Comparison

Zone System vs ProFilm Meter

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

Head to head
About

Zone System

This tool simplifies Ansel Adams' exposure and development method for photographers. It helps measure shadows and highlights, calculate aperture and development times, and preview results with film stock presets.

Highlights
  • Measure shadows and highlights
  • Aperture and development calculations
  • Preview results with film presets
  • ISO and EV calculations
  • Simplified Zone System application
Features
Read full description

Zone System is a practical tool for applying Ansel Adams’ exposure and development method. • Measure shadows and highlights to set exposure • Get aperture and development (N, N+, N–) calculations • Preview results with film stock presets • Get calculations for aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and EV This app makes the Zone System simpler, faster, and more reliable.

About

ProFilm Meter

This app acts as a comprehensive light meter and exposure toolkit for film photographers. It supports various film formats and calculates complex exposure adjustments like reciprocity failure and bellows compensation. Features include real-time metering, film stock libraries, and flash metering.

Highlights
  • Precision reflected-light meter
  • On-device film stock library
  • Reciprocity failure correction
  • Bellows compensation calculation
  • RA4 Color Reversal estimates
  • Flash metering and trigger
  • Lens-independent viewfinder zoom
Read full description

ProFilm Meter is the most complete light meter and exposure toolkit for film photographers. From 35mm to 8×10 large format, dry plates to tintypes, it handles every calculation you'd normally reach for three separate tools to solve — all offline, all in real time. LIGHT METERING Your phone's camera becomes a precision reflected-light meter. Choose spot, center-weighted, or average metering and dial in exposure with ⅓-stop, full-stop, or any combination of increment sets running simultaneously. A live RGB histogram keeps highlight and shadow zones in view at all times. Native per-frame ISO, shutter, and aperture capture at ~10 fps Multi-point metering: average 2–4 scene readings into one exposure value Tap-to-focus and multi-lens camera selection Adaptive EV smoothing adjusts for scene changes automatically Screen stays awake during active metering sessions CALIBRATION Two-point guided calibration locks each camera to a trusted reference. After calibration, a fine-tune step lets you match any external meter in ⅓-stop increments. Uncalibrated cameras are gated with a full-screen prompt so you never shoot on an unmeasured body. FILM STOCKS & RECIPROCITY An on-device film stock library covers 35mm, 120, and large format emulsions — including the full Zebra Dry Plate collection. Every stock carries its own reciprocity profile. Eight built-in profiles (Acros II, T-Max, HP5+, Portra, Fomapan, Zebra, and more) plus full custom profile creation, including Schwarzschild p-factor and optional threshold. Add custom film formats and reciprocity profiles inline, without leaving the film stock screen. COMPENSATIONS Reciprocity failure — corrected automatically for exposures beyond threshold Bellows compensation — calculated stop-for-stop from draw and focal length RA4 Color Reversal — estimates scene color temperature and gives you Mired-shift filter corrections for color positives; works in both ambient and flash mode Spectral sensitivity — metering coefficients adjusted for panchromatic, orthochromatic, and blue-sensitive emulsions Lens filters — ND (1–10 stops), polarizer, yellow/orange/red/green contrast filters, R72 and deep IR, plus custom filters Positive/reversal process — +0.5 stop compensation, auto-enabled for tintype stocks UV/environmental compensation — adjustable for altitude and atmospheric conditions IR Light Estimator — dedicated tool for infrared exposure estimation FLASH Flash metering detects incident flash via fast polling with peak-hold and sticky arming. A built-in flash trigger supports Optical Slave (fires the LED torch to trip slaved units) and Cable Sync (audio click for USB-C to PC-sync adapters). VIEWFINDER A lens-independent viewfinder zoom gives consistent framing regardless of which physical lens the phone uses. Overlay your chosen film format frame lines and compose like you're looking through a director's viewfinder. FIELD JOURNAL Save any exposure to the journal with one tap. Each entry records ISO, aperture, shutter speed, EV, reciprocity correction, RA4 and spectral corrections, GPS coordinates, and a cropped preview photo. Entries are exportable and shareable. EXTRA TOOLS Depth of Field Calculator — for any format and focal length Zebra Exposure Guide — zone-system reference for dry plate work Alternative Processes Meter — cyanotype, platinum, salt print, and more Step Wedge Tool — exposure planning for contact printing Rolling Shutter Calculator — flash sync safety for focal-plane shutters 20 FILM FORMATS 35mm · 6×4.5 · 6×6 · 6×7 · 6×9 · 4×5 · 5×7 · 8×10 · 9×12cm · 10×10 · 10×12 · 11×14 · 12×12 · 13×18cm · 20×24 · Sixth Plate · Quarter Plate · Half Plate · Whole Plate · custom dimensions 7 LANGUAGES English · Slovenian · Spanish · French · German · Japanese · Simplified Chinese PRIVACY All metering and calculation runs entirely on-device. No account required. No data leaves your phone.

Screenshots

Zone System4 screens
ProFilm Meter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Zone System at $1.99 against ProFilm Meter's $14.99. Zone System also leads on ratings volume (3 vs 1). ProFilm Meter's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence 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

Zone System costs $1.99 and ProFilm Meter $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Zone System against 5.0 for ProFilm Meter. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zone System ships an update every 9 days, ProFilm Meter weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Zone System versus ProFilm Meter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZone SystemProFilm Meter
Price$1.99 — better$14.99
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#192#71 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS1715.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB57 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavin NguyenScott Henderson

Customer experience

Zone System

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ProFilm Meter

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Zone System

No in-app purchases

None

ProFilm Meter

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Zone System free?
Zone System costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ProFilm Meter free?
ProFilm Meter costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Zone System or ProFilm Meter?
Zone System and ProFilm Meter are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Zone System or ProFilm Meter have ads?
Neither Zone System nor ProFilm Meter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zone System or ProFilm Meter?
Zone System ships an update every 9 days, and ProFilm Meter weekly. Most recently, Zone System was updated on September 13, 2026 and ProFilm Meter on September 15, 2026.
Which is more popular, Zone System or ProFilm Meter?
Zone System currently peaks at #192 in the App Store charts, and ProFilm Meter at #71. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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