Film development: two Android apps

Black & white film development is a matter of time and temperature. For temperature, a good thermometer costs only a few euros. For timing, a watch can do — but in the 21st century, we can do better.

When developing black & white film, time management is crucial, and a watch can quickly prove limited. You prepare a bath while shaking the tank, rinsing a container, and trying to justify why you've been camped out in the bathroom for so long with products that smell so bad. And then you get muddled, off by a few minutes — and there goes a wasted film.

Between us, we don't really camp out in the bathroom that long, and the products don't smell that bad at all. It all depends on the reference point! Anyway.

There's an easy solution for timing: a mobile app — well, two mobile apps.

Dev it — darkroom timer
Développer Pellicule Pro

The big plus of these apps, besides timing, is that they let you store and consult dilutions, bath times, and timing corrections based on temperature variations.

Other mobile apps exist, notably Massive Dev Chart Timer or Kodak professional film app, but they are less complete or more expensive than the two we'll discuss today.

Dev it — darkroom timer

Dev it — darkroom timer offers a clean, efficient interface to select the film type, developer, dilution, etc.

A community regularly contributes new processes, available in the app and online at http://www.devitapp.org.

Dev it is available on Android and Apple.

Icing on the cake: the app is free. So there's no reason not to try it. It's the app to download with your eyes closed.

Développer Pellicule Pro

Développer Pellicule offers an interface that, in my view, is more ergonomic than Dev it, but with the same features.

There is a free version, Développer Pellicule Essai, whose features let you carry out a development efficiently but don't allow customising the interface or saving preferences.

For that, you'll need to pay €3.99 for the Pro version.

Développer Pellicule is also available on Android and Apple.

Dev it vs Développer Pellicule Pro

First criterion: price. Here, of course, Dev it wins the match — the app is free.

For the rest, it may come down to taste, but I have a preference for Développer Pellicule Pro. The interface lets you work with large, well-contrasted displays. Développer Pellicule Pro wins on ergonomics.

There is no clear winner in this match. Try both and choose the app that suits you.

Dev it — darkroom timer

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.devit.android — Apple: https://apps.apple.com/sb/app/dev-it-darkroom-timer/id1018458471

Développer Pellicule

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=photography.darkroom.pro — Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/film-developer-timer-pro/id768356095