FilmDevMate vs Z
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
FilmDevMate
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Film developing, start to finish From finding a recipe to running the timer to logging your results. FilmDevMate brings the entire developing process into one app. โ Find and share developing recipes Browse recipes organized by film and developer combination. Follow recipes shared by other users, or publish the ones you've dialed in yourself. Need to push or pull? Just pick the stops โ the adjusted developing time is calculated instantly. โ A hands-free timer The timer runs each step straight from the recipe, and you can edit steps to match your own workflow. It keeps perfect time in the background and notifies you when each step ends โ no more clutching a stopwatch. โ Conquer the developing world Every roll you develop claims new territory. Fill in your own developing map and battle users around the world for turf. โ Let the app do the math Calculate dilution ratios with the mixer and convert units in a couple of taps. No measuring mistakes โ just focus on developing. โ Your logs become your skill Review past sessions in History and rerun the timer with the same settings in one tap. The dashboard shows your developing stats by format and film stock at a glance. Develop another roll today, with FilmDevMate.
Z
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Expose for the shadows, develop for the highlights. Z-Stop is an iPhone spot meter true to this Zone System principle. Shoot black-and-white film with the Zone System, no external meter needed. [ Sound familiar? ] - Still guessing exposure by feel? - Wasting expensive film on bad exposures? - Carrying a spot meter for a camera with no meter? - Metered a shadow and got a picture that was too bright? - Forgetting where you metered by the time you develop? For about the price of a roll of black-and-white film, you can leave these behind. Meter one shadow with your iPhone, and Z-Stop shows the shutter and aperture that make it Zone 3, in 1/2-stop steps. With Pro, one tap on "Save" keeps the scene as a record image. [ The Zone System ] Worked out by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer around 1940. It divides tones into 11 steps, from black (Zone 0) to white (Zone 10), one stop apart. Detail is clearest from Zone 3 to Zone 7. Zone 3 : darkest shadow with full texture Zone 4 : foliage and stone in shade Zone 5 : middle gray (18% gray card) Zone 6 : sunlit light skin, light stone Zone 7 : brightest textured areas Expose so the shadow detail stays on the film, then set development so the highlights land where you want them. [ A meter only knows Zone 5 ] Any reflected meter renders what it reads as middle gray (Zone 5). Shoot a shadow at its reading and it turns gray. To place a shadow on Zone 3, give 2 stops less than the reading. That is why spot metering matters: a wide reading mixes one shadow with other tones. [ Why Z-Stop ] Finding a shadow, subtracting 2 stops, converting to real settings, and bracketing by half stops is slow and error-prone. * No spot meter or DSLR required - A reflected spot meter that reads only inside a small circle on screen. * Tells you if a shadow is good for Zone 3 - It checks how even the spot is (deviation): green "Z3 OK" if usable, red "Re-meter" if texture or an edge is mixed in. * No hunting for where to meter - "Find Zone 3" points only to usable spots. - With no Zone 3 it looks for Zone 4; with neither it says "Don't shoot", so you don't waste film. * No mental math - Shows values that match your body's shutter speeds and your lens apertures. - Values you cannot set get a red warning. * Ready for half-stop differences - Five steps in 1/2 stops, from the reading to -2 stops. - Full-stop shutters: unsettable steps are gray; "By aperture" brackets the aperture. * A steady reference - Exposure locks at the first reading, so up to five spots compare fairly. * No notebook needed (Pro) - The record image keeps the screen, readings, shutter, and aperture, so you can check your Zone 3 spot after developing. * See the gray before you shoot - B&W preview shows what tone a red sign or green awning will become. [ How to use ] 1. Tap a shadow. 2. Tap a green "Z3 OK" box to set the anchor, or press "Find Zone 3" at the lower left. 3. Fix the aperture ("By shutter") or the shutter speed ("By aperture"), and read the five steps. In theory Zone 3 is -2 stops, but the right step shifts by half a stop with film, EI, development, and printing. Choose a main frame and a sub frame. 4. With Pro, press "Save" to keep the record image in the "Z-Stop" album. [ Free and Pro ] Metering, Find Zone 3, Zone 3 anchor, five 1/2-stop steps, By shutter, By aperture, B&W preview, and settings are free. Pro (in-app purchase, yearly subscription) unlocks record saving. Setup : EI, aperture, ND, camera body (SLR, RF, medium/large format) Privacy : no internet except the subscription check with Apple; no ads or analytics; video stays on your iPhone Terms of Use : https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ * Z-Stop calculates from the brightness of the iPhone's standard (1x) camera. * Development for the highlights is up to you. * Not for important shoots you can't repeat (weddings, trips, paid work) at first. * Test with a roll or two, set it up, and bracket until you know your results.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: FilmDevMate at none against Z's 1. Z's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Z sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $11.99 per year. FilmDevMate asks for nothing beyond the download.
FilmDevMate ships an update every 2 days, Z daily. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FilmDevMate | Z |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days | Daily โ better |
| Ads | Yes | No โ better |
| In-app purchases | No โ better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad โ better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 โ better | 18.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yeji Hong | sungho an |
In-app purchases
FilmDevMate
No in-app purchases
Z
- Z-Stop Pro Yearly14 Days trial$11.991 Year








