Topic: iPhone lightmeter app

[choppert]

Building on Ed's advocacy of digital/telephonic instant gratification and looming texture sermon - has anyone downloaded the Lightmeter app for the/Ed's iPhone?

If it works (cough) it might be a good in an emergency?

Ed.... Anything I've missed? 

[moominsean]

be good for statue photography.

[gregor]

I think if you lick your finger and hold it up to see how long it takes to dry, you'll get a more accurate reading.

I don't completely trust digital meters even.  I'm still using my Weston Master IV

[Francois]

I tried to put a call through my Gossen Sixtar but the rotary dial on it isn't very user friendly 

[Aksel]

Sorry to bring up such an old topic, but thought it would be better than to create a new one?
I`m still holding on to my soon to be a decade old samsung, but have realized the actual benefit of having something a bit more advanced. Therefore looking around for "must have" apps as I expect my new iPhone to arrive sometime before Christmas.
I`m using my Super Ikonta more and more these days, but the old onboard light meter is not to be trusted. Sunny 16 is fine outdoors in daylight, but would be great to have an app to lean on when in doubt    Did any of you ever try out any of those light meter apps for the iPhone? Are they really not useful at all? 

[Chalky]

I have one for my androd phone and it is reasonably good and accurate ish against my old weston meter

i have seen people elsewhere saying the iphone one is good but havent seen it myself...

[euge...]

Building on Ed's advocacy of digital/telephonic instant gratification and looming texture sermon - has anyone downloaded the Lightmeter app for the/Ed's iPhone?

If it works (cough) it might be a good in an emergency?

Ed.... Anything I've missed? 

It does work and it is good in an emergency.Ive used it on my ipod with a lubitel 166b,yashica mat 124 ,agfa silette and a few toy cameras just to see if it was worth spending time taking photos.
I have to say i havent used it with slide film so it could be that latitude of the film that i was using compensates for any inaccuracies.I havent given sunny 16 a good go yet either. It has meant ive taken out a few cameras out of the cupboard that out that i might'nt  have.The app that I've got allows iso,shutter and aperture stops in thirds,halves or full stops.It also allows compensation between -3ev  to 3ev.

[mcduff]

I think it works reasonably well. It seems to line up fairly well against the metres in my uncalibrated old cameras, haha. Actually, I did dust off my newer DSLR to compare it against it and I thought it was pretty comparable. It is really nice to have as a spare light meter or for the few cameras I have that  have no built in meter.

[Francois]

I just use one of those cardboard exposure computers. I have one in nearly every bag. They work well, cost next to nothing, are expandable (not much of a deal if you damage one), you can give them away, fast to operate, don't need booting, and so on.

I see no reason why the expo meter in the iPhone wouldn't be reliable. Cameras and meters have been relying on the CCD/CMOS chips for their exposure meters for a long time.

[mcduff]

Haha, Francois, you reminded me that I have two exposure metres on my iPod! In the summertime I copied half a dozen 'events' from those cardboard meters and saved it as a note on my iPod - I was trying to remember some of the conditions as an extension of sunny16: for example 'overcast4' usually works for me in a pinch.  But yes, those exposure cheat-sheets can be pretty accurate. What is an awful light meter is my eyes! I have found it impossible to extrapolate off sunny16 rule - I am always over exposing, usually by 2 or 3 stops!!

[Diane Peterson]

I have a light  meter app on my ipod ( which is for the most part all I use my Ipod for) I use it for pinhole and I would be lost without it! I know Becky just wings it by" being the emulsion". She is so good at this, but I am not nearly so talented or experienced even after three years..For now I am relying on the app..

[Late Developer]

I've yet to be let down by any (incident) reading taken using my Minolta AutoMeter IVf. Mind you, I could say the same about the meter on my Rolleiflex 3.5t (and that dates back to the early 1960s).

[Aksel]

Thank you all for the input, sounds like that iPhone might come in handy after all 
Till it arrives I`ll rely on my eyes.

[hookstrapped]

I have the Rex Light Meter for my android phone.  Cool, simple, have no idea how accurate it is.

[mcduff]

Till it arrives I`ll rely on my eyes.

This is the second 'light meter app' on my iPhone - extensions of the sunny 16 saved as a note


11   Bright Hazy Day (definite shadows)
8   Cloudy bright day (soft shadows)
5.6   Cloudy dull day (no shadows)
4   Overcast day, or Open shade on bright day
2.8   Rainy Days, Sunset


Feel free to let me know if you think any if these are wrong, I believe they are snippets taken off of those paper exposure meters, turned into sunny16-type settings and they seem to work whenever I have remembered to test them. I figure if I can remember these few values I should be able to fake it through a lot of the stuff I shoot. 

[sapata]

Check out this thread... there are loads of examples of sunny 16 film boxes...
http://www.filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=4228.0

[Jack Johnson]

I don't completely trust digital meters even.  I'm still using my Weston Master IV

I have a Weston 853 that I wish were more accurate. I have a Gossen Pilot II I use most of the time with my oldest cameras, but I always seem to need a light meter most when the light is low, and that's where my old light meters don't necessarily shine. No pun intended.

I just use one of those cardboard exposure computers. I have one in nearly every bag. They work well, cost next to nothing, are expandable (not much of a deal if you damage one), you can give them away, fast to operate, don't need booting, and so on.

It could be fun (for sick and twisted versions of fun) to take iPhone pictures (or light meter previews) of cardboard exposure meters in a variety of settings to see if the EXIF data is within a stop or so of the cardboard meter.

[Francois]

I welcome anyone with an 18% gray card and an iPhone to try it out

[Aksel]

Till it arrives I`ll rely on my eyes.

This is the second 'light meter app' on my iPhone - extensions of the sunny 16 saved as a note


11   Bright Hazy Day (definite shadows)
8   Cloudy bright day (soft shadows)
5.6   Cloudy dull day (no shadows)
4   Overcast day, or Open shade on bright day
2.8   Rainy Days, Sunset


Feel free to let me know if you think any if these are wrong, I believe they are snippets taken off of those paper exposure meters, turned into sunny16-type settings and they seem to work whenever I have remembered to test them. I figure if I can remember these few values I should be able to fake it through a lot of the stuff I shoot.

Sounds about right to me. Been cheating a bit, taking test shots with my GRD only to se if I have guesstimated the right shutter / f/stop. My self confidence surpasses my abilities so far. Luckily with tri-x it´s not really a problem if one misses a stop or so.
Trouble is in low light or with very uneven light conditions. I tell my self photography is only a hobby - when I miss I learn, when I nail it I tend to forget.