Comparison

Phonochrome vs Positive View

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

Head to head
About

Phonochrome

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Phonochrome turns the photos on your iPhone into mirrored black-and-white negatives for your darkroom enlarger and offers unique timing tools – known from your analogue darkroom workflow. Load any photo and the app immediately converts it into a monochrome, mirrored negative on your screen. From there, you fine-tune it for analogue printing. Then place your iPhone in the enlarger where the negative carrier normally sits and expose real silver-gelatin paper using your existing lens, column, and easel. Features: - Automatically converts photos into mirrored black-and-white negatives ready to enlarge in an analogue darkroom process - Maximum screen brightness locked for consistent, repeatable exposures - Adjustment controls for exposure, contrast, highlights, and shadows - Optional grain overlay for a film-like texture - Test strip assistant with adjustable time per segment and base exposure - Final exposure assistant and timer - Audio metronome for manual exposures

About

Positive View

Transform your phone into a live viewer for photographic negatives. Instantly see positive images from color or black-and-white film in real time. Ideal for quickly previewing, selecting, and referencing your film scans.

Highlights
  • Live negative viewing (color & B&W)
  • Automatic color balancing
  • Brightness, contrast, warmth controls
  • Freeze, zoom, and pan frame
  • Save positive image to Photos
  • Calibration for illumination and lens
  • Use second device as light panel
Features
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Positive View turns your iPhone camera into a high quality live viewer for photographic negatives. Place a color or black-and-white film over an even light source, point the camera at it, and Positive View displays a positive image in real time. Use it to quickly see the images, select the best ones for scanning, or make a quick reference image. Features: • Live color and black-and-white negative viewing • Automatic color balancing, with a lock for consistent viewing • Brightness, contrast, and warmth controls • Freeze, zoom, and pan a frame for closer inspection • Save the current positive to Photos • Calibrate for even illumination and to counter lens falloff • Turn a second device into a plain white light panel Camera processing happens on your device. Positive View has no ads, accounts, analytics, or tracking. Images are saved only on your device and only when you tap Save. For best results, use an even, diffused light source with low flicker and keep the film flat.

Screenshots

Phonochrome4 screens
Positive View3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Positive View at Free against Phonochrome's $9.99. Positive View also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Positive View is free to download; Phonochrome costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Phonochrome ships an update every 6 months, Positive View fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Phonochrome versus Positive View: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhonochromePositive View
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristoph HoehmannMikhail Rybakov

In-app purchases

None

Phonochrome

No in-app purchases

None

Positive View

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Phonochrome free?
Phonochrome costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Positive View free?
Positive View is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Phonochrome or Positive View have ads?
Neither Phonochrome nor Positive View shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Phonochrome or Positive View?
Phonochrome ships an update every 6 months, and Positive View fortnightly. Most recently, Phonochrome was updated on October 30, 2026 and Positive View on November 6, 2026.

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