Comparison

Darkroom Timer vs vDarkroom

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

Head to head
About

Darkroom Timer

Features
Read full description

The chart says 7:30 at 20°C. Your water says 21.5°C, and your stock developer is on its sixth film. This app exists for exactly that moment: it moves the published time to YOUR conditions and then walks you through every step of the run. It is not a licensed time database. It is an engine on top of YOUR recipes — and it works for black-and-white, C-41 and E-6 alike. HOW THE ENGINE WORKS • You enter a recipe: film, developer, dilution, and the published time from the data sheet. A small starter catalog compiled from public manufacturer sheets is included, with the source noted on every row. • Temperature: an exponential model consistent with the published compensation curves moves the chart time to the temperature you actually measured. At 22°C, reading the chart flat would overdevelop by about 16%. • Chemistry age: every bottle keeps its own ledger. Reused stock slowly exhausts, so the timer quietly adds the per-use extension — and tells you when a mix has reached its capacity or its shelf life. • Dilution: pick your tank, get the exact millilitres of developer and water to pour. • Push or pull a stop or two; the time follows. IN THE DARK • A step timer for the whole run — develop, stop bath, fix, wash, or the C-41/E-6 sequence — with agitation cues and a loud chime at every hand-off. • Safelight mode turns the entire screen red-on-black and keeps it awake. No white flashes in the darkroom. • Each step waits for you: pour, then start the clock. Pause, skip or bail out and save half a run — your call. WHAT YOU GET • A Lab screen with the whole time-vs-temperature curve for the selected recipe, today's corrected time, and the bottle ledger with per-bottle fatigue. • A session log: film, developer, temperature, applied time, push/pull, rolls. • Trends: day streak, films this week and this month, film stocks tried, and a monthly calendar of sessions and fresh mixes. • Challenges every day, week and month, plus 90+ badges for the habits that make consistent negatives — hitting the temperature, retiring spent bottles, finishing the wash. HONEST ABOUT WHAT IT IS The times are calculations, not gospel. They derive from your recipe's published figure with a model consistent with the manufacturers' own compensation charts — sanity-check a new recipe against the current data sheet before a roll you care about. Everything works offline, stays on your device, and asks for no account. °C or °F, your choice. The maths is the same underneath. SUBSCRIPTION Film Timer Pro is offered as a monthly auto-renewing subscription, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of that period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://doesonejob.com/devtank/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://doesonejob.com/devtank/privacy/

About

vDarkroom

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vDarkroom brings the complete traditional film darkroom workflow to iPhone — capture, exposure, development, enlargement — striving to recreate an authentic silver-halide photography experience. Ā· Capture: records the raw image in RAW format, preserving the sensor's richest tonal data for reuse. Ā· Exposure: applies multiple metering modes and assist tools to the captured raw data, exposing your selected film. Ā· Development: supports multiple developers with fine-tuned parameters, including D-76, Rodinal, DD-X and more, to process the exposed film. Ā· Enlargement: pure digital output with multiple paper choices, producing the final black-and-white image. Ā· More: classic film packs (Kodak/Ilford/Retro/Fujifilm), HDR bracketing, B&W filters, multiple metering modes, neutral-gray indicator, lossless PNG export, Chinese, English & Japanese support, and more.

Screenshots

Darkroom Timer4 screens
vDarkroom4 screens

Verdict

The call

Darkroom Timer and vDarkroom are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Darkroom Timer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and vDarkroom sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Darkroom Timer versus vDarkroom: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDarkroom TimervDarkroom
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Every 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYUSUF OCAL雷光 单

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Darkroom Timer

Subscriptions1
  • Film Timer Pro Ā· Monthly$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • Film Timer Pro Ā· Lifetime$13.99
6 purchases

vDarkroom

One-time6
  • Kodak Film Pack$1.99
  • Ilford Film Pack$1.99
  • Retro Film Pack$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Fuji Film Pack$1.99
  • Alternative Process Pack$1.99
  • vDarkroom Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Darkroom Timer free?
Darkroom Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is vDarkroom free?
vDarkroom is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Darkroom Timer or vDarkroom have ads?
Neither Darkroom Timer nor vDarkroom shows ads.

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