Comparison

Darkroom Timer vs dial

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

dial

Features
Read full description

Film development, your way. dial is a focused film development timer for iPhone and iPad. Keep your chemistry in view, set up your process and give each bath the time it needs. STAY WITH THE PROCESS A large, clear countdown shows your current step and total time remaining. Between baths, dial pauses until you are ready to start the next step. EVERY STEP. YOUR WAY. Create custom steps and adjust their durations to match your process. Save your setup as a preset and return to it for your next roll. KNOW YOUR CHEMISTRY Keep chemical mix dates and processed-roll counts together. Connect a saved preset to a chemical so your setup is ready when you are. A GLANCE. BACK TO IT. Follow the countdown on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island on supported devices. Allow alarms to receive step alerts while dial is in the background. MADE FOR YOUR WORKSPACE Follow your system appearance or choose Light or Dark Mode. Sound and haptic settings let you choose your cues. No account required. Your inventory, presets and timer settings stay on your device. Set step times to match your film and chemical instructions.

Screenshots

Darkroom Timer4 screens
dial4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: dial at none against Darkroom Timer's 2. dial also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). Darkroom Timer's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.5). 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. Darkroom Timer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. dial asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Darkroom Timer ships an update every 2 months, dial every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Darkroom Timer versus dial: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDarkroom Timerdial
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYUSUF OCALMICHAEL CHEN

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Darkroom Timer

Subscriptions1
  • Film Timer Pro · Monthly$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • Film Timer Pro · Lifetime$13.99
None

dial

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Darkroom Timer free?
Darkroom Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is dial free?
dial is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Darkroom Timer or dial have ads?
Neither Darkroom Timer nor dial shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Darkroom Timer or dial?
Darkroom Timer ships an update every 2 months, and dial every 5 days. Most recently, Darkroom Timer was updated on November 10, 2026 and dial on November 13, 2026.

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