I have to apologize to the developer. I purchased this app and I was at first a bit miffed at what I thought I’d gotten for the price. I actually went so far as to ask Apple for a refund, which I pretty quickly regretted. As I used the app I realized that it was my preferred one as far as phone light meters go, and the log feature is very cool. I’ve been testing it against my camera’s meter and feel confident that it will work well with an old rangefinder I’m using that doesn’t have a meter. One less thing to carry around with me when shooting, because my phone would be in my pocket anyway. It works well, is well designed and thought out, and the log feature is great. So I went back and bought it again! Thanks for making it and sorry for my initial snap judgment!
This is really the best iPhone Exp Meter available. The only thing holding back the 5 star rating is the cheesy font and background in the logged photos. Needs modernization and a few graphic interface improvements. Adding the ability to assign Hold and Log buttons using the iPhone up and down volume buttons would make this a killer app. Please keep developing this app and hopefully add the button feature.
Not quite yet. On the good side - measures exposure correctly (like a real light meter) so one can use it for the zone system. Spot metering by taping on the screen helps a lot. Settings are practical. On the other side - just getting rid of the adds (for $1.99) doesn't last if application is reinstalled. Probably one needs to buy the author a beer (for $5.99) to get rid if the adds permanently.. The worst part is once you get rid of the adds, the field where the adds were is like a blind spot - you cannot place the cursor there for spot metering. I think the only serious restriction of this application. Overall, great App - five stars.
App is accurate. Ive used this for both a Mamiya 645 and RZ67. Works fantastic every time. My film comes out well exposed. I don’t even carry a light meter because I trust this app so much. My only complaint is that the app’s layout and overall look feels a little outdated. It looks like an app that you’d get back in the early smartphone days. It’s not that big of a deal though because it works great regardless, but an appearance update wouldn’t hurt it.
I started using this app a few years ago as a “Hail Mary” during a shooting session on film when I had forgotten a light meter. This performed so well once the film was developed that I sold my light meter. When I started shooting video a year later, I continued using this to keep me grounded while shooting LOG. Accuracy is dead on, even compared to the high end meters on the market. Truly an amazing and clever use of our little pocket supercomputers.
I’ve used this app to shoot medium and large format cameras that have no light meter of their own, and I get accurate results. Even if your film camera has a light meter, you should use this app just for the convenient logging feature; shoot a digital photo of the film photos take, and write down any pertinent notes that’ll be helpful later (exposure, location, etc).
This app is useful for cameras that don’t have a light meter. Don’t overlook the log feature. Being able to add a note is also very useful. I’m not aware of the angle of view fir the metered light. It would be useful to be able to change that to match the focal length of the lens used. Otherwise very nice!
I am by no means a professional at this. But it’s easy to use for an amateur and so far seems to be matching my digital camera settings. I am using it for my foray into film and also to get better at choosing my own settings with digital. So far the film pictures also seem to be coming out about right.
As a professional photographer for over 40 years, I’ve owned just about everything one can have (and spent way too much money). The Pocket Light Meter app has been awesome and a tremendous value , especially for scouting and color temp checks when adding gels to match conditions! And it’s always with me!
Seems silly to use your iPhone to check your light settings, but for some of my medium format cameras that no longer have working meters, this is fantastic. Set it time ISO film you’re using and can even log as you go. Can’t wait to run around the city sigh some 800!CineStill in my 120 camera!
I really like this app... I compared it to the readings and results from my Canon 6D and its right on. I use it on those rare occasions when I shoot film. My only complaint is that it won't take a reading off a flash but honestly I have no idea how that's even possible by using the iPhone cam. This is a great app and the price is RIGHT on. Good stuff!
Most of us do not need a handheld light meter, because today’s cameras have great built-in meters. However, the auto white balance can leave a lot to desire. Use the white balance feature of this app to get great color rendition under any natural lighting condition. Get the WB, enter it into your camera and you are set.
Replaced the need for a spot meter entirely for me.
This app is incredible. I shot three rolls of velvia through my Fuji GW690III. Despite velvia being very unforgiving with exposure latitude, the shots came out great. This was the meter I used. It's spot on. The interface is incredibly intuitive, and you can set the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture in full, half, or third stops. The devs of this app got a pint from me!
finally a spot meter for zone photography. Would suggest adding a zone scale and a meter reading save feature that you can place on the scale. With the ability to place in whatever zone you want -( ie be able to get a shadow reading and a highlight reading and place) looking forward to calibrating! Great work here!!
I’ve been using this app for quite a while and my exposures have always seemed accurate. As other reviews mentioned, it would be nice to see an updated interface, but at least there are no annoying ads.
Just not sure about the accuracy of this. It has a “spot” field which can be moved around. However the spot field isn’t documented anywhere that I can find (absolute size or accuracy). It differs somewhat from my spot meter and the discrepancy bother me. Only discovered support for 160 ASA by changing options (doesn’t default to showing 160).
There are apps that are an EV meter and others that perform the F-stop / shutter speed calculation. This app combines both quite well. The log is useful to reference with the photos you take using your manual camera. The user interface can be improved a bit which is why I didn't rate it 5 stars. Thank you for this app. Nice work!
If the developer cleans up the app a little bit. Update the design and make the user experience a little nicer. This is the only light meter app that seems to work on the AppStore yet it gets 0 love from its creator. Come on man! Give us something beautiful and we will buy you steak dinner! (Or grilled veggies hopefully you eat clean 😌)
I own a Pentax spot meter and have found that this light meter works surprisingly well in a pinch for photography. I also like to try to grow some veggies like tomatoes from seeds. This light meter helps me find the ideal lighting available like ~5500k or ~2700k so I can help my plants to grow or produce fruit.
It’s a good app. It’s too bad I forget to use it MORE OFTEN!! Thank you for being so accurate. My glasses go dark like shades in the sunshine. Often throws me off on exposure. This app helps save the blow out from happening more often than it does. Providing I remember to use it.
Wish I knew more clearly if this was a spot meter, center weighted, average, etc meter. I THINK it is a spot meter? Would be cool to know for sure. Would be even more cool to switch between different type of metering
It seems likes it’s giving me the same ratings as my camera’s rating which is great. My only problem is that I don’t know if it is metering the whole image or just that square... it gets a bit confusing at times
It seems to be pretty accurate. I love this app. It'll tell you what values to use for for your camera. It displays your light in kelvins so you can set it to the correct white balance. You can hold the image with the values and even save it. So helpful. This guy deserves a pint.
I still shoot on my Yashica Electro 35 still camera. I use this to help me meter my photos. I think this is great for what it is. Aperature, film speed and shutter time is all selectable. You can log your readings in case you need to reference them later on.
I've downloaded every free app that claims to be a simple light meter, I just want to compare two lamps in a bedroom. I don't know why they all use the Lux meter as the bait and switch carrot but they do. Once I was able to figure out how to access/enable the Lux meter via a UI that feels like it was designed by a kindergartner, this app too reveals that for the Lux meter, you need to upgrade to the pro version (and in this case it actually uses a physical accessory) One star for being deceiving.
This app is quite good! I test it during the day and evening and it works quite well. I also tested the Kelvin temperature in the app with my Nikon D750 and it did the job nicely. I will definitely be using this for my film and digital camera for sure!
This is really only a spot meter and isn't really any better than you likely have built in to your phone. If you're looking for an ambient light meter, you're going to have to look elsewhere. Also, I'm not really sure how accurate the white balance sensor is given the fact that the phone isn't exactly the best at white balance.
It’s a great free app; I upgraded to support the developer. The color temperature feature is especially appreciate appreciate it. My only wish would be the ability to lock the aperture as I am using it with my iPhone which is fixed at f2.2.
This is by far the most useful app for photography that I own. It is intuitive to use and has never failed to give me a perfectly correct exposure. If for some reason I lost the app, I’d replace it immediately.
I hate the wheels & the “use the old interface” setting is gone. No version number in settings or the in-app settings. Developer web site has exactly one sentence - no specs, FAQs, help, nothing. 2 stars because it does actually meter OK most of the time. No more than that because the UI is bad & the support is nonexistent. Deleted it & going back to my old Vivitar meter.
This app does an excellent job for use with my older cameras. Using it I have obtained very good results with Zeus Ikons and Soviet era Russian cameras. It has been a wonderful tool for determining the functionality of built in meters.
Very handy. I do a lot of outdoor travel photography and it’s been nice to have this in my pocket. I’ve used it in a few professional shoots as well. Highly recommended.
Such a great tool when shooting large format film. I use it regularly and enjoy it thoroughly. I am very appreciative of the app developer. It was totally worth paying for no ads as well! Keep up the great work!
Good app—is there a way to have logged images go into their own album? Bit tiresome to look through all photos to archive these. Otherwise works great, very useful tool.
I’ve used this app for all of my light metering of analog film photography. With slide-film, my results are precise and that can be attributed to the accuracy of the meter app’s readings.
Started using this light meter in conjunction with my Yashica 635. So far, it has been spot on. What’s also great is while I’m sitting around using my phone I can get light readings, kinda of nerdy I know.
I think it really needs a defuser. I find that it grossly underexposes in bright light, but overexposes by a stop in low light. In regular everyday light it agrees more or less perfectly with my built in meter and handheld meter.
Excellent product. Very useful and handy to compare different lighting situations. I can see this app growing excitement product into spot metering and measuring light temperature (kelvin).
I'm using a Canonet in manual mode without the meter and my photos have turned out great. I wish you could lock the selected shutter or aperture though.
It’s a great light meter ap. Do a lot of live studio work. The LD tells me its OK your meter tells me he’s right. For my purposes it’s all it needs to be.
Shot a few rolls using this app as the light meter. They came out great. Exposures were accurate on B&W film. Simplified my travel set up and allows me to carry my Leica IIIf around without a light meter.
I tested this meter against a real GE analog standalone meter, a Nikon N90s meter (known for its accuracy), a Nikon D5100 meter, and another competing meter app. Everything else agreed, more or less, and this app was always way out in left field. I wouldn't trust it if I were you.
A light meter that is always in your pocket. It is indispensable for film photography with all manual camera. Measures reflected light, and allows reciprocity calculations.