Comparison

Pocket Light Meter vs Lightme

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

Head to head
About

Pocket Light Meter

This app functions as a portable light meter, essential for film photographers using manual cameras. It accurately measures reflected light and provides reciprocity calculations for precise exposure control.

Highlights
  • Portable light meter
  • Reflected light measurement
  • Reciprocity calculations
  • Indispensable for film photography
  • Manual camera compatible
Features
Read full description

A light meter that is always in your pocket. It is indispensable for film photography with all manual camera. Measures reflected light, and allows reciprocity calculations.

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/

Screenshots

Pocket Light Meter3 screens
Lightme4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Lightme at Free against Pocket Light Meter's $9.99. Lightme also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and device support (4 vs 2). Pocket Light Meter's advantage is ratings volume (1K vs 103) and review sentiment (87% vs 75%). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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; Pocket Light Meter costs $9.99 up front. Pocket Light Meter sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Lightme sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

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: Pocket Light Meter has 1K ratings behind it against 103, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 87% of Pocket Light Meter's written reviews are positive against 75% of Lightme's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pocket Light Meter ships an update fortnightly, Lightme every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Pocket Light Meter versus Lightme: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket Light MeterLightme
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (1K ratings)4.8 (103 ratings) — better
Positive reviews87.1% of reviews — better75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1K — better103
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#81 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.615.6
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNuwaste studiosGiuseppe Bertolini

Customer experience

Pocket Light Meter

All ratings1,045 ratings
Positive87.1%
Neutral5.1%
Negative7.8%
Written reviews1,058 reviews
Positive87.1%
Neutral5.6%
Negative7.3%

Lightme

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

Bugs and requests

Pocket Light Meter

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes or freezes with recent iOS updates
  • Inconsistent metering in low light conditions
  • Issues with saving metering data to photos

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add histogram display
  • Implement manual mode to lock aperture/shutter
  • Support for flash metering
  • Improve low-light performance
  • Provide more metering mode options (spot, center-weighted, etc.)
Show 1 more
  • Add option to save metering data to photo metadata

Lightme

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Pocket Light Meter

One-time3
  • ads remover$1.99
  • pint for the developer and get rid of the ads$5.99
  • donation to the developer$5.99
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

Questions

Is Pocket Light Meter free?
Pocket Light Meter costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Lightme free?
Lightme is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pocket Light Meter or Lightme?
Lightme is rated higher. Pocket Light Meter averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while Lightme averages 4.8 from 103 ratings.
Do Pocket Light Meter or Lightme have ads?
Neither Pocket Light Meter nor Lightme shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pocket Light Meter or Lightme?
Pocket Light Meter ships an update fortnightly, and Lightme every 2 weeks. Most recently, Pocket Light Meter was updated on October 20, 2026 and Lightme on October 21, 2026.

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