Develop! vs FilmMeter
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Develop!
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide full description
Develop your film with a smile! Develop! Film Development Timer is a flexible and elegant timer suitable for film and darkroom use. Create your own development recipes through a very simple and intuitive process. As many steps as you need with multiple intervals per step. It is entirely up to you, you are in full control. Notable Features: - Darkroom Mode: A minimalist red-on-black theme for darkroom use - Flexible: As many recipes as you like, as many steps per recipe as you like. Name your steps however you like. Record notes however you like. - Intuitive: Minimalist, elegant interface gets out of your way so there is nothing standing between you and your photography. Large timer is visible across the room. - Intervals: An integrated interval timer makes it easy to do things like “for this step please beep after the first minute and then every 30 seconds". You’ll know at-a-glance how much time until your next inversion. - Nostalgia: Great faux leather vulcanite covering - Import: Import recipes directly from FilmDev.org - Share. Tweet and post your recipes. Facebook, Twitter, Mail, Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo are all supported. No more excuses that you lost track of time or forgot to agitate at a 30 seconds interval -- this is a thing of the past. Concentrate on being the best photographer and alchemist you can be, leave the timing to Develop!. Now go out there and shoot a roll of film! Good luck! 100% free. Always.
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide 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
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Develop! at none against FilmMeter's 4. Develop! also leads on ratings volume (374 vs 41) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). FilmMeter's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 4 weeks) and review sentiment (100% vs 89%). On price, rating, ads 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
Both are free to download. FilmMeter sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Develop! asks for nothing beyond the download.
FilmMeter holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Develop! has 374 ratings behind it against 41, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Develop!'s written reviews are positive against 100% of FilmMeter's.
Develop! ships an update every 4 weeks, FilmMeter every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Develop! | FilmMeter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (374 ratings) | 5.0 (41 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 88.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 374 — better | 41 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 101 MB | 143 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Todd Breslow | 宗 侯 |
Customer experience
Develop!
FilmMeter
Bugs and requests
Develop!
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 moreShow fewer
- Larger font size for better visibility
- Background music playback without interruption
FilmMeter
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Develop!
No in-app purchases
FilmMeter
- Buy me a coffee$0.99
- Buy me lunch$2.99
- 请我吃块蛋糕$9.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- 赞助开发$19.99







