FilmMeter vs Aaron8mm
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
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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.
Aaron8mm
Transform your iPhone into a vintage Super 8 camera. Record videos with authentic controls, choose film types, and develop your footage directly on your device. Pro Mode offers advanced tools for creators.
- Virtual Super 8 camera simulation
- Color and black-and-white film options
- Period-inspired recording controls
- On-device footage development
- Pro Mode for advanced capture tools
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Aaron8mm turns your iPhone into a tactile Super 8 camera. Load a virtual cartridge, choose color or black-and-white film, record with period-inspired controls, then develop and save your footage on device. Pro Mode adds modern capture tools for creators who want more control while preserving the Super 8 feel.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: FilmMeter at free against Aaron8mm's free with in-app purchases. FilmMeter also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days). Aaron8mm's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. FilmMeter sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Aaron8mm sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Aaron8mm holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 63 and 25 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 96% of FilmMeter's written reviews are positive against 100% of Aaron8mm's.
FilmMeter ships an update every 2 days, Aaron8mm every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FilmMeter | Aaron8mm |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (63 ratings) | 5.0 (25 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 96.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 63 — better | 25 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 5 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 143 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 宗 侯 | Aanalog |
Customer experience
FilmMeter
Aaron8mm
In-app purchases
FilmMeter
- Buy me a coffee$0.99
- Buy me lunch$2.99
- 请我吃块蛋糕$9.99
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- 赞助开发$19.99
Aaron8mm
- 8mm Pro Mode$8.00









