AstroShader vs Darkplug

One-time purchase. No subscription. AstroShader is an astrophotography app for capturing, stacking and editing. All you need is a stand, tripod, telescope or rock (to lean your phone on). AstroShader lets you align and stack live during the image capture process. You can also align and stack images from you Photos library. No need to transfer images to a computer to align and stack them separately (but there is a built in intervalometer if you need it). To take an image follow these steps: • Use a stand, tripod, telescope mount (or lean your iPhone on a rock). • Zoom in on stars and set focus manually, or use autofocus. • Set the exposure time, ISO and white balance, or leave to auto-exposure. • Set the number of exposures to be automatically aligned and stacked. • Calibrate your images from the edit tools. • After the capture is complete you can edit and save your image—including as 16bit TIFF. • You can open images directly to use the edit tools in AstroShader - rather following a new image capture. Image capture options include: • Number of exposures to be aligned and stacked • Exposure time • ISO • White balance • Camera type • Countdown timer • Manual focus • Pause the capture to reposition iPhone or telescope Edit options include: • Stretch image • Background extraction • Dynamic background extraction (DBE) • x5 Histogram curves for fine tonal adjustment • x3 sharpen layers each with radius and intensity with layer blending rather than chaining • Brightness (low light enhancement) • Saturation • Black point • Temperature • Tint • Save format options; HEIF, PNG, JPEG, TIFF

Darkplug is a darkroom timer and printing tool for iPhone. It lets you control your enlarger from your iPhone using a compatible Shelly smart plug on your local network. Built for film photographers and darkroom printers, Darkplug combines precise timing, guided workflows, and a red-on-black interface designed for darkroom use. The clean timer interface is designed to stay practical under safelight conditions, with large controls and minimal clutter. Darkplug+ unlocks advanced printing tools, including F-Stop timing, guided test strips, dodge and burn planning, split grade printing, guided paper developing, and reusable Dodge & Burn plan codes. The guided test strip workflow helps you build and run exposure tests in seconds or F-Stops, then apply your preferred result as the print time. The Dodge & Burn workflow helps you plan local exposure changes, review a generated print plan, and follow guided execution steps in the darkroom. Plans can be exported and restored later with reusable plan codes. Darkplug also includes a guided developing timer for developer, stop, fix, and wash, so printing and paper processing can stay in one focused app. To use Darkplug, connect your enlarger to a compatible smart plug, make sure the plug and your iPhone are on the same local network, enter the plug’s local IP address, and connect. No account login is required. No cloud backend or external web service is needed for core timer operation. Compatible smart plugs: Shelly Plus Plug S Gen2, Shelly Plus Plug UK Gen2, Shelly Plug S Gen3, Shelly Outdoor Plug S Gen3, Shelly Plug M Gen3, and Shelly Plug US Gen4.