DisparaTimer.
Your new DIY F-stop timer, 100% free!
* Video in Spanish. Turn on automatic English subtitles.
What is DisparaTimer.
When printing in the darkroom, there are several key aspects to consider if you want to achieve a great photograph. One of them is precision in controlling exposure time, and another is your comfort while working.
DisparaTimer is a modern timer, developed by users with years of experience in the darkroom. It’s precise, convenient, and easy to use. And the best part: it's completely free.
Why print my photographs?
Digital photography has become about sitting in front of a computer screen, moving sliders, and ending up with thousands of photos composed of zeros and ones buried on your hard drive.
The darkroom offers you the chance to have fun creating physical and unique images in a completely handmade way. The result is secondary; the experience and the satisfaction of seeing your photo appear on the paper is EVERYTHING.
Features.
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With a mobile screen, all the settings are visible and arranged intuitively. Nothing like other timers with 4 or 5-digit screens and buttons with menus and submenus!
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There is no noticeable delay from the moment you press the exposure button until the enlarger lights up the lamp.
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You can work with up to tenths of a second.
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With DisparaTimer, you can increase or decrease your time in f-stop fractions, making printing much more convenient. The available fractions are 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, and 1/8.
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You have 10 memories available to store your exposure times.
Don’t need them anymore? Delete all with a long press on the "Reset" button, or individually with long presses on the one you want to delete.
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Do you need both hands free for dodging or burning? Set the delay to postpone the enlarger’s light.
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Adjust the number of steps in your test strip (from 2 to 10 steps) and the stop fraction between steps (from 1/2 to 1/8 for maximum precision).
With its automatic mode, you won't need to press a button to start the timer for each segment of the strip—DisparaTimer will do it for you! You can set the time between segments by adjusting the delay (750 milliseconds by default).
Select your strip time by simply pressing on it.
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Start the timer with a Bluetooth footswitch and the free Android app Key Mapper. You can use a simple or multi-button footswitch.
We explain how to connect it in the DisparaTimer guide.
DIY.
DisparaTimer is not a finished product; you need to build it yourself. Don’t worry, you don’t need any electronics or electrical knowledge—it's a very basic assembly that we’ll guide you through step by step.
Plus, it’s inexpensive. You only need a Raspberry Pico, a relay, an Android device and some common wires, sockets, etc. that you can recycle. Nothing compared to the over €450 that a step timer can cost.
Download the app.
It’s free. We’re excited to see what you do with it.
FAQ.
General Questions and Answers. For questions about assembling the device or using the app, visit the guide.
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No, but we’d love for it to be. Do you know how to adapt the app for iPhone? If so, get in touch with us; we’d be excited to hear from you!
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It’s free; you just need to download it from the Google Play Store.
If you’d like to support the other work we do at Disparafilm, you can make a donation here. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts ❤️.
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You don’t need a very powerful Android device. You can use an old phone you have at home.
As for the operating system, we’ve found that it doesn’t work with Android 8 or below.
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No, DisparaTimer only displays red and black (with a negligible amount of white that won’t affect your paper), so you don’t need to filter your screen either through software or with a physical filter. However, here are a few recommendations:
Lower the brightness as much as possible, since some screens might still emit other colors even if you only see red.
Disable all notifications on your phone (enable "Do Not Disturb" or similar mode) as notifications will appear in their original colors and can affect your paper. We recommend using a separate Android device that is not your current phone and is not connected to social networks, email, etc., to avoid any kind of notifications.
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Yes. DisparaTimer is under development, though as a free app, our dedication isn’t full-time. We have a Discord channel where we share experiences and discuss potential improvements. Feel free to join us there!
* Our Discord server is in Spanish, but feel free to speak in English—many of our users will be able to help you.
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No. Updates will include new features, but if you like the version of DisparaTimer you’re using and don’t want to update, you don’t have to.
If you want to stay up-to-date, update your app. If this requires updating your Raspberry as well, we’ll let you know. Subscribe to the newsletter (above) and we’ll notify you of any updates, or join our Discord to stay informed.
* Our Discord server is in Spanish, but feel free to speak in English—many of our users will be able to help you.
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The most practical way to resolve your doubts is to join our Discord. We have a dedicated channel for DisparaTimer where the community can help answer your questions.
* Our Discord server is in Spanish, but feel free to speak in English—many of our users will be able to help you.
You can also consult the guide.
Chechu Disparafilm often does multi-camera live streams on our YouTube channel(in Spanish), printing from his darkroom, where he uses DisparaTimer. Subscribe and hit the notification bell. Watching his live streams is very helpful.
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Technically yes, but remember that color paper is also sensitive to red light, so you’ll need complete darkness. A mobile screen isn’t very helpful in this regard...
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No, DisparaTimer is not available as a pre-made product. It is designed to be a DIY project, and you’ll need to assemble it yourself. We provide all the instructions and guidance you need to build it. If you have any questions or need support during the assembly process, feel free to reach out to our community or consult our resources.
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Yes, but keep in mind that this code is protected under the GNU GPLv3.0 license, so you need to consider the following.
Anyone can copy, modify and distribute this software.
You have to include the license and copyright notice with each and every distribution.
You can use this software privately.
You can use this software for commercial purposes.
If you dare build your business solely from this code, you risk open-sourcing the whole code base.
If you modify it, you have to indicate changes made to the code.
Any modifications of this code base MUST be distributed with the same license, GPLv3.
This software is provided without warranty.
The software author or license can not be held liable for any damages inflicted by the software.
More info about GPU 3.0 here.
If you have any questions about this or any ideas, please contact us.
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Yes. DisparaTimer is open source, so feel free to experiment and adapt the software to your liking. Just remember to share it with the community, as we have.
Technically speaking: The DisparaTimer code is licensed under GNU GPLv3.0, which means that any software derived from it must also be open source and publish its source code. Check the previous question ("Can I manufacture and sell it?") if you want to know more.
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The Disparafilm and "Club Analógico" community are a group of analog photography enthusiasts, which is why DisparaTimer is and will always be completely free. This is another way we contribute to promoting analog photography and making it accessible to people whose financial resources might not allow for large investments.
If you’d like to support what we do at Disparafilm and the Analog Club, you can make a donation here. Thank you! ❤️
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No need to, thank you for keeping the flame of black and white printing alive 🙏🏻.
But if you’d like to support all the other work we do at Disparafilm, you can make a donation here. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts ❤️.
Credits.
DisparaTimer was developed by Juan Carlos Viso @halfaman, in collaboration with @Juan.Urulus and Chechu Disparafilm.
DisparaTimer is based on FaduTimer idea, a similar app developed by Bob, a user from the British forum Film and Darkroom User. This app stopped being updated in 2021. At Disparafilm, we want to thank those who worked on the development of this wonderful app; we’re taking up your torch!