Comparison

Lightme vs ShuttR

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Lightme

This app helps analog photographers meticulously track their film rolls, shots, and development processes. It allows for detailed logging of gear and consumables, with features for data visualization and export. Users can also manage film holders and add post-development notes with photos of final results.

Highlights
  • Log film rolls, shots, and development
  • Track gear and consumables
  • Data visualization with graphs/histograms
  • Data export in JSON/CSV formats
  • Manage large format film holders
  • Post-development notes with photos
Features
Read full description

Lightme - Logbook is a clean and powerful tool to record and keep track of your rolls, shots, developments, and all the gear that revolves around shooting film — from 35mm to medium and large format. The idea behind it is simple: logging a shot should take seconds, not steal time from actually shooting. Lightme pairs a beautiful, immediate interface with enough depth and flexibility to fit any workflow, whether you shoot a couple of rolls a year or fill several large format holders in an afternoon. LOGGING, EFFORTLESSLY • Log a shot in seconds: aperture, shutter speed, focal length, filters, bellows correction, measured EV, notes and more • Log straight from your wrist with the companion Apple Watch app, with Siri and Shortcuts, or from the home screen and lock screen widgets • Together with the Lightme Lightmeter app, your meter readings can prefill a new shot automatically • Every shot can carry a location and address, a preview photo, and later its final scan, plus a star rating ROLLS, SHEETS AND DEVELOPMENTS • Track rolls from loading to unloading, with film stocks from a growing database and a processing pipeline: waiting for development, off to the lab, back from the lab, to be scanned, scanned • Keep detailed development notes — developer, dilution, time, temperature, agitation — for rolls and single sheets alike, including push/pull (N+ / N-) development • Add post-development notes and a photo of the final result to rolls, sheets and individual shots YOUR GEAR, ORGANIZED • Cameras and lenses with nicknames, formats (including custom formats you define), pinhole and bellows flags, custom shutter speeds and selectable shutter step sizes • Roll film backs and lens filters with their exposure compensation • Film holders and backs can be marked as compatible with specific cameras, and everything is searchable from a single bar LARGE FORMAT, COVERED • Keep track of your film holders with three states — unloaded, loaded and exposed — always knowing which film is inside each one • Group holders together and follow every sheet from exposure through development INSIGHTS FROM YOUR DATA • Build and save custom queries, filtering by date (fixed or rolling windows), camera, lens, film stock, format, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, focal length and notes • Visualize results with histograms — by camera, lens, film stock, shutter speed, aperture, focal length, ISO, format, rating or hour of the day — alongside aggregate stats like mean aperture and average exposure • Save the queries you use most and re-run them anytime YOUR DATA, YOURS • Everything syncs privately through iCloud across your iPhone and iPad • Export any selection of data as CSV or JSON, or as a beautifully formatted PDF with customizable columns and a contact-sheet mode, bundled with your images in a single ZIP • Batch-write shooting metadata (EXIF) onto your scans — for a whole roll at once, or by matching files from the Files app • Viewing and exporting your data is free, forever; adding and editing is unlocked with a one-time purchase or a subscription AND MORE • Full-text search, favourites and an archive to keep things tidy • Available in English, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Simplified Chinese • A roadmap of what's coming next lives right in the app — new very cool features are on the way :) If you have any suggestion or issue, write me at lightme.apps@gmail.com Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ShuttR

This app uses your iPhone's camera to accurately measure the shutter speeds of analog film cameras. It provides a guided process to check if your camera's shutter has drifted over time, offering a clear verdict on its performance without requiring external hardware.

Highlights
  • Measures real shutter speeds
  • Uses iPhone camera and light source
  • Tests speeds from 8s to 1/500
  • Guided step-by-step protocol
  • Automatic calibration
  • Deviation in stops and verdict
  • History and camera collection
  • Shareable 'shutter checked' certificate
Read full description

**Is your vintage camera's shutter still accurate — or has it drifted after decades of use?** ShuttR Check measures the real shutter speeds of your analog camera using your iPhone's camera and a light source. No hardware testers, no sensors to buy — reliably from 8s down to 1/500. The app has been used by photographers around the world on more than 100 different camera models, from SLRs to Rangefinders, Medium Format and Large Format Cameras. **HOW IT WORKS** Open your camera's film back, remove the lens, and put a light source behind it. ShuttR Check uses your iPhone's high-speed camera together with advanced image analysis to measure exactly how long each shutter release lets light through, then tells you how far that is from the speed you dialled in — in fractions of a stop. The app walks you through every step. There is nothing to configure, nothing to interpret: set up, release the shutter, read the result. **RELIABLE FROM 8s TO 1/500** ShuttR Check measures dependably from 8 seconds down to 1/500 — the range where mechanical shutters drift the most and where a deviation actually shows in your negatives. Faster speeds are deliberately left out: we'd rather not offer them than hand you numbers that look precise but aren't. Timed speeds slower than 1s are there too, for the cameras that offer them. **WHAT YOU GET** - A guided, step-by-step measurement protocol - Automatic calibration (checks your room is dark enough and free of flickering light, and warns you when your light source is too bright or not steady) - Every speed compared against its nominal value, with the deviation in stops and a clear OK / deviation / defective verdict - A capping check: shows how evenly the shutter exposes across the frame and flags capping, when the curtains fall out of sync at fast speeds - A history per camera, so you can track a shutter's condition over time - A shareable "shutter checked" certificate (image or PDF) — perfect for camera sellers on eBay, Etsy, or classifieds, showing buyers exactly what they're getting **SHUTTER TYPES** Horizontal and vertical focal-plane shutters are tested and validated — these are the shutters in most classic SLRs and rangefinders. Same goes for Leaf (central) shutters which have been tested on Large Format and Medium Format cameras. **WHAT THIS APP IS NOT** ShuttR Check gives you dependable, repeatable information about how far your shutter speeds have drifted. It does not replace a calibrated measuring instrument. **PRIVATE BY DESIGN** No accounts. No data collection. No internet connection required. Everything — your cameras, your measurements — stays on your device. **WHO IT'S FOR** - Film photographers who want to know if their gear is actually accurate - Camera collectors curious about a new find - Sellers who want to offer buyers real proof of a working shutter

Screenshots

Lightme4 screens
ShuttR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Lightme at Free against ShuttR's $6.99. Lightme also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (104 vs 2). ShuttR's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8) and chart position (#180 vs unranked). On update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Lightme is free to download; ShuttR costs $6.99 up front. Lightme sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. ShuttR asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lightme holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lightme has 104 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Lightme versus ShuttR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLightmeShuttR
PriceFree — better$6.99
Rating4.8 (104 ratings) — better4.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings104 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#180 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGiuseppe BertoliniChristian Haemmerle

Customer experience

Lightme

All ratings102 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%

ShuttR

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Lightme

Subscriptions4
  • 1 Cappuccino7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Focaccia Barese7 Days trial$12.991 Year
  • Spaghetti Carbonara7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Homemade Pizza party7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time4
  • A smile :)Free
  • Box of Prosecco$59.99
  • Fuel for my '90s camper$119.99
Show 1 more
  • Terme for two$239.99
None

ShuttR

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lightme free?
Lightme is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ShuttR free?
ShuttR costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lightme or ShuttR?
Lightme is rated higher. Lightme averages 4.8 out of 5 from 104 ratings, while ShuttR averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Lightme or ShuttR have ads?
Neither Lightme nor ShuttR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lightme or ShuttR?
Lightme ships an update every 2 weeks, and ShuttR every 2 weeks. Most recently, Lightme was updated on October 27, 2026 and ShuttR on October 29, 2026.

Other comparisons