Comparison

vDarkroom vs RawMask Studio

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

Head to head
About

vDarkroom

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vDarkroom moves the complete traditional darkroom workflow โ€” capture, exposure, development, enlargement โ€” to iPhone, in pursuit of a faithful silver-halide experience. ยท Capture: record RAW (Bayer RAW 14-bit / Apple ProRAW) to retain the sensor's fullest tonal data for reuse downstream. Supports physical aperture stops on the iPhone 18 Pro / Pro Max main lens (f/1.48 ยท 1.8 ยท 2.8 ยท 4.0). ยท Exposure: meter the captured data with zone, centre-weighted or spot metering, then expose the selected film; a graduated ND filter and black-and-white contrast filters are also available. ยท Development: six developers (D-76, Rodinal, HC-110, Microphen, DD-X and more) with fine adjustment of temperature, time and agitation. ยท Enlargement: ten papers and processes (silver-gelatin RC/FB, cyanotype, platinum, vandyke, salt, multi-coat gum, digital), with multigrade contrast, enlarger aperture and exposure time, and a round black card for local burn and dodge. ยท More: 25 classic films, bracketed HDR, neutral-grey marker, 8K and lossless PNG export, silver-halide grain model. Free features: HEIF capture, 1080P/2K export, JPG, three metering modes, six developers, four films, silver-gelatin papers and cyanotype. Pro (one-time unlock): RAW capture, 4K/8K export, lossless PNG export, bracketed HDR, black-and-white filters, graduated ND, round black card, all films and alternative-process papers.

About

RawMask Studio

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Edit only the part of the photo you choose. RawMask Studio is a RAW photo editor built around masks: pick a detected subject or draw your own mask, then change the light, color, detail and focus of just that area while the rest of the image stays untouched. It opens RAW and ProRAW files as well as everyday JPEG and HEIC photos, and every edit happens right on your iPhone. MASKS FOR SELECTIVE EDITS - Automatic masks: on-device detection finds subjects such as people, cars and animals and turns them into ready-to-edit masks - Manual masks: radial, linear (gradient), brush and rectangle - Refine any mask with the Add and Subtract brushes - Soften the edge with Feather for smooth, natural transitions - Give every mask its own light, color, detail and focus adjustments RAW, PRORAW, JPEG AND HEIC - Pick photos straight from your Photos library with the system picker - Edit RAW and ProRAW captures with the same tools as regular photos A CLEAR, STEP-BY-STEP WORKFLOW - Frame: crop, straighten, rotate, aspect ratios and zoom - Light: exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites and blacks - Color: temperature, tint, vibrance and saturation - Detail: texture, clarity, dehaze, sharpness and noise reduction - Focus: background blur with strength, range, feather and bokeh - Effects: vignette, grain and fade - Reorder or hide steps in Editor options to match the way you work COMPARE AND REUSE - Hold to Compare to check before and after at any moment - Save whole-photo adjustments as a Preset and apply it to another photo SAVE WITHOUT LOSING THE ORIGINAL - Save edit to Photos is non-destructive: the original stays intact and you can revert the edit in Photos anytime - Save a copy to Photos to keep the edited version as a new photo - Export as JPEG, HEIF or TIFF through the share sheet PRIVATE BY DESIGN - No account, no sign-in and no ads - Editing and subject detection run entirely on device, so your photos are never uploaded - Free, with no in-app purchases Open a photo, pick a mask and make one part of it shine.

Screenshots

vDarkroom4 screens
RawMask Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RawMask Studio at none against vDarkroom's 1. RawMask Studio also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. vDarkroom sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. RawMask Studio asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

vDarkroom ships an update every 5 days, RawMask Studio weekly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
vDarkroom versus RawMask Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametervDarkroomRawMask Studio
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 days โ€” betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac โ€” better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size2 MB227 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer้›ทๅ…‰ ๅ•Besarion Turmanauli

In-app purchases

1 purchases

vDarkroom

One-time1
  • vDarkroom Pro$9.99
None

RawMask Studio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is vDarkroom free?
vDarkroom is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RawMask Studio free?
RawMask Studio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do vDarkroom or RawMask Studio have ads?
Neither vDarkroom nor RawMask Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, vDarkroom or RawMask Studio?
vDarkroom ships an update every 5 days, and RawMask Studio weekly. Most recently, vDarkroom was updated on October 31, 2026 and RawMask Studio on October 31, 2026.

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