This is the first time I have actually reviewed anything on our blog but this software I spotted on the App Store for my iPhone sparked my interest. I have always been a fan of hand held meters and have used them throughout my career, starting with Westons before trying Sekonics and finally settling on Minoltas. During the last couple of years of teaching, students have often bemoaned the price of a semi-decent meter and I was intrigued to see if this apparent bargain could bridge this gap.
The app appears only to work on iPhones 3GS and the current 4G. After a simple download process the app was ready to use. The meter has 3 basic settings, daylight, shade and artificial lighting (not flash) and utilises the iphone's camera as the light sensor (can only make reflected not incident meter readings). I first calibrated the app using my Macbeth (grey) card in daylight conditions (overcast lighting) before starting to take sample meter readings.
To compare the accurancy of the app, I used an Minolta Autometer 4 with a spot attachment. I selected a range of mid tone subjects to take readings from, both under daylight and incandescent lighting. Under daylight (shade setting) the meter proved to be most accurate with a 1/3 to 1/4 of difference in the meter readings but under the main daylight setting, the diffences were almost 2 stops under exposed. The readings taken using incandescent lighting were better with the meter giving readings of 1-1.3 stops over exposed depending on the colour temperature of the light source.
I would say that it is not a replacement for a purposed built meter by any degree, especially without being able to take incident readings, but as a back up for a student or keep amateur who has either forgotten his meter or the batteries have gone flat, then this might just dig them out of a tight spot.
Richard
www.emphasis.biz
www.richardsouthall.co.uk
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