Comparison

Darkplug 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

Darkplug

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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.

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

Darkplug4 screens
Positive View3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Positive View at none against Darkplug's 1. Positive View also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads and device support 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

Both are free to download. Darkplug sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Positive View asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Darkplug versus Positive View: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDarkplugPositive View
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequency—Fortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPETER DR SZENTKIRALYIMikhail Rybakov

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Darkplug

One-time1
  • Darkplug+$24.99
None

Positive View

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Darkplug free?
Darkplug is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Positive View free?
Positive View is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Darkplug or Positive View have ads?
Neither Darkplug nor Positive View shows ads.

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