Pocket Light Meter vs Light Meter Wheel
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Portable light meter
- Reflected light measurement
- Reciprocity calculations
- Indispensable for film photography
- Manual camera compatible
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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.
Light Meter Wheel
This app offers a fast, visual, and precise way to measure light for photography. It features a unique exposure wheel that displays aperture, shutter speed, and ISO simultaneously, giving photographers instant control and clarity.
- Real exposure wheel with all values in one view
- Real-time metering with instant EV readings
- Wide ISO and shutter speed range
- Exposure timer for long exposures
- Incident metering using front camera
- Calibration for accuracy
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Light Meter Wheel brings a unique way to measure light — fast, visual and precise. Instead of switching modes, everything is visible at once. Aperture, shutter speed and ISO are seamlessly connected through a real exposure wheel, giving you full control at a glance. Designed for photographers who value clarity, speed and accuracy. Also especially useful for pinhole photography, where its wide aperture range and long exposure timer make setting exposures straightforward. Features • Real exposure wheel with all values in one view • Real-time metering with instant EV readings • Wide ISO range: 0.8 – 6400 • Shutter speeds from 1/8000s to 4 hours • Apertures from f/0.7 to f/1024 • Exposure timer (perfect for long exposures & pinhole) • HOLD function to lock readings • Incident metering using the front camera • Custom backgrounds and light/dark modes • Calibration for maximum accuracy Built by a photographer, for photographers.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Light Meter Wheel at $1.99 against Pocket Light Meter's $9.99. Light Meter Wheel also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). Pocket Light Meter's advantage is ratings volume (1K vs 12) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On review sentiment, ads, chart position and device support 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
Pocket Light Meter costs $9.99 and Light Meter Wheel $1.99 up front. Pocket Light Meter sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Light Meter Wheel asks for nothing beyond the download.
Light Meter Wheel holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Light Meter has 1K ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Pocket Light Meter's written reviews are positive against 91% of Light Meter Wheel's.
Pocket Light Meter ships an update fortnightly, Light Meter Wheel every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pocket Light Meter | Light Meter Wheel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (1K ratings) | 4.7 (12 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.1% of reviews | 91.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1K — better | 12 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #48 — better | #143 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nuwaste studios | David Quiles |
Customer experience
Pocket Light Meter
Light Meter Wheel
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.)
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- Add option to save metering data to photo metadata
Light Meter Wheel
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pocket Light Meter
- ads remover$1.99
- pint for the developer and get rid of the ads$5.99
- donation to the developer$5.99
Light Meter Wheel
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pocket Light Meter free?
Is Light Meter Wheel free?
Which has better reviews, Pocket Light Meter or Light Meter Wheel?
Do Pocket Light Meter or Light Meter Wheel have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pocket Light Meter or Light Meter Wheel?
Which is more popular, Pocket Light Meter or Light Meter Wheel?
Other comparisons
