8 Best Light Meter Apps in 2024

By Tani Adams 8 days ago, Software Reviews

When you purchase through affiliate links on our site, we may earn a commission. Here’s how it works.

By using light meter apps with spot metering you can measure the lighting levels before a photoshoot. It allows quick diaphragm adjustment and achieving a good exposure. Thus, you can shoot high-quality landscape or plant photos and footage without purchasing overpriced equipment.

8 Light Meter Apps

  1. myLightMeter PRO - Supports two metering modes
  2. Light Meter Free - Comes with useful calculators
  3. Lux Light Meter Pro - Allows measuring in Lux & FC
  4. Pocket Light Meter - Comes with a log feature
  5. Lumu Light Meter - Supports a stop metering option
  6. Korona Plant Light Meter - Easy-to-navigate app for botanists
  7. Lux Meter (Light Meter) - With stop metering
  8. HPJ Light Meter - For taking pics and handling plants

These light meter apps are just as good as light meters. Their effectiveness depends on the functionality of your smartphone. After downloading one of these apps, you need to adjust the lighting in the room or outdoors, as well as measure exposure, focal distance and depth of field with the help of available tools.

1. myLightMeter PRO – Our Choice

Two metering modes
  • 2 metering modes
  • Independent calibration
  • Extended sensitivity
  • Saves and reads photo exposure data
  • Not found

Verdict: The myLightMeter application has been designed by professional photographers to help users improve photo shooting quality without purchasing expensive equipment. It offers extended sensitivity at -2 / -4EV for taking photos in poor lighting conditions.

With this light meter app you can calculate the hyperfocal distance for 5 lenses by saving exposure data, focal distance and sensor parameters. There is another interesting feature as well, namely, you can read exposure data of every photo in your gallery.

If it’s impossible to measure lighting levels due to poor lighting, you will be able to use two LED indicators. This app is perfectly suitable for architecture and seascape photography.

mylightmeter pro light meter app interface

2. Light Meter Free

Comes with useful calculators
  • A reflected light meter
  • An incident light meter
  • Depth of field calculator
  • Compatible with any camera
  • Occasional issues with spot metering
  • No color metering

Verdict: The Light Meter Free app offers reflected and incident light meters to its users. Reflected light levels are measured with the help of the camera while incident light levels are measured by using a light sensor.

This app is highly useful for golden hour photography and landscape photos.

This Android light meter comes with a Sunny Sixteen calculator and a Depth of Field calculator. It also has an EXIF reader. You can calculate white balance with high precision which will simplify photo post-processing. You can also use it with any camera.

light meter free light meter app interface

3. Lux Light Meter Pro

Allows measuring in Lux & FC
  • A well-thought-out user interface
  • Average and Max values
  • Front and rear cameras
  • Lux and FC measurement options
  • Annoying ads
  • Nor precise enough

Verdict: Lux Light Meter is quite a handy lighting measurement tool that is perfect both for indoor and outdoor use. This app uses several light sensors to show mean and maximum values in Lux and FC.

You need just to click one button for Lux Light Meter to display lighting levels data. If you have a camera, you won’t need to buy overpriced equipment. This light meter for iPhone is quite useful when it comes to measuring light data in a greenhouse, at your workplace, or when you are taking landscape photos.

lux light meter pro light meter app interface

4. Pocket Light Meter

Comes with a log feature
  • Tools for EV measurement
  • Handy tools for F-stop value and shutter speed measurement
  • Log option
  • No distracting ads
  • The interface needs to be improved
  • No histogram
pocket light meter app logo
Pocket Light Meter

Verdict: The Pocket Light Meter app is compatible with all manual cameras available on the market. By using it, you can easily measure lighting levels before taking photos of landscapes or buildings. It’s suitable for bird photography as well.

This light meter app combines tools for EV measurement and handy features for F-stop and shutter speed calculation. Besides, you will get access to a photo gallery that allows sharing links to the photos taken by your camera.

pocket light meter app interface

5. Lumu Light Meter

Supports a stop metering option
  • Single and multiple photo modes
  • Stop metering feature
  • Flash exposure option
  • Color temperature adjustment
  • Most features are available in the paid version only
  • Not as good at reading flash exposure as an exposure meter
lumu light meter app logo
Lumu Light Meter

Verdict: If you need to measure reflected light levels, try using Lumu Light Meter. You can also purchase a paid version that allows for color temperature and flash measurements.

The full version of this photography light meter app includes exposure and contrast adjustment tools, lux meter, and a video mode. One of its key advantages is its Stop Metering feature. You can use your smartphone’s camera as a reflection meter.

lumu light meter app interface

6. Korona Plant Light Meter

Easy-to-navigate app for botanists
  • Comes with a hold feature
  • Advanced image processing algorithms
  • Reads LED white and red simultaneously
  • Precise calibration
  • A front camera only
  • Some settings require lighting diffuser
korona plant light meter app logo
Korona Plant Light Meter

Verdict: If you need to provide optimal lighting levels for your greenhouse or photos taken indoors, take a look at the Korona Plant Light Meter. This application helps improve lighting for more effective plant growing and energy costs saving. It also allows taking close-to-life shoots by adjusting exposure.

Being one of the most useful lux meter apps, Korona uses the front camera and enhanced image processing algorithms. The app comes with a handy hold feature. You will see a grainy picture in the background, which helps you understand if you are aiming your smartphone correctly.

korona plant light meter app interface

7. Lux Meter (Light Meter)

For quick calibration
  • Comes with a calibration feature
  • Displays min, max, mean value
  • Displays data received from the measuring element
  • For light measuring indoors and outdoors
  • No screenshot tool
  • Receives data from the front camera only
lux meter light meter app logo
Lux Meter

Verdict: Lux Meter allows for measuring lighting levels by using a light sensor on your smartphone. You can calibrate the device with the multiplier, use sensor data, check minimum, maximum, and mean value.

This light meter app comes with a well-designed interface and a handy diagram that visualizes data perfectly. The application is quite useful if you need to check light levels indoors or outdoors. It also works perfectly when you need to measure the light falling on the top leaves of your plants.

lux meter light meter app interface

8. HPJ Light Meter

For taking pics and handling plants
  • Free to use
  • No ads
  • Measures lighting in foot-candles or lux
  • Allows for quick measurement of brightness level
  • Compatible with the front camera only
  • No specific information for different kinds of plants
hpj light meter light meter app logo
HPJ Light Meter

Verdict: The HPJ Light Meter boasts a well-thought-out design and is capable of measuring lighting levels in foot-candles or lux. It records data together with images taken with the frontal camera. Its main task is in determining if the lighting is sufficient for taking photos or growing plants.

Thanks to the app displaying the output camera signal, you can determine brightness levels easily. However, if you take into account the fact that the application has been designed for plant enthusiasts, it has a significant drawback. There is a lack of information about lighting levels that are necessary for growing different kinds of plants.

hpj light meter light meter app interface
Contents:
SAVE UP TO 66% OFF SAVE UP TO 66% OFF