Light Meter app for iPhone blows

[Huss]

So... This is totally weird. I get pretty reasonable readings from this app. Very strange.

Only thing I can think of is this app has a "Hold" feature, if I remember. Possible it was "Holding" an exposure from a different lighting condition.

Correct Sunny 16 ISO 50 exposure would be 1/50th at f/16. You sure it's a good exposure at 1/50 at f/4?

Most of the times the readings are ok. But the # of times it has been off has made me not trust it.
Yup, good exposure in open shade. That's what made this so simple. Sunny F16 = open shade = f4 1/50 (1/60)

 

[zuiko85]

Yeah, mine gets some right and some wrong. That's why I have a Gossen Pilot I picked up at a photo show for $5 that is consistent and accurate (if used correctly), but only good for daylight and bright interior light. It's my carry around everywhere meter.

 

[nasmformyzombie]

The better question is, why would anyone depend on a smart phone for anything but texting, checking email or surfing the 'net. Smart phones often suck for phone calls. 🙄

 

[Peter Jennings]

I have been using an app called Lux lately. I have had no complaints with it. But, I only shoot Tri-X, so I don't count on it for critical measurements. Still, I would rather use an app on my phone than have one more device to carry around. Another app I use sometimes is myLightMeter (pro version - sometimes it helps to pay a couple bucks), which also gives pretty accurate readings. I gave up on Pocket Light Meter a long time ago. The interface and accuracy didn't please me. Use what works for you, I won't judge.

 

[JOCO34]

What's a phone?

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

I have the app, but it's more a contingency if I ever need a back up meter (or a back up to my back up meter, for that matter, I often have a spare from my collection with me). As reaching for my Minolta Auto meter has become a reflex whenever I leave the house, suffice to say the app has rarely, if ever, been pressed into service. But I have played with it enough to get a handle on how to use it if I needed to. And as I recall, it can dither a bit, particularly in lower EV, while it stabilises on a reading. Perhaps you have covered this point, (if so I didn't notice, sorry), but, you gave the app enough time to make a reading for the conditions, right? I could give you screen shots myself showing all sorts of whacky readings, if I activated the app and took a shot before it had the chance to "wake up" and stabilise...just throwing it out there on the off chance.
Cheers,
Brett

 

[Richard G]

I love meter threads. Which this almost is. I agree with Drew. I think a lot of app meter users must be Rolleiflex shooters with lots and lots of time. Or maybe large format photographers. Pull out phone, wait for thumbprint to read, fails, type in original pass key, fails, remember new eight digit pass key, success, search for app, launch app, turn scroll wheel for current ISO, overshoot once or twice in each direction, check whether incident or reflected, think about how that's actually happening on the phone, read needle pointer shutter speed, disbelieve it, switch to the other mode in case there's a glitch.....My Gossen DigiPro F does one thing brilliantly, quickly, correctly, one handed. It's like a good watch. A phone app light meter is like a sundial.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

No idea what is wrong with OP phone, if it is iPhone.
I have this app working at the second iPhone like a charm for years. From bright light to long exposures.
Not sure if app still has calibration, exposure compensation. I did it initially.
And some phones aren't compatible with it. Samsung, if I remember correct, is no go, different sensor. But it is not iPhone by all means anywhay 🙂.

I think ...

Next to wrong, my phone has four digits, not eight. 😎

It is not as fast as handled for sure, but I'm using it not only for LF, TLR and long exposure. If you are not the clueless uncompetento who needs to measure it for every shot with handheld, this app does great job to check, if not sure. Especially it is great for long exposures, because comparing to handhelds it is WYSIWYG.

 

[Richard G]

No idea what is wrong with OP phone, if it is iPhone.
I have this app working at the second iPhone like a charm for years. From bright light to long exposures.
Not sure if app still has calibration, exposure compensation. I did it initially.
And some phones aren't compatible with it. Samsung, if I remember correct, is no go, different sensor. But it is not iPhone by all means anywhay 🙂.


Next to wrong, my phone has four digits, not eight. 😎

It is not as fast as handled for sure, but I'm using it not only for LF, TLR and long exposure. If you are not the clueless uncompetento who needs to measure it for every shot with handheld, this app does great job to check, if not sure. Especially it is great for long exposures, because comparing to handhelds it is WYSIWYG.

I was just having a bit of fun. I liked fotometer pro. But the latest version seems to be all wrong.

 

[Mike Fish]

So wait -

You mean this scene is really
EV 11 - pretty shady (1/60 sec at f4 at ISO 50),
and not
EV 15-16 - bright (1/1500 sec at f4 at ISO 50)?

I'd normally expect visible shadows to be gone by about EV13.

Maybe I don't understand....

mike

.

 

[Huss]

I'll let the esteemed Ken Rockwell have the final say:

"I prefer this Pocket Light Meter to my real hand-held light meters."

http://kenrockwell.com/apple/photo-apps.htm

 

[sevo]

And some phones aren't compatible with it. Samsung, if I remember correct, is no go, different sensor.

Samsung is Android, so no iPhone apps, but my S4 and S5 mini did pretty well with the Lightmeter Android app.

Both are mid range phones - YMMV with top range and cheap smartphones, as the former's camera may do things that are beyond the scope of the regular Android camera API, and the latter will often be too deficient in exposure control, if they have any at all.

 

[css9450]

So wait -

You mean this scene is really
EV 11 - pretty shady (1/60 sec at f4 at ISO 50),
and not
EV 15-16 - bright (1/1500 sec at f4 at ISO 50)?

I'd normally expect visible shadows to be gone by about EV13.

Maybe I don't understand....

Agreed. I'm seeing a shadow..... Maybe a hazy, weak shadow, but a shadow nonetheless.

 

[JHutchins]

I love meter threads. Which this almost is. I agree with Drew. I think a lot of app meter users must be Rolleiflex shooters with lots and lots of time. Or maybe large format photographers. Pull out phone, wait for thumbprint to read, fails, type in original pass key, fails, remember new eight digit pass key, success, search for app, launch app, turn scroll wheel for current ISO, overshoot once or twice in each direction, check whether incident or reflected, think about how that's actually happening on the phone, read needle pointer shutter speed, disbelieve it, switch to the other mode in case there's a glitch.....My Gossen DigiPro F does one thing brilliantly, quickly, correctly, one handed. It's like a good watch. A phone app light meter is like a sundial.

Some remarks from the light meter app is pretty cool corner:

A phone is something you'll probably have with you in any case, maybe to make phone calls (weird), for text messages, as a GPS or emergency beacon (my brother's phone flat out saved his life when he fell a thousand feet down an avalanche chute in winter, broke his back and was stuck with another two thousand foot fall below him ), look at facebook or whatever. Because it can work as a light meter too you don't have to carry another gadget and not carrying something is always nice.

Despite the gripes in this thread, they work pretty well -- most handheld light meters and especially things like Gossen Pilots -- are not highly advanced pieces of equipment. It's some pretty simple electronics that can easily be modeled. A Gossen Luna Pro, even, is pretty simple (though nice as it's so very sensitive and can deliver results even in very, very faint light; the kind of conditions it's especially tricky to read). And a phone, notwithstanding the gripes in this thread, can give you a light meter that is just easier to use. With a lot of meters there's some uncertainty about just what you're reading off -- how the angle of view of the meter maps on to the scene you're looking at. The meter app makes it very easy to see what is being used to make the reading and therefore easy for me to interpret what it's telling me.

A phone -- especially if you have to unlock it -- may be slower than a dedicated meter but that may not matter depending on how you use it. If you're a meter every shot person then, yes, I can see that it would be a pain in the ass. But when I get to a place I generally meter the place -- learn how bright the bright areas are, how dark the dark areas are, and what there is of in between. And for that, taking out a phone and unlocking it isn't such a chore.

Yes, you can estimate exposure pretty well with practice. Like many other folks here, I learned to shoot on a meterless camera (Minolta A5 rangefinder) and relied on the little pictograms on the film box/sheet in my youth. As a teenager I regularly estimated exposure with Kodachrome. But there are deceptive lighting situations I find. Mornings are often darker than they look, indoors can be tricky &c. And the better your information about light levels the better your ability to produce negatives (or positives) that make the best possible use of the dynamic range you have to work with and minimize grain. And that's useful.

 

[Dpingr1]

The app I use (myLightMeter) works pretty well for me -- matches up closely to my handheld Sekonics. And unless I'm shooting transparencies (which I haven't done in years), pretty well is good enough. Besides, I usually have my phone with me. My only problem metering with it is the ergonomics -- smart phones are designed to hold a big screen, not to be held or manipulated in a hand very efficiently. So, I'd rather use my L-208, but the phone works fine in a pinch.

 

[hap]

light meter app

light meter app

What's a phone?

spoken like a true blue 60 year old Leica user.

 

[splitimageview]

I like to carry my hand-held computer that doubles as a communication device (i.e, iphone) as well as carry a Gossen Digisix. The Digisix operates much more quickly than an app, and can do incident readings.

There are incident meter attachments, however....

 

[Huss]

So, because I have lots of better things to do, I went out and took another reading today from the same spot, at about the same time. Both days - clear sunny sky, me standing in open shade.

And my goodness, today the app agrees with SunnyF16! While yesterday it was off by 5 stops.

Still amused by those claiming at 1/1500 sec at f4 at ISO 50 was correct for open shade at 2.30pm on a sunny LA day...

To summarize. This app is junk. You are free to embrace it.
🙂

p.s. but I am sure some will ignore this tid bit, it reads from that superimposed rectangle on the screen

 

[fireblade]

Anything Apple is junk 😀

 

[Borge H]

I also initially liked the idea to use my telephone as light meter. But now I agree with the original poster that the meter is not a reliable tool and it is also not user friendly.

I use instead my Sekonic L-308s as a light meter. With it I can measure the diffuse light, which I think is better than a "spot" meter like the telephone.

Use the telephone for telephone calls and texting. Use your Leica and a professional lightmeter for making photos!