LuMu light meter - just bought it

[bence8810]

Hello there,


As a recent convert to Analog photography, I found myself baffled by the fact I need to meter light etc. I have a Konica III and a Minoltacord TLR, both that come without a built-in light meter. I have started using a free iPhone app which meters relatively well but only does reflective light metering obviously. I went to a local used camera store and picked up a great little Sekonic L_28C meter that works wonders and was cheap too. Having this meter, I have started appreciating the art of Incident light metering. My results are way better since I have it, as I normally shoot people up close.


However, with summer just around the corner (wishful thinking...) I don't really want to carry the meter with me as it'd be additional bulk and when I don't carry a bag, it just won't fit anywhere.


See where I am going with this?


http://ww.lu.mu/


It's expensive and easy to lose but I could not say no to it. I ordered it on the spot, $129USD and comes with a neck strap and an additional leather case that I can attach to my camera's strap. I am in love with the concept and am waiting to receive it (which will be soon I hope).


My question is very simple. Are any of you using it already? What do you think about it, how does it stack up to a "real" light meter? From their video, it seems to be doing rather well...


Thanks,

Ben

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

When you get yours, why don't you write a review for the rest of us?

I have a copy of Fotometer Pro on my iPhone and would be quite interested in an incident light attachment.

 

[bence8810]

I surely will. Meantime to put my painful wait at ease, I hope someone over here already has it.

Not sure it'll work with 3rd party apps, so far their own apps are the ones supported.
Ben

 

[sevo]

Cute. But all design and marketing, and no technology to speak of - that thing lives on the headphone jack. Encoding light values into a audio level to transfer them to a phone (which would also be USB, bluetooth and perhaps even NFC capable) sounds like they omitted to consult a engineer. Such a analogue data transfer means that the device and phone would have to be sent in for calibration and the headphone jack never be used for audio ever after, just to do about as well as any old consumer grade light meter. "The best sensor there is" seems rather wasted on the concept.

 

[mfogiel]

I find the price to be about 10 times too high for what it is, given that you need an Iphone to use it on anyway,
BTW, what would be the best light meter app recommended for iphone guys?

 

[philipus]

Cute. But all design and marketing, and no technology to speak of - that thing lives on the headphone jack. Encoding light values into a audio level to transfer them to a phone (which would also be USB, bluetooth and perhaps even NFC capable) sounds like they omitted to consult a engineer. Such a analogue data transfer means that the device and phone would have to be sent in for calibration and the headphone jack never be used for audio ever after, just to do about as well as any old consumer grade light meter. "The best sensor there is" seems rather wasted on the concept.

I found the idea of the Lumu interesting even if I wouldn't use one myself because I am happy with reflective metering usually (and the spot meter in the iZoner app).

I'm no engineer but I am wondering why using the headphone jack would have anything to do with the values measured by the attachment? Provided the attachment's properties, sensitivity etc are known by the app and provided the app is also able to interpret the signals as transferred through the 3,5mm audio jack, then all should be well, it seems to me.

Also, what kind of calibration would be necessary and why would that affect the capacity to play audio over the jack?

Edit: Marek, I find iZoner really great. A bit of a clunky interface but lots of useful functions. The variable-size spot meter is really quite precise.

cheers
philip

 

[Richard G]

I also have FotometerPro on my iPhone. With iOS7 you can just swipe down to get a search pane and typing 'foto' brings up the app. Perhaps it can be hot buttoned somehow too. It is this lack of instant access that frustrates me most about iPhone app meters. There is an incident option for FotormeterPro and whenever I'm bored and my Gossen is nearby I have checked one against the other and they are close. I think all those RFF members who find an iPhone app is all they need must have old and slow cameras and scads of time to pull out the phone, find the app, launch it etc. I much prefer a dedicated meter to just get the reading pronto and get on with the shot. I like the look of the iPhone interface of LuMu and the device is cute, but I am not paying over $30 for something like this.

 

[Sid836]

Ridiculously overpriced! Frankly, for that much you can get a digital spot meter that also does flash metering.

For my iphone I love the "Light Meter" app. Simple and accurate enough.

 

[philipus]

It is this lack of instant access that frustrates me most about iPhone app meters...I think all those RFF members who find an iPhone app is all they need must have old and slow cameras and scads of time to pull out the phone, find the app, launch it etc.

I have iZoner in a folder on the first iphone screen (in fact I only have one screen) but don't find the extra tap to open the folder annoying. Then again I'm not usually under great pressure when I photograph.

About the second part of the quote above - last night at dinner I had my M4. Using iZoner's spot meter I took reflected readings from the face of a few people in the restaurant and then used them as baseline for my photos. Easy as pie but I accept we're all different and have different photographic preferences. I guess the bottom line is whatever works for us individually.

About the price of the Lumu. I have no intention of defending it, but there are other lightmeters out there which cost a lot more. It seems to me 125USD for a new and newly developed product isn't extremely high. Then again 125USD for a product the usefulness of which one might personally doubt may be much too high.

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

Then again 125USD for a product the usefulness of which one might personally doubt may be much too high.

Crumbs! I didn't notice the price. Yep, $125 is far too high. My L308-S didn't cost that much.

 

[Rodchenko]

I have a Windows phone. I don't think there's a decent light meter app available, and nor is there likely to be, since Nokia have just announced a switch to Android.

Ah well. I'll just have to carry on enjoying the use of my Master.

 

[Sid836]

...

About the price of the Lumu. I have no intention of defending it, but there are other lightmeters out there which cost a lot more. It seems to me 125USD for a new and newly developed product isn't extremely high. Then again 125USD for a product the usefulness of which one might personally doubt may be much too high.

For a lot less you can get a second hand minolta digital spot meter that also does reflective and flash metering.
Also it is not innovative at all. There is Luxi (http://www.esdevices.com/products/luxi) that does the same for a lot less.

(I am not to confront with anyone 🙂 , just saying)

 

[zuiko85]

.....$129...!!??

Fer crying out loud! I just picked a Luna Pro for $15.
If that is too bulky how about a Pilot or Pilot 2 for about $10 with their plastic case.

Methinks convenience is just a bit too pricy.

 

[Richard G]

I have iZoner in a folder on the first iphone screen (in fact I only have one screen) but don't find the extra tap to open the folder annoying. Then again I'm not usually under great pressure when I photograph.

About the second part of the quote above - last night at dinner I had my M4. Using iZoner's spot meter I took reflected readings from the face of a few people in the restaurant and then used them as baseline for my photos. Easy as pie but I accept we're all different and have different photographic preferences. I guess the bottom line is whatever works for us individually.

About the price of the Lumu. I have no intention of defending it, but there are other lightmeters out there which cost a lot more. It seems to me 125USD for a new and newly developed product isn't extremely high. Then again 125USD for a product the usefulness of which one might personally doubt may be much too high.

Thanks for such a gentle response. You've certainly got me interested in the iZoner. And taking readings at dinner like that might not even be noticed. That is one of the great things about a separate meter. At dinners I like using the Gossen DigiPro F as I can get a reading and have the meter back in my pocket before anyone notices, but I am nearly always just taking incident. In the variable light of a dinner table doing what you did would be adding to the certainty of the correct exposure. I think I'll download that app. Thanks again.

 

[philipus]

And taking readings at dinner like that might not even be noticed. That is one of the great things about a separate meter. At dinners I like using the Gossen DigiPro F as I can get a reading and have the meter back in my pocket before anyone notices

Glad to help Richard. Would be interesting to hear what you think about it. The one little benefit of using a phone to measure is that, given how much people use their phones at dinner 🙄, one blends in quite well 😛

For a lot less you can get a second hand minolta digital spot meter that also does reflective and flash metering.
Also it is not innovative at all. There is Luxi (http://www.esdevices.com/products/luxi) that does the same for a lot less.

(I am not to confront with anyone 🙂 , just saying)

No worries Nikos, it is definitely true that one can get cheaper meters out there. I didn't know of the Luxi which is an interesting - and seemingly a better - concept than the Lumu since it doesn't stick out as much from the phone. But perhaps the respective app's features are different.

Btw which model is the Minolta digital spot meter?

 

[brbo]

Cute. But all design and marketing, and no technology to speak of - that thing lives on the headphone jack. Encoding light values into a audio level to transfer them to a phone (which would also be USB, bluetooth and perhaps even NFC capable) sounds like they omitted to consult a engineer. Such a analogue data transfer means that the device and phone would have to be sent in for calibration and the headphone jack never be used for audio ever after, just to do about as well as any old consumer grade light meter. "The best sensor there is" seems rather wasted on the concept.

Should be ridiculously easy to send FAR more data (reliably) than Lumu ever needs to send without any calibration whatsoever...

On the other hand, headphone jack can provide enough (on iPhone at least) power for battery-less dongle and doesn't need any bluetooth modules and Apple's blessing for getting data to and from iPhone.

 

[Sid836]

No worries Nikos, it is definitely true that one can get cheaper meters out there. I didn't know of the Luxi which is an interesting - and seemingly a better - concept than the Lumu since it doesn't stick out as much from the phone. But perhaps the respective app's features are different.

Btw which model is the Minolta digital spot meter?

Indeed, it seems that the app offers a bit more than what the "Pocket Light Meter" of Luxi does.

Try looking for "Minolta Auto Meter III". With a bit of luck you can get one for less than 50 euros. You can also get a "Minolta Spot F" for $100.

 

[sevo]

Provided the attachment's properties, sensitivity etc are known by the app and provided the app is also able to interpret the signals as transferred through the 3,5mm audio jack, then all should be well, it seems to me.

The issue with the microphone port is that it has "some" power - other than professional microphone "phantom" power, which is defined to be 48V, the "plug-in-power" of 3.5" jacks is very vaguely defined, the devices on my table right now range from 2.8 to 6.4V, with the value on my smartphone variable with the background illumination. This is not really a good base to build a affordable and small quality analogue measurement device on.

 

[blue4130]

I had a discussion about this with a digital guy that wanted a meter. He was really gung-ho to get one as he is into whatever the latest tech toy is. I, on the other hand, have a problem spending that much cash on something that is not future-proofed. You are relying on Apple and a third party developer to maintain compatibility and updating the software.

With my Sekonic L308, I don't have to worry about software updates breaking my light meter.

 

[bence8810]

Wow you guys really know how to break a man's mood...

Anyways, just got an email from them saying it's on its way and might even get to me in Tokyo by Friday. If so, I'll have a review back to you about early next week.

And taking all what was said above into account, if the accuracy is decent and it isn't as prone to failure as some of you said from the fact that it's feeding the phone through the audio jack, I'll be happy with it. My rangefinder camera is smallish and I am comfortable with it hanging around my neck all day. If this means I won't have to lug another piece of equipment, the 129USD is worth it for me.
The Sekonic meter which I have cost me 30USD at the local store and it's doing a perfect job but it's still an extra piece. Having a bag on me like I do on workdays, I don't mind having it. On a saturday going from pub to pub with the guys and shooting around, I'll be happy with the LuMu hanging on a neck strap as thin as a fishing wire.

It all boils down to it's performance I think, so let's see. I've preloaded the App and it seems to have some settings for calibration (which creeps me out having read some of your above comments). Time will tell.

I'll post back.
Ben