Are Light Meter Apps Any Good?

[@Verdoux007]

It's also good to keep in mind that the phone's hardware also plays a big part in the accuracy of those apps.

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

@@judsoncaspian4340 scammy scam

[@jimwlouavl]

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[@marcellom.4268]

It'd be nice to test them out in other more "difficult" circumstances, such as a backlit subject.

[@richardmayberry5905]

Very interesting and informative! I have also found the Lightmeter Pro app to be very accurate and consistent - not to mention very quick and easy to use. Most of my film cameras are meterless, and my one that DOES have one built in - my Minolta SRT-101 - has an LR44 battery to replace the old mercury cell. The LM Pro app suggested, for example, setting the ASA/ISO at 320 when using 400 speed film, and it is dead-on! Well worth the “price of admission” for that alone! Thanks for the informative and entertaining episodes!

[@mykilfremn26]

thank you so much for the thorough review keep fighting the good fight

[@MrRom92DAW]

I like mylightmeter pro, the classic feel of using a “virtual” handheld meter just feels right, and that skeuomorphic design is something I feel is missing from a lot of modern iOS apps. I remember a time when ALL apps attempted to look like that, and I miss it! It may not have been free but it works great and the developer actively updates/maintains the software so I feel it was money well spent. I have been able to rely on it to shoot slide film which I think is the ultimate test for nailing exposures

[@Mark-el8sb]

Apart from the user friendliness of the various interfaces, a key takeaway seems to be that the phone light metering apps are pretty darn good in terms of accuracy compared to dedicated meters.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

The apps that let you spot meter different areas seem to get a better result than the wide view only apps. Otherwise, yes, they seem to be pretty decent.

[@michaeldimmitt2188]

@@TheNakedPhotographer can you define the size of the “spot” where you tap? Does it grab the center pixel for the reading? Thanks for a helpful video. Which do you think is better for lowlight and/or pinhole photography? Thanks again!

[@macbookdieter]

2nd on Lightme. It also has a B&W camera setting, which helps give you a better idea what the scene would look like with B&W film

[@gualtieropugliesi7552]

From Italy... Congratulations, the video with all the examples is done very well and explains a lot of things. Not everything you say, however, adapts to my needs, for this I would like to know if you can help me. I'll explain. My machine park is composite, and is made up of four 35 mm film devices (Asahi Pentax SpotMatic, Canon Eos 500n, Nikkor Calypso underwater, Topcon UNI, a Minolta Dynax 3000i, a 6x6 bifocal (Mamiya C330), and finally a Nikon Digital D80. My Pentax is very, very old but is full of accessories and objectives (1 Fish-Eye and a 200mm telephoto lens, filters, bellow dia-reproducer, extensions etc.) and it was my top machine; overall I did 4000 or 5000 shots including color negatives and b/w, slides too. The internal exposure meter practically dead, and the battery replacement kits do not inspire me confidence. Buying an external, serious exposur meter (the cheapest Sekonic L-208 costs € 96.00 on Amazon, a Gossen Digisix2 costs 184 €) do not offer sufficient savings. Despite their excessive cost, I don't really want to change from film to digital format. A more equipped device than the D80 costs too much and then I am not convinced of their performance, since cell phones now have very high resolutions probably comparable with digital cameras. I thought of using an exposure meter on Android but I have to check which of yours is the most suitable. Now I use the "Light meter free". The Nikon D80 is a non -programmable machine, it does everything alone but, like all Nikon, it has an excellent photographic performance. The last step. I' have found none of your apps for android. In fact I'm quite sure that your phone is Apple's. Correct? What do you suggest? Thanks for your reply. Greetings.

[@Bartuul]

A nice comparison. I've used many different apps in the past, both general area and "spot" and the results were hit and miss. I've even came up with a system of setting different film speeds to compensate for the meter being fooled by big light areas etc. but truth be told, only after I switched to a dedicated spot meter, my exposures started to show some consistency. Still - these apps are a nice entry point for hand held metering.

[@andrefelixstudio2833]

Nice video very informative, I don’t use a light meter much these days as I use the lcd screen on my camera that I have calibrated, it’s like using a Digital polaroid! I do use a meter in the studio but I can guess my f stop being doing photography for over 30 years! Thanks for the video.

[@Kitsaplorax]

Thanks for the comparison. I've got a Euromaster meter and don't have a reason to carry anything else. I've used phone apps and find them more awkward. Mistakes are due to operator error.

[@fabshop6359]

Cracking video, answered questions I had regarding light meter apps. Cheers!

[@faraz2498]

I think testing specific spots across meters would also be good since most large format or zone system photographers will take spot readings rather than meter the whole scene. I use a modern Sekonic but often switch to phone apps (Lux mostly) and generally I find they perform well for shooting film . But in low or challenging light the Sekonic comes out to play.

[@dsgregg]

Thanks for the review. I feel more confident about using a phone meter now that I've seen your review. I researched this about 2 years ago and the feedback that I got then is "all phone meters suck". I bought the Dr Meter device which only indicated lux readings but I can probably use it to calibrate or check other readings. I was having a hard time dealing with $220 for a digital light meter.

[@justnoted2995]

Thank you mister; good presentation... and that is a nifty setup you rigged up 👍

[@jackbailey7037]

Excellent show and review!

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Thanks!

[@Mr.Fontastic86]

The first app Lghtmtr does have the tap setting to expose for whatever you select when you take reading . 👍

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

It’s been a few years since I made that video, so I’m sure updates have come out since then

[@ianharper6015]

Thanks for a useful review.

[@achillesgl5634]

I know im late to the party but... the app on photo light meter & exposure at 8:13 you can double tap to get a spot meter reading

[@jiohkm]

Great video!! Thanks for this review

[@RichardSilvius]

Great comparison, thank you! I always take out my Pentax 67 with the metered prism because I don’t own a dedicated light meter, and don’t really want one - it’s another thing to lug around. My phone I always have anyway, so I’m going to try out this Lightmeter Pro app with my waist level finder and some Ektachrome and see how things go.

[@lorenzoamato953]

How did the experiment go?

[@RichardSilvius]

@@lorenzoamato953 will find out in a few weeks when I get my film processed!

[@Errys]

@@RichardSilvius any updates?

[@RichardSilvius]

@@Errys using the app with ektachrome, I found a tendency towards underexposure. Could be my own error though, slide film is known to be tricky.

[@GR8FLMD3AD]

Great video, thank you!

[@richardsimms251]

Great video.

[@maxima8282]

Very useful info! Thank you!

[@unpocodeluz_atill]

You can calibrate Lightmeter pro with a actual ligthmeter (I had to did it). While it gets accurate results in general conditions, in low light stuations it is no as reliable.

[@dianeschuller]

I chose the Lux app based on your great video. thank you.

[@Nick_6x7]

My Lightmeter Pro has the option to “spot” meter. Just tap the pro tab and it’s a much easier to use interface.

[@jimiwexler1260]

Yes yes and yes, click on the camera display and use the screen to tap for spot it actually works surprisingly well as long as there isn’t too much contrast (trying to read something dark next to something very bright)

[@GregRandall]

I've had good experience with the light meter apps until it starts to get dark. After dusk the readings seem to not be very accurate.

[@Kitsaplorax]

Try the Black Cat Exposure Guide. No battery needed.

[@GregRandall]

@@Kitsaplorax Neat, haven't heard of the Black Cat Exposure Guide! Normally after dusk I swap over to a Gossen Luna Pro.

[@nelsonmacababatjr.7854]

Hi can you make a video on how to use your old sekonic light meter? Thanks

[@LuisFernandez-ef9ll]

Great comparison video! What are your thoughts (or anyone else's) on the "Lightme" app, especially with slide film? It's another free app and I've found that its "spot meter" functionality gives me good negatives, but I want to try my hand with positives so I want to be sure I haven't just been lucky with color negative film's exposure latitude.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I can’t answer that yet, maybe after I do a low light test.

[@grahamfield6173]

Thanks for this

[@Garacha222]

Thank you. Very informative, and seem valid comparisons. I do wonder if some calibration to gray cards, or a gray sphere would be of any assistance. (doesn't seem possible to calibrate APPs) Of course, applying readings to the digital camera demonstrates exactly what photographers are after! I've downloaded, and am going to try the LIGHTMETER PRO. Do you have a link for the sphere accessory?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

No link. Search for Luxi For All

[@lillianvalentine1975]

great review

[@scottwillis2303]

Thank you!

[@PhilTaylorPhotog]

Lumu has a plug in incident meter accessory...would have liked seeing that in the comparison. It can also be used as a lux meter.

[@jean-claudemuller3199]

Lux specification says that the measurement device has to be flat. For Lux measurement The Lumu probe has a flat surface and is hardware calibrated what satisfies all specifications for Lux. The App and iPhone are only supporting reading of the calibrated Lumu probe and don't affect precision. A lightmeter with a recessed dome that measures Lux doesn't satisfy the Lux specifications, it only make an emulation for it and cannot be as precise as the Lumu.

[@jean-claudemuller3199]

I've compared the iPhone app Lumu incident meter to my Sekonik L-858D spotmeter. On my iPhone 12 mini, this function works with the iPhone camera without the Lumu Probe. The Lumu Probe you have to purchase goves the benefit benefit of: incident lightmeter, Lux meter, flashmeter, flash light analyser, ambient and flash colorimeter, room lightings color analyser The Lumu App on my iPhone 12 mini gives exactly the same spotmeter reading as my Sekonic with a very large variable meetering angle that can even be smaller than 1° The Lumu app cannot show multiple points on the same EV scale, nor make contrast measurements like the Sekonic, but it can memorize the measure with GPS coordinates, a wrtitten text as well as a photo of the su nject with the measured spot

[@ac_santana]

Awesome! Low light situations would be cool also!

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Sounds like a part 2 in the making!

[@ac_santana]

@@TheNakedPhotographer nice!

[@mkshffr4936]

I have been trying to find an android light meter app. I have tried a couple. "Light Meter - Lite" is an example that seems reasonably convenient to use but of all them seem to do pretty well using the phone light sensor for incident readings but trying to use the camera as a spot meter/reflective meter is consistently off by 4 or 5 stops. Why would it be so far off? After further research it looks like spot metering doesn't work on my device so I have to use zoom. It seems to give more reasonable results this way. Will play with it some more.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Bad programming I suppose

[@mkshffr4936]

@@TheNakedPhotographer Thanks. Turns out spot metering doesn't work on my phone so I have to use the zoom feature instead. I will spend some time playing with it later today but it looks like it might be usable. Interestingly I have a 60+ year old DeJUR hand held meter that still closely matches the results of the built in meter on my Minolta X570. The numbers on the dial are very worn however making it tricky to read. Thus the desire for an app.

[@mostosi1965]

Hi, can you tell me where we can buy the tool for mobile for incident light ? Did you find on amazon ? or elsewhere ? can you show a link ?

[@JohnDought]

So incan use the light meter apps with a analog camera? I got "light meter" app but not the pro i cannot find the pro, i guess i bought it before but i cant remember. The meter is self in the small globe is always black and White and it doest say pro.

[@RyanBianco]

perfect video for sleeping, thanks!

[@jd5787]

Stupid question but don't digital cams these days have this built in? Even the 40 year old olympus om does had internal light metering function.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

They do, but this is more for people that shoot film with cameras that don’t have meters built in, of which there are many.

[@jd5787]

@@TheNakedPhotographer indeed! I am looking at buying a film camera (olympus OM) and I am wondering whether the external light meter is needed. Perhaps I will get an app for now and see how it compares to the inbuilt one. Have a good day ahead and thanks for the reply!

[@ThBreadMan]

What is the best affordable light meter for beginners?

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

The most versatile and bang for your buck is the Sekonic L-308

[@kevinmitchell7924]

Check out the Spectra Combi ii, best meter ever!

[@janbrand2075]

Didn't use ISO 160 to start this test?

[@JimSollows]

Great video but you are missing something with the Lightmeter Pro app. Click the word PRO at the top of the screen to switch to an interface that gives much more control, plus if you then click the image preview it will give you full screen spot metering like the other apps. In addition you can customize the lens presets so the view will emulate the actual lens on your camera.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

As I said in the video, this was not meant to be a thorough review of all the features of each app, just a comparison to a real meter to check for accuracy.

[@GeirBakkenVestfold]

An interesting video that should be an answer for many film photographers.

[@JourneyAimlessly]

Lghtmtr app you can choose a spot and drag your finger to control the exposure of the film !!! You can compensate! But in your video you said it couldn’t !!! But it can !!!

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

There may have been an update since I made this video, it wasn’t doing it while filming.

[@sergeatar]

Why is there background music, hard to listen whilst on.

[@justnoted2995]

Almost guaranteed that you are stressed out

[@clemensruis]

I don't see the point in using one of those apps since your camera can measure the exposure just fine. For flash photography, on the other hand, a meter might be really helpful. But none of these apps work as a flash meter.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Not all cameras have built in meters. It’s rare for medium format and non existent for large format

[@clemensruis]

@@TheNakedPhotographer That's right. I forgot about cameras without meters. Even if you have a meter, or if your camera has one built in - knowing about the "sunny 16 rule" might help people a lot outdoors. (it definitely helped me to get a better sense of these values) I have a little print out which gives a good exposure for some more weather conditions.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

A lot of older cameras, pre-built in meter, use a pictograph chart for weather conditions to estimate exposure. A lot of my vintage Kodak cameras do that.

[@jamesjacocks6221]

The only reading I can use is one that specifically refers to some tone in the composition. I use spot meters or my legs and reflection meters. Phones are not a great sensor for light measurement any more than they give you right answers to other problems. Does your Master IV really read accurately? I had a Master V about 50 years ago, it was swell.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

The Master IV is ok, but I’ll never use it over my Sekonic. Some of the apps use a spot meter function, but the range of lighting, particularly low light can be beyond a phone’s capability.

[@jamesjacocks6221]

@@TheNakedPhotographer I'm amazed the Master IV works, is all. I wouldn't use it either. Yea, phones don't have enough sensitivity and you have a hard time obtaining a discreet reading that doesn't factor in what you don't want. I wouldn't call them spot meters; there are too many interfaces between subject and result (the program that drives the app, the hardware of a device made for other uses, a wide angle reading that is subtended and then projected beyond the actual information.) I really like your channel and hope you can continue to give us insights.

[@wilson_law]

Thanks for confirming with the 3xpensive meter that i have well spent my money from the beginning of time 😀

[@Nerdzombiedisco]

Looking at my dad's old Sekonic with selenium, looks like it's dead. Bummer.

[@mbranagan4277]

I have Pocket Light Meter and found it insensitive to nuanced changes in light. You need to point the sensitive area to something bright and then the thing you want in order to "reset" the meter.

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I used an iPhone 6 for this video, but now I have a 12. I need to do a part 2 to see if newer phones have better response.

[@mbranagan4277]

@@TheNakedPhotographer I have an iPhone 5 (2021 version).

[@corykphotography]

This was a very educational video. Thanks for this. Also, not to sound like a knitpicker but the constant backround music playing during your tests and explanations is super distracting. Intros, outros, and interludes mate. Not during the education. Just a friendly tip. The video and content were amazing and helpful.

[@mroblige1018]

Try on Android

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

I’m not going to buy a phone for a 15 minute video

[@joelmulder]

Very thorough! But the photographer wasn’t naked, so I’m not impressed.

[@OH_IO_777]

We need a new video for 2025

[@Anarki2U]

Pocket Light Meter are NOT free !

[@TheNakedPhotographer]

Calm down

[@matthewphillips5483]

@@TheNakedPhotographer 🤣

[@maxbashyrov5785]

In digital photography you expose to the right, so this comparison is not quite relevant.