It is almost impossible to take beautiful and detailed photographs without proper lighting. Light plays a key role in highlighting colors. If you are lucky to have a professional camera, you do not have to worry about adjustments, as cameras have built-in utilities and light sensors.
However, if you use a phone for photography, you may need help with lighting from a light meter. Light meters are instrumental in determining the correct value of your photo’s shutter speed and light brightness.
Handheld light meters are super compact and easy to use. But, if you want more convenience, you can download light meter apps to turn your smartphone into a fully functional light meter.
There are several light meter apps available for Android and iOS. They use your smartphone’s internal light meter to measure exposure. Your app of choice depends on your phone’s capabilities.
Let’s look at some of the best light meter apps.
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Best Light Meter Apps
1. Pocket Light Meter
Pocket Light Meter is an excellent photography partner for iPhone users. It does an excellent job of measuring reflected light and allowing for reciprocity calculations.
The app is also known for its outstanding features, such as the note feature that lets you create and save comments on images.
The app lets you adjust your camera’s shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. It displays the color temperatures in Kelvin to help you make accurate white-balancing decisions.
This tool has a simple interface with basic features, which could work for you, but if you find it too essential, you may consider other options.
Pocket Light Meter is compatible with manual cameras and helpful for bird photography. It beautifully combines EV measurement and F-stop handy features for a better experience. Additionally, it gives you access to a gallery that lets you share links to the photos in your camera.
It is a straightforward app and is easy to use. For film photographers Pocket Light Meter is necessary to have, though it might be expensive for hobbyists or amateur photographers. Pocket Light Meter will cost you $10.99.
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2. myLightMeter PRO
If you are looking for a light meter app that screams reliability and precision for analog and digital photography, you have myLightMeter PRO.
Professional photographers designed the app to help other photographers improve their photo quality without necessarily investing in expensive equipment.
You will love the app’s extended sensitivity for dark scenes from as low as -2/-4 EV. myLightMeter PRO calculates the hyperfocal distance by saving up to five lenses and their settings.
The app has two different interface designs for convenience. You can easily record exposure data with its incoming and reflected light metering mode.
Other outstanding functions that would be a great add-on to your phone photography are independent calibration for different metering modes, point metering in camera view, and automatic and locked ISO options.
Its two LED indicators can help you determine the reliability of measurements if you still need help measuring lighting levels in poorly lit areas or when your battery is below 30%. It is also essential to note that accurate incident light reading requires you to attach a diffuser to the front camera.
The best part is that the app is constantly reviewed and upgraded. Therefore, you can always expect a better experience next time you use it. The app is available on AppStore for iOS users for $3.99.
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3. Lux Light Meter Pro
Lux Light Meter Pro is a user-friendly app with functional light intensity to measure, compare, and adjust the lighting levels in your work or home environment. The app uses multiple sensor inputs to collect light-intensity data with the push of a button.
It is an excellent companion, especially when using a manual or film camera, and a way to avoid expensive costs on equipment.
Lux Light Meter Pro can help you set up light settings for your greenhouse, avoid eye strain induced by workplace strain, or check if your shoot location needs more light.
This free iOS app has outstanding features that enable real-time, and one-time measurement besides average and maximum values.
Lux Light Meter Pro is also available on Android for free. The Android version also offers high-accuracy light measurement and the minimum, average, and maximum brightness you can possibly attain.
You can also calibrate measurements using easy controls and store and recall measures with title, date, and time from memory.
4. Light Meter – Lite
Light Meter – Lite is one of the best meter apps for Android. Users commend the app for its adjustment feature that allows you to calibrate it for later use. This excellent tool has reflected and incident light meters with accuracy, and it has been tried and tested on multiple devices.
The reflected light meter measures the intensity of light reflecting off a subject. On the other hand, the incident meter makes use of your light sensor to offer accuracy against Sekonic and Gossen meters on most devices.
In addition to the reflected light meter and incident meter, the app has a color temperature (white balance meter) and a reciprocity calculator.
You can use Light Meter – Lite for any type of camera, including film SLR, pinhole, and cinematographic cameras.
Other valuable features include an exposure convert, a depth of field calculator, an EXIF Reader, and a manual (Sunny sixteen). If you compare data from actual light meters and Light Meter – Lite, you will realize that the difference is minimal.
In addition, you can use the app’s point measurement and incident light measurement modes to calculate the depth of the field of the image plus EXIF.
Light Meter – Lite is free to download and use, with in-app purchases up to $5.99.
5. Lumu Light Meter
If you are looking for an excellent standalone light meter app with multiple handy features, look no further than Lumu Light Meter. Lumu Light Meter is available for iOS with outstanding features such as flash exposure, contrast values, chromaticity, and luminance.
Lumu Light Meter is an app that every great image-maker should have. The easy-to-use tool seamlessly works with the free Lumu app on iOS to deliver outstanding illuminance, color temperature, spot, and flash exposure functionality on your iPhone.
Lumu Light Meter is ideal for professionals, photography enthusiasts, or students who feel the available light metering solutions are complicated, expensive, and bulky. You can switch to Lumu’s photo single mode to get exact parameters like f-number, ISO, lux, or exposure time.
The photo multi-mode calculates the average value and contrast between multiple measurements. The pinhole mode measures the exposure time for custom camera settings, while the notes feature stores all your measurement information, including custom notes, your phone, and geo-location.
Lumu Light Meter is free, with excellent adjustable settings and a simple yet effective design. The free version is sufficient to meet most of your needs. It can be combined with the physical Lumu Light Meter, though it is unclear whether these products are still available.
6. HPJ Meter
HPJ Light Meter is good for taking pictures and growing plants. The app has a simple yet well-thought design that helps you measure lighting levels in lux or foot candles. HPJ Light Meter records images with data as taken by the front camera.
The app’s primary role is to determine if the lighting in the room is sufficient for taking photos or growing indoor plants. It displays the output camera signal to help you determine the level of brightness with ease.
You can also use HPJ Camera to determine whether your plant receives enough light to prevent straining your eyes in an office setup or adjust lighting at home.
Since the app is designed for plant enthusiasts, it might not be an excellent fit if you wish to do more with the app.
However, the app is free, so it would not hurt to try it out anyway. You will also love the app’s ability to take pictures of your measurements to help you compare the quality of your light over time.
7. Smart Luxmeter
Smart Luxmeter also makes my list of the best light meter apps to try out. The smart app, as the name suggests, does an excellent job of measuring the brightness of your environment using an image sensor light.
The app has a collection of smart tools that also help you adjust the lighting needed for plants or even check the brightness of a study room.
This app is easy to use. Ensure that your camera screen is facing in the same direction (the source of ambient light like a lamp, sun, LED lighting, or window) with the sensor.
You can use the value you get after measurement for reference or optimize it through the calibration menu. Smart Luxmeter is free to download but contains ads.
8. Light Meter EV for Photography
I believe you now understand why you need to measure the light for your photos. The measurements help you set your camera’s correct shutter speed and aperture values.
Light Meter EV for Photography has incredible settings that ensure you attain the best photo quality and illumination, among other vital indicators.
The app uses three modes; Incident Mode calculates the shutter or aperture speed based on light readings. You need to select an aperture priority before you calculate the shutter speed. The second mode is EV Compensation.
The EV Compensation Mode helps you get the EV compensation value for your aperture and shutter speed value. Lastly, the Auto ISO Mode calculates the nearest ISO value for a particular aperture and shutter speed combination.
Other features that you will find interesting on Light Meter EV include ND filters up to ND5.0, live mode, options to adjust the interface or mode, and a calibration slider up to +-10 EV or provision to give your exact calibration value.
It is also essential to note that sensors create all measurements, and the sensitivity of your measurements may vary based on the model and the manufacturer of your phone.
Light Meter EV is available on Google PlayStore for free with in-app purchases of $1.49 to $3.49 per item. The app gives you separate settings and real-time measurements if you purchase a subscription.
9. FotometerPro
Film enthusiasts understand how improper lighting can ruin a beautiful photo. You need a light meter app like FotometerPro to help you adjust shooting settings to your preference and work with Lomo Toy Cameras.
FotometerPro offers all new and improved features recommended to any user. It comes in different versions, including the FotometerPro V2, an upgraded version of version V1, and Fotometer Full, an integrated version featuring all tools but packaged at a lower price for new users.
You will love the outstanding features on this app that help you create an excellent shooting environment, as well as find out if the atmosphere is perfect for the kind of work you wish to capture.
It works collaboratively with your camera, with its full-screen mode helping you adjust exposure so that colors are not distorted in any way during shooting.
Fotometer is an excellent companion for Nikon/Canon SLR, Hasselblad, Rolleiflex TLR, any old film camera, Lomo Toy Camera, and DIY pinhole camera.
Some of its noticeable features include a time priority mode available through in-app purchases, manual exposure in full-screen mode, and data log for better learning.
It also has upgraded reflected and incident light modes for calculating measurements. Its camera source feature is lockable for easier numerical tuning, while its real-time light value displays in lux or FC.
It’s also essential to note that the app has introduced three new skins, though only available through in-app purchases. Film shooters prefer FotometerPro for its vintage and classy look.
Old camera lovers will choose the app any day, thanks to its intuitive interface, while pinhole camera photographers are particularly amazed by the light meter app’s timer.
Fotometer Pro is available for iOS at $0.99. Through this subscription, you can access many more features, including manually locking the camera and adjusting your camera’s aperture value.
10. PPFD Meter
PPFD Meter is another excellent light meter app for Android worth trying. The app uses your phone’s inbuilt ambient light sensors to gather information on every light detail that hits a plant canopy and is a perfect tool for measuring light intensity in an area ahead of a shoot.
The tool helps you measure photosynthetic photon Flux Density (PPFD) from artificial light sources. Film enthusiasts laud the app for its accuracy in measurements and real-time readings that allow you to monitor and adjust indoor growing conditions for your plants.
PPFD for Android has an easy-to-use interface. The free app is a great companion to users growing plants using artificial lighting, though some users reportedly fault the app for inconsistencies. It has a digital display that displays its values in µmol/m²s.
Additionally, it has a calibration feature to help you set up and calculate your device’s precise readings.
In addition to its ambient light sensors, the app allows you to use Bluetooth sensors. However, the app makers highly recommend seamless integration with UNI-TUT-383 BT over Bluetooth’s low energy.
It does not matter the sensor you use during measurements. PPFD will still convert all your lux readings from any sensor to PAR, then simultaneously calculate PPFD and DLI in a sleek user interface.
PPFD allows you to record all measurements to be viewed on a time graph later. You can also customize your animations inside the displays based on your needs or find an area’s minimum or maximum values.
You will also love the app’s newly released feature, PAR map, which lets you create maps for your grow area once you are done taking measurements. The app prepares a screenshot for you to make reference later when adjusting your lighting.
PPFD is free with in-app purchases ranging from $0.99 to $19.99 per item.
11. Lightmate
Lightmate is a light meter app for iPhone users designed for clarity of function. The app only shows you what is essential in a scene so that you can focus on what is worth capturing. Lightmate’s primary features include aperture priority, shutter priority, and multiple scales.
Photographers love this app for its ability to use front and back cameras. It is designed for quick use. But before anything else, make sure that you choose ISO, aperture, or shutter values that align with your camera settings.
The app’s priority changes automatically to shutter or aperture mode, depending on your chosen value. With the shutter or aperture value and priority in place, tap anywhere on your camera’s preview screen to measure or update your shutter or aperture values.
Lightmate also allows you to change settings from the default EV scale to aperture, shutter, ISO values, or shutter speed through a simple procedure. First, go to your general iOS settings, scroll down to find Lightmate, and then change the settings to a different EV scale, i.e., full stops, ½ stops, or ⅓ stops.
Lightmate is free to use and has no ads. You can comfortably use it to capture exposure readings while shooting film.
12. Photo Light & Exposure Meter
Photo Light & Exposure Meter is there to help you take better photos correctly and experiment with different settings in real time. The free iOS app might not promise anything out of the ordinary other than the extensive, comfortable controls with everything in full view.
It has many capabilities, enabling you to select optimal shooting values and save snapshots with all parameters, including geolocation.
Photo Light & Exposure Meter can change or fix individual values like shutter speed, ISO, and aperture and select the rest of the parameters that are not fixed in real time.
It allows you to take preliminary pictures and play around with settings to see what would happen if the diaphragm changed.
Other attributes that make Photo Light & Exposure one of the best light meter apps include the ability to measure color temperature in real time and plot histograms in real time.
13. Exposure – Light Meter
If you are looking for a light meter app to help you adjust your camera’s exposure settings, then Exposure – Light Meter is the app to go for. This is one of the apps that can be an excellent companion during shooting.
First, you need to adjust the ISO to point at your subject to get that perfect shot. Once the ISO is in its ideal place, set the shutter aperture to pair with the camera by focusing on the ruler at the bottom of the screen.
In the display, you will find the number of apertures in the first row and the shutter speed corresponding to the current exposure in the second row, while you move the ruler horizontally.
When using the exposure meter mode, you can spot the exposure value (EV) at the top of the screen. The app has intuitive features to help you calibrate the zero point or increase the ISO values.
You can also make full-stop adjustments on the app and enable spot-metering using its touch feature, but you don’t have to change the settings to adjust the shutter speed combinations. Exposure – Light Meter has a friendly interface whose scale is in the form of a slide feature.
You can download the free Exposure – Light Meter app on Google PlayStore.
Final Thoughts
All the above apps can be a great alternative to expensive and bulky light meters. They are helpful for complex scenes, and each app has strengths and weaknesses.
Some of these apps are free to download and use, so it will not hurt to try a few apps before you can settle on the ultimate tool that meets your needs.
However, you can only use one app at a time. For this reason, I recommend myLightMeter PRO. While the app has a free version with superb usability, you can access more features on its paid version.
myLightMeter PRO has accurate spot metering, is easy to use, and offers easy-to-understand results instantly. Whether you use its free or paid version, you don’t have to worry about annoying ads as the app is 100% ad-free.
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