Film processing timer for Android

Hi guys,

Not having found any timer that I really loved to process my film, I made one for Android (Film Processing Timer).

The main purpose of this application is not to provide infinite number of development time for any given film and emulsion combinations, but to store the values that I use and trust. In fact, no time is provided with the application. However, the import and export features combined with scripts to fetch data from other databases can get you a lot more information than you really need.

As I would like to continue to improve this one, please use this thread to suggest any improvement or desired features.

Jeff

Can it be set to give a agitate tone?

tim k said:

Can it be set to give a agitate tone?

Click to expand...

Yes. There is a tone to indicate the end of initial agitation, then there is a tone every start and stop of subsequent agitation. For instance, if you have an agitation defined as 60-30-5, you'll have a tone at 1:00, then at 1:30, 1:35, 2:00, 2:05, 2:30, etc.

I don't have a droid so can't try your app, but I use the MDC app on iOS. I have a number of whinges about that app but the main one is: allow me to specify an arbitrarily long list of process steps. The reason I say that is that I want the timer to be useful for B&W, C41, E6 and RA4, each of which has a different selection of steps. Currently I hack around it in MDC by putting my bleach+fix times as Fix1 and Fix2 and manually (woe!) timing the pre-bleach, reversal and all the other steps including washes. That sucks.

It'd be very cool if you had an "Edit Program" Activity showing the process steps in a program and permitting the user to edit the name/time/comment on each step, plus a button for an "Add Step" Activity. So for E6, I'd end up with (I think) an 11-step process including all the washes.

Request #2: use a different warning tone for "end of process-step approaching" at a user-settable time-in-advance. MDC has three beeps before agitation begins and if your process ends on an agitation boundary then you get the three beeps. A couple of times I've been processing by ear and not looking at the display, picked the tank up on the beeps and then swore a bunch while I hastily tried to get the lid off and dump the chems on hearing the end-of-process alarm right after that.

Oh yeah, and MDC breaks (!) your custom development settings on some upgrades, e.g. deleting the Fix step altogether and adding in a hypo-clear step you didn't want. Bad. Modifying the set of available steps in a process should not be a code upgrade, it should be (as per my first request) merely data within a given process program.

If you want to be uber-fancy, allow variants on a process, e.g. "N", "N+1", "N-1" etc that match up with the recorded outputs from your metering/BTZS-alike app. You should be able to retrieve the list of rolls/sheets shot, say "I am developing this one" and have the process-timer fill in the appropriate dev time given the selected SBR/CI of the logged exposures.

polyglot said:

allow me to specify an arbitrarily long list of process steps. The reason I say that is that I want the timer to be useful for B&W, C41, E6 and RA4, each of which has a different selection of steps. Currently I hack around it in MDC by putting my bleach+fix times as Fix1 and Fix2 and manually (woe!) timing the pre-bleach, reversal and all the other steps including washes. That sucks.

It'd be very cool if you had an "Edit Program" Activity showing the process steps in a program and permitting the user to edit the name/time/comment on each step, plus a button for an "Add Step" Activity. So for E6, I'd end up with (I think) an 11-step process including all the washes.

Click to expand...

It would certainly be possible to change the current static developer and fixer entries to a list that the user can add and remove items. Then, how would you like the agitation defined for each step ? For now, the custom agitation pattern is only applied to the developing step since this is the only step in which it affects the development time. For the fix step, a global preference is used to define the period of the notification. Would you require different period for each step ?

polyglot said:

Request #2: use a different warning tone for "end of process-step approaching" at a user-settable time-in-advance. MDC has three beeps before agitation begins and if your process ends on an agitation boundary then you get the three beeps. A couple of times I've been processing by ear and not looking at the display, picked the tank up on the beeps and then swore a bunch while I hastily tried to get the lid off and dump the chems on hearing the end-of-process alarm right after that.

Click to expand...

This can easily be added in the preferences. However, I just wonder how useful that would be. The way I see it is that agitation timing is not super critical. The delay introduced by your time response to the agitation start beep should easily be within the margin of acceptable variance of the process. On the other hand, having a notification a little before the end of the process is a good suggestion as this is much more critical and it can involve some preparation to pour the chemicals out.

polyglot said:

Oh yeah, and MDC breaks (!) your custom development settings on some upgrades, e.g. deleting the Fix step altogether and adding in a hypo-clear step you didn't want. Bad. Modifying the set of available steps in a process should not be a code upgrade, it should be (as per my first request) merely data within a given process program.

Click to expand...

Sure.

polyglot said:

If you want to be uber-fancy, allow variants on a process, e.g. "N", "N+1", "N-1" etc that match up with the recorded outputs from your metering/BTZS-alike app. You should be able to retrieve the list of rolls/sheets shot, say "I am developing this one" and have the process-timer fill in the appropriate dev time given the selected SBR/CI of the logged exposures.

Click to expand...

In fact, this a function that is already planned. Like the F-Stop Timer, the Film Processing Timer will be linked to the Dead Link Removed. It will be possible to exchange information between the two applications so data are automatically filled. The Film Processing Timer is not made to keep track of film exposure, but NoteKeeper is.


Thanks for the input, keep them coming !

I'm using Darkroom Timer and I like it a bunch, but one thing that bugs me is having to touch the phone with wet hands to start the next step. Its pretty obvious that your going to stop after developing, and fix after that.

Is there a way to just start the timer, and have it progress from one step to the next without input?

Also, I would assume it has the option to turn the screen to red or amber for tray use?

Im using that one too Tim.
1 handy tip. put your phone in a ziploc bag and it becomes waterproof but still responds to you tapping the screen.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Good tip, seems a little bit obvious now. Thanks

tim k said:

I'm using Darkroom Timer and I like it a bunch, but one thing that bugs me is having to touch the phone with wet hands to start the next step. Its pretty obvious that your going to stop after developing, and fix after that.

Is there a way to just start the timer, and have it progress from one step to the next without input?

Click to expand...

I'm currently trying to figure what would be the best transition system. It's quite easy to implements an automatic transition. However, I'm not so sure if this is the best approach. For instance, if something happen during the development and for some reason you decide to extend it a little. That's why the timer is counting up and doesn't stop at the end. It will indicate that time is up, but it will continue to indicate the elapsed time. You can then adjust live your process.

tim k said:

Also, I would assume it has the option to turn the screen to red or amber for tray use?

Click to expand...

Developing my sheet films in trays is what made me started on this project. However, it as not yet reach the point where it can be used for that. I still need to figure the right way of starting the timer. Since it needs to be done in complete darkness, the user as no way of interacting with the application. So, the timer need to be pre-started. That raise the question of for how long ? I need enough time to take all my sheets out of the holders and fumbles happens way too often. If I end up taking much longer than expected and the timer start before I'm ready, I'm stuck in the dark and I can't do anything. A solution that I'm looking at is voice command. I plan a solution where I'll put the phone in a light tight bag (empty paper bag) and have the timer respond to simple "start" and "next" command.