Safelight Darkroom Timer vs FilmDev
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Safelight Darkroom Timer
This app assists analog darkroom printers with exposure calculations, timed print workflows, and saving successful print setups. It features a darkroom-friendly timer with customizable themes and sound, an F-Stop Calculator for exposure adjustments, and the ability to save and manage print sessions.
- Darkroom-friendly timer with large controls
- F-Stop Calculator for exposure changes
- Save and manage print sessions
- Timed print process steps
- Customizable display themes and sounds
- Dodge & Burn planning (Pro)
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Safelight Darkroom Timer helps analog darkroom printers calculate exposure changes, run timed print workflows, and save the setup that worked. Use the darkroom-friendly timer for Focus, Expose, and Process timing with large controls, red/amber/green display themes, optional haptic feedback, completion sound, and keep-screen-on behavior when enabled. Turn one base exposure time into a stop-based table with the F-Stop Calculator. Use free 1/4 and 1/3 stop steps, send a result to the timer, or run a test strip one exposure at a time. Save print sessions with base exposure, stop step, paper, filter grade, developer, and notes so you can repeat or adjust your best darkroom prints later. Search, edit, delete, repeat, and use saved sessions from the Sessions screen. Use the Print Process Timer for expose, develop print, stop bath, fix, and optional wash steps. Manage darkroom metadata presets for paper, developer, and filter grades. Safelight Pro unlocks unlimited saved sessions, advanced stop steps, Dodge & Burn planning, memory banks, run plans, and CSV/Text export and sharing. Important: Safelight is a darkroom-friendly display and timing utility. It is not a flashlight, photo editor, AI app, lab ordering service, hardware enlarger controller, or guarantee that a phone screen is safe for every photographic paper or film. Always test your own paper and darkroom conditions. Privacy Policy: https://hearthmesa.com/apps/safelight/privacy Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Support: https://hearthmesa.com/apps/safelight/support
FilmDev
This app provides a multi-stage timer for film development, featuring a darkroom-safe screen, configurable agitation cues, and temperature compensation. It allows users to save custom recipes and log development sessions.
- Multi-stage auto-advance timer
- Darkroom-safe red display
- Haptic and beep agitation cues
- Backgrounded timer accuracy
- Temperature compensation
- Custom recipe library
- Develop log
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FilmDev is a darkroom-safe multi-stage timer built for home film developers — B&W and C-41, push/pull, and beyond. ■ Multi-stage auto-advance timer Set up develop, stop, fix and wash stages once. FilmDev counts each stage down and auto-advances to the next — no fumbling for a stopwatch in the dark. ■ True darkroom-safe screen Running timer screen is pure black with a deep red display only — no white pixels, no accidental flash. Fullscreen immersive, safe for your eyes and your film. ■ Haptic + beep agitation cues Feel and hear when it's time to agitate — configurable haptic pulses and beep cues so you don't need to watch the screen. ■ Wall-clock accurate, even backgrounded Timing is based on real elapsed time, not a fragile in-app counter — lock your phone or switch apps and the timer stays accurate when you come back. ■ Temperature compensation Adjust develop time for your actual chemistry temperature using a standard B&W time-temp factor. A guide, not a guarantee — always verify against your own testing. ■ Your own recipe library Build and save your own recipes — film stock, developer, dilution, temperature, and every stage. Starter recipes are included from manufacturer datasheets, clearly marked "verify before use." Your recipes, your times. ■ Develop log Log every roll you develop — recipe used, film, developer, notes and a rating — so you can track what worked. ■ FilmDev Pro (one-time purchase) Unlock unlimited recipes, remove ads, and export/import your recipe library as JSON. One-time purchase, no subscription. ■ 8 languages, private by design No account, no cloud. Everything — recipes and logs — stays on your device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Safelight Darkroom Timer at none against FilmDev's shown. On price, rating, ratings volume and in-app purchases 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. Safelight Darkroom Timer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and FilmDev sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for Safelight Darkroom Timer against 4.0 for FilmDev. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
| Parameter | Safelight Darkroom Timer | FilmDev |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (1 ratings) | 4.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | — | Monthly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 97 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nhu Nam Vo | SEONYONG LEE |
In-app purchases
Safelight Darkroom Timer
- Safelight Pro3 Days trial$2.997 Days
- Safelight Pro3 Days trial$19.991 Year
FilmDev
- FilmDev Pro$6.99
Questions
Is Safelight Darkroom Timer free?
Is FilmDev free?
Which has better reviews, Safelight Darkroom Timer or FilmDev?
Do Safelight Darkroom Timer or FilmDev have ads?
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