Comparison

Develop! Film Timer vs FilmMeter

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

Head to head
About

Develop! Film Timer

This app provides a flexible and intuitive timer for film and darkroom development. Create custom development recipes with multiple steps and intervals, and utilize a special darkroom mode for low-light conditions. Easily share your recipes and import them from FilmDev.org.

Highlights
  • Customizable development recipes
  • Multiple steps and intervals per recipe
  • Darkroom Mode (red-on-black theme)
  • Integrated interval timer
  • Import recipes from FilmDev.org
  • Share recipes via social media
Features
Read full description

Develop your film with a smile! Develop! is a flexible, elegant timer for developing film and working in the darkroom. Build your own development recipes in a few taps: as many steps as you need, each with its own agitation intervals. It's entirely up to you; you're in full control. Notable features: - Voice Control: Hands wet? Just say "NEXT" to move on to the next step. Recognition runs on your iPhone, no internet connection needed. - Keeps time in the background: Leave the app or lock your phone and the timer keeps running. You'll get a notification when a step ends and at every agitation. - Intervals: A built-in interval timer handles things like "beep after the first minute, then every 30 seconds." You'll see at a glance how long until your next inversion. - Darkroom Mode: A strict red-on-black theme for darkroom use. - Flexible: As many recipes and steps as you like, steps of up to 90 minutes, named your way, with notes for every recipe. - Easy to read: A large timer you can see across the room, styled after a classic camera body, right down to the vulcanite. - Import: Bring in recipes straight from FilmDev.org. - Share: Send a recipe as a file with Mail, Messages, AirDrop or anything else on the share sheet. No more losing track of time or forgetting to agitate every 30 seconds. Concentrate on being the best photographer and alchemist you can be, and leave the timing to Develop! Now go out there and shoot a roll of film. Good luck! 100% free. Always.

About

FilmMeter

This app transforms your iPhone into a professional light meter for film photography. It offers real-time metering, LiDAR ranging for accurate focus, and comprehensive film roll management. Features include reciprocity calculation, ND filter compensation, and an exposure log to streamline your shooting workflow.

Highlights
  • Real-time light metering
  • LiDAR ranging and depth of field
  • Film roll and camera management
  • Reciprocity and ND filter compensation
  • Long exposure timer
  • Exposure logging
Features
Read full description

FilmMeter turns your iPhone into a professional light meter for film cameras. Real-time metering, LiDAR ranging, reciprocity calculation, and exposure logging — one app covers your entire shooting workflow from loading film to the final frame. Metering Measure exposure in real-time using your iPhone camera. Spot metering reads any point precisely, while average metering balances the whole scene. Full control over aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. iPhone 16 users can meter and adjust EV directly with the Camera Control button. Ranging & Depth of Field Get accurate focus distance with LiDAR-enabled devices. The depth of field scale shows your sharp range and hyperfocal distance, supporting 35mm (full frame) and medium format calculations. Camera Management Create profiles for your cameras and lenses. Set focal length and aperture range for each lens, then link a camera when loading film — aperture selection is automatically constrained to your lens's actual range. Manage your digital film bag the way you manage your real gear. Film Roll Management Create a roll, select your film stock, start shooting. Push/pull processing support lets you set development stops and automatically converts to effective ISO. Each metering links to your current roll automatically. The frame counter tracks remaining shots. Mark rolls as in progress, finished, or developed. ND Filters Built-in support for ND2 through ND10000. Select a filter and exposure is compensated automatically — no manual stop conversion needed. Pair with the long exposure timer to master daytime slow shutter work. Reciprocity Compensation Film loses sensitivity during long exposures. FilmMeter includes reciprocity data for popular film stocks and calculates the corrected shutter time automatically. Long Exposure Timer Long-press the metering button to start a countdown. The timer integrates with Dynamic Island — visible even when locked. Get notified when your exposure completes. No more counting seconds for star trails or light painting. Smart Exposure Suggestions Built-in scene recognition analyzes your frame. In tricky lighting like snow, backlight, or night scenes, it tells you "add one stop" instead of leaving you to figure it out. Exposure Log Every metering saves full parameters and location. Export to CSV. Review your decisions, build your film notes. More Features • ND filter auto exposure compensation • Film LUT live preview • Aspect ratio overlays (135/120 formats) • Focal length frame lines (28-200mm) • Darkroom-friendly red-on-black interface • Metric and imperial units Free to Use • No subscription, no account required • Fully offline, no ads • English and Chinese Designed for film photography. Professional enough for experienced shooters, simple enough for beginners.

Screenshots

Develop! Film Timer4 screens
FilmMeter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Develop! Film Timer at none against FilmMeter's 4. Develop! Film Timer also leads on ratings volume (416 vs 65). FilmMeter's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 4 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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

Both are free to download. FilmMeter sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Develop! Film Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Develop! Film Timer against 4.8 for FilmMeter. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Develop! Film Timer has 416 ratings behind it against 65, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of Develop! Film Timer's written reviews are positive against 96% of FilmMeter's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Develop! Film Timer ships an update every 4 weeks, FilmMeter every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Develop! Film Timer versus FilmMeter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDevelop! Film TimerFilmMeter
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (416 ratings)4.8 (65 ratings) — better
Positive reviews88.7% of reviews96.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings416 — better65
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB143 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTodd Breslow宗 侯

Customer experience

Develop! Film Timer

All ratings374 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews115 reviews
Positive88.7%
Neutral6.1%
Negative5.2%

FilmMeter

All ratings63 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.6%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive96.2%
Neutral3.8%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Develop! Film Timer

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on startup for some users
  • Timer stops when switching apps or locking phone
  • Issues with saving and editing recipes

Requested features

7 requests
  • Ability to pause and resume timers
  • Option to clone/duplicate existing recipes
  • Integration with development charts or databases
  • More detailed task descriptions and notes
  • Ability to skip optional steps
Show 2 more
  • Larger font size for better visibility
  • Background music playback without interruption

FilmMeter

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Develop! Film Timer

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

FilmMeter

One-time4
  • Buy me a coffee$0.99
  • Buy me lunch$2.99
  • 请我吃块蛋糕$9.99
Show 1 more
  • 赞助开发$19.99

Questions

Is Develop! Film Timer free?
Develop! Film Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is FilmMeter free?
FilmMeter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Develop! Film Timer or FilmMeter?
FilmMeter is rated higher. Develop! Film Timer averages 4.8 out of 5 from 416 ratings, while FilmMeter averages 4.8 from 65 ratings.
Do Develop! Film Timer or FilmMeter have ads?
Neither Develop! Film Timer nor FilmMeter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Develop! Film Timer or FilmMeter?
Develop! Film Timer ships an update every 4 weeks, and FilmMeter every 2 days. Most recently, Develop! Film Timer was updated on November 13, 2026 and FilmMeter on November 8, 2026.

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