the same wifi network you will need to use one of these : - RED lemo to cat5 ethernet cable and a GIG-E wireless router. - RED REDLink bridge wifi module. - Teradek COLR and GIG-E to lemo cable. - RTMotion latitude WEAPON / EPIC-W / SCARLET-W and RAVEN have built in wifi ready for foolcontrol. Wooden camera has an antenna replacement accessory called the 'Wifi Side Plate' to increase camera wifi range. It is always recommended to use a router on set (infrastructure mode) instead of the Ad Hoc network setup in camera. IG : @foolmika Please note : This application will not work with the RED ONE or any other camera. Focus control requires a RED Canon or Nikon mount and a compatible electronic lens.

Screenshots

Pinhole Assist4 screens
foolcontrol4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pinhole Assist at $2.99 against foolcontrol's $99.99. Pinhole Assist also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.1) and review sentiment (98% vs 70%). foolcontrol's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Pinhole Assist costs $2.99 and foolcontrol $99.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pinhole Assist holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 19 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 98% of Pinhole Assist's written reviews are positive against 70% of foolcontrol's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pinhole Assist ships an update every 3 months, foolcontrol every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pinhole Assist versus foolcontrol: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPinhole Assistfoolcontrol
Price$2.99 — better$99.99
Rating4.9 (19 ratings) — better4.1 (19 ratings)
Positive reviews97.8% of reviews — better70.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1919
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLe bord de la piscineMikael Lubtchansky

Customer experience

Pinhole Assist

All ratings19 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive97.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.2%

foolcontrol

All ratings19 ratings
Positive73.7%
Neutral5.3%
Negative21.1%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

Pinhole Assist

No in-app purchases

None

foolcontrol

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pinhole Assist free?
Pinhole Assist costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is foolcontrol free?
foolcontrol costs $99.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pinhole Assist or foolcontrol?
Pinhole Assist is rated higher. Pinhole Assist averages 4.9 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while foolcontrol averages 4.1 from 19 ratings.
Do Pinhole Assist or foolcontrol have ads?
Neither Pinhole Assist nor foolcontrol shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pinhole Assist or foolcontrol?
Pinhole Assist ships an update every 3 months, and foolcontrol every 6 weeks. Most recently, Pinhole Assist was updated on November 10, 2026 and foolcontrol on November 11, 2026.

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