Wanted: Update on smart phone light meter apps

[Drew Bedo]

When cameras started showing up on cell phones, folks tried to use them as light meters. Some were OK, but not all that good. When smart phones came out, folks tried to develop apps to turn them into light meters; again with sub-optimal results.

We are now yearas into smart phone development. The camera functions and apps are more sophisticated and capable.

I now have an iPhone-7 . What apps will work WELL for use as a light meter?

[chassis]

Pocket Light Meter for iPhone.

[Drew Bedo]

Pocket Light Meter for iPhone.


OK.. .So I guess that this is an app for my iPhone-7 ...does it work? Does it work well? How does this app compare with others?

[Tin Can]

I use the $10.99 Pocket Light Meter
Nuwaste studios

On iPhone SE cheap enough and handy if I forget something.

I compared it to my L758DR and thought it good enough for 'ME'.

I am not the 1/10 stop sort of guy, in fact, I make myself guess every exposure before using a meter. Then I pick which I like better.

Even post Cataract I judge light intensity the same despite, everything is whiter and darker. Meaning I now can see white, but all light is dimmer.

[paulbarden]

MyLightMeter Pro has been very good for me, and compares favorably with my Sekonic 308. Its very nice to have it in your pocket when you forget to pack your "real" meter. I find it reliable enough to substitute for a dedicated meter.https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mylightmeter-pro/id583922375?mt=8

[Nodda Duma]

The Pocket Light Meter app on my iphone is pretty dang accurate, and gives data I need like Exposure Values at the speed I meter at (as well as EV100 values). It also meters down to ISO 1, which I need for my dry plates.

As an engineer, I don’t trust anything until I’ve verified it works as intended. After several years of use and comparison against multiple other meters, I’m satisfied it gives accurate results...even for uncomprising use such as metering for slide film. I now use it as my “standard” to compare the accuracy of other meters against.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

Cine Meter II (https://www.adamwilt.com/cinemeterii/)

It has zoomable reflected, incident (need to buy the Luxi sphere, about $22), and color metering. It isn't cheap ($25), is iPhone only, and can take a bit of reading to learn, but is a perfect backup and travel meter. After calibration it remains well within a 1/3 stop of my Pentax spot throughout the range (which is as precise as the digital Pentax will get) and within a 1/5 or so of my Sekonic incident, both under a variety of natural and artificial light sources. The color meter appears as accurate as an Minolta color meter I borrowed, and was well aligned. The creator is very responsive.

I still prefer my Pentax spot primarily because of ease of use with Zone system and habit, but have found Cine Meter II to be as reliable, at least in the 2 years I have used it. I have also found it to be more accurate and easier to use than the Pocket Light Meter app.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I would be interested in hearing for anyone who has used the Lumu extensively (https://lu.mu/). It is a incident dome with flash meter and color meter that plugs into the audio jack (older version) or lightning connector of an iPhone. It is as expensive ($299) as a dedicated meter, and I have read that the older version had some problems (http://www.dvinfo.net/article/production/lighting/review-lumu-incident-reading-lightmeter-for-ios-android.html).

[Tin Can]

That is a very complete APP!

I will buy it. It may also be useful for developing, adjusting, and calibrating my future DIY LED Enlarging Head.

Green screens and using the front cam for lighting setup selfies is also a great use.

Plus no WIFI, BT, Cell connection needed is wise.


Cine Meter II (https://www.adamwilt.com/cinemeterii/)

It has zoomable reflected, incident (need to buy the Luxi sphere, about $22), and color metering. It isn't cheap ($25), is iPhone only, and can take a bit of reading to learn, but is a perfect backup and travel meter. After calibration it remains well within a 1/3 stop of my Pentax spot throughout the range (which is as precise as the digital Pentax will get) and within a 1/5 or so of my Sekonic incident. The color meter appears as accurate as an Minolta color meter I borrowed, and was well aligned. The creator is very responsive.

I still prefer my Pentax spot primarily because of ease of use with Zone system and habit, but have found Cine Meter II to be as reliable, at least in the 2 years I have used it. I have also found it to be more accurate and easier to use than the Pocket Light Meter app.

[chassis]

Pocket Light Meter works with iOS on the iPhone. It works well. It is within a half stop of my Sekonic L-758DR. The iPhone with Pocket Light Meter is best used in my view as a spot meter.

[Bill Poole]

+1 for MyLightmeterPro, used as reflective and with the Luxi incident dome, with the caveat that I use it on an IPhone 6 and that I have not used other apps for comparison. The reflective mode allows measurement of relatively small parts of the image field, and used with the incident dome, it duplicates incident reading made with my Sekonic and Luna Pro meters. You can also calibrate the meter + or - one stop in third stop increments. Works for me, and I am confident enough of its accuracy that I will sometimes leave the dedicated meter at home on casual photo jaunts. Hope this helps.

[ricolm]

Another Pocket Light Meter user here. This app works great and has exposure correction.

[Gary Beasley]

Any recommendations for Android users?