Recommended light meter (app or physical)

[cs0rpc]

Hi,

Just tried using the Lux light meter on an iPhone for use with a couple of film cameras, and I suffered from quite a lot of underexposure.

Can anyone recommend something that will work more effectively... either as an app or a traditional lightmeter?

Thanks,
Rob.

 

[kiemchacsu]

For real light meter i am pretty sure that there were many discussions before, try to search a bit.

For iPhone app, i use below one. Quite accurate. I checked with digital camera and it works.

I don’t know if iPhone specs affects the results. I use a SE 2017 version.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

I found the same as you with phone app meters.
I have found success with (priced - to +) the Seconic Twin Mate L208, the Gossen Sixtomat F2, and the Voigtlander VC II.
Side by side they all read exactly the same, the Twin Mate is much less sensitive to lower light than the other more expensive models.

 

[Papercut]

I usually use an old and increasingly fragile Digisix that has served me well for over a decade now (and I got it second hand). But FWIW, when I don't have it with me, I use the same app as kiemchacsu. Has worked well enough for me as I haven't noticed any egregious errors in exposure.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

App in n2 comment is best light meter I ever have for results. But it is slowest lightmeter to use as well.
TwinMate is fast, but fooled me in lowlight if I not slide white bar on the sensor window.

 

[Huss]

I have used Pocket Light Meter app and I do not recommend it. It gives good readings until it gives complete junk. So if it can't be trusted, I don't use it.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Sekonic L-308 as a stand-alone works well for me. I do incident meter almost always and it is very smooth, one-handed operation, simple readout. If oyu can do math in your head (change shutter speeds and/or f-stops from a single starting point, I can go for hours without changing a setting, just do a quick reading or two or three, etc.


For iPhone, I have found 'myLightMeter' to be accurate, consistent. The free version simply reverts to a pay screen until you tap the screen. For me, no other limitations but I imagine that it has bells and whistles.

 

[santino]

Mylightmeter is great! I bought the full version (it was 5 Euros or so).

 

[MCTuomey]

Hi,

Just tried using the Lux light meter on an iPhone for use with a couple of film cameras, and I suffered from quite a lot of underexposure.

Can anyone recommend something that will work more effectively... either as an app or a traditional lightmeter?

Thanks,
Rob.

Sekonic L308 or L358 work well for me. Especially the latter since it handles both aperture and shutter speed priority. The L308 is shirt pocket size, very convenient. Both accurate, both have good batt life.

 

[B-9]

I have owned the Sekonic L-408 for about 10 years and is my go to meter. It is basically a L-308 with a built in spot meter.

 

[Lewis Francis]

I use spot metering mode in Pocket Light Meter for iPhone and it hasn't failed me.

 

[Scottboarding]

I use Light Meter Wheel the app and I find it to be much better than the light meter app posted above. That one is underexposing 1-2 stops on every reading I've taken. I'm pretty good with Sunny 16 and that app is usually pretty far off. You can set exposure compensation with it, but even then it's wacky at times. Light Meter Wheel doesn't have spot metering, but I find it to be much more accurate.

 

[Dan Daniel]

I use Light Meter Wheel the app and I find it to be much better than the light meter app posted above. That one is underexposing 1-2 stops on every reading I've taken. I'm pretty good with Sunny 16 and that app is usually pretty far off. You can set exposure compensation with it, but even then it's wacky at times. Light Meter Wheel doesn't have spot metering, but I find it to be much more accurate.

Scott, there are two light meter apps mentioned above.

Pocket Light Meter (included in screen grab as Light Meter' icon

MyLightMeter (mentioned in text only by two people, including me)

Which one are you referring to? If the one I am using is known to go wacky just for fun I'd like to know!

 

[Scottboarding]

Scott, there are two light meter apps mentioned above.

Pocket Light Meter (included in screen grab as Light Meter' icon

MyLightMeter (mentioned in text only by two people, including me)

Which one are you referring to? If the one I am using is known to go wacky just for fun I'd like to know!

Sorry totally forgot about the second one. It's the pocket light meter that has given me issues. I've compared it to both Sunny 16 as well as my Nikon FM2n light meter (which I find to be very accurate) and it gave a reading under 1 or 2 stops compared to both.

 

[retinax]

I use an app called LightMeter (on Android, don't know if there's an iOS version).
The important part is to remember that using any app in incident mode will fail if you don't have additional hardware. There's no way around the need for a diffuser for incident metering. Stick with reflective and most apps work ok, unless they have some issue with your phone.

 

[Peter Jennings]

Pocket Light Meter is pretty slow for me. I’ve used Lux before, too, but not lately. Mylightmeter and Lumu are much faster in giving results and are easier to use. I spring for the Pro versions as they are pretty cheap. The latter two usually give identical results. I’ve been using Lumu lately. I don’t rely on any of them to give foolproof results. As long as they get me within +/- one stop or so of ideal exposure, I’m happy. I use them for shooting mostly b&w 35mm film.

 

[raid]

I used to use the Pentax Digital Spotmeter for over 20 years, and then I started using the camera's built-in average metering system, followed by adjusting the setting as needed.