Cine Meter vs Datacolor LightColor Meter
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cine Meter
This app provides professional video production tools, including an RGB waveform monitor, false-color display, and a cine-style reflected light meter. It helps analyze light levels, color imbalances, and contrast ranges for precise exposure control in video shoots.
- RGB waveform monitor
- False-color display
- Cine-style reflected light meter
- Shutter-priority metering
- Adjustable light meter calibration
- Contrast range analysis
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SEE the light: Cine Meter gives you an RGB waveform monitor and a false-color picture in addition to a cine-style, shutter-priority reflected light meter, using the camera in your iPhone / iPod / iPad. • The light meter shows you your stop as a decimal value (such as f/5.0, good for cameras with EVF iris readouts) or as a full stop and fraction (like f/4.0 ⅔, good for cine lenses with marked iris rings). You can calibrate Cine Meter to match other meters to a tenth of a stop. • The waveform monitor shows you how light levels vary across a scene. You'll see how smooth and even the lighting is on a greenscreen or background, and find subtle hotspots and shadows at a glance. The waveform’s RGB mode shows you color imbalances in the image and gives you a handy way to check color purity and separation for chroma-keying. • The false-color mode lets you define allowable contrast ranges, and see instantly which shadows are underexposed and what highlights risk clipping. _______________________ READ BEFORE YOU BUY: Cine Meter is NOT a color-temperature meter; it can't measure white balance. It's NOT a flash meter; it can't measure strobes. It's designed solely for cine/video work and isn't optimized for still photography; for example, it's shutter-priority only. Cine Meter gives you *absolute* light meter readings, but *relative* picture and waveform monitor levels: 1) Cine Meter’s picture and waveform monitor do not use the *exact* exposure shown by the light meter (they are close to the meter reading, but can differ from it slightly). The picture and waveform monitor show you *relative* levels within a scene, not *absolute* levels based on the meter reading. 2) You can't *preset* exposure or color temperature in Cine Meter. To compare exposures and colors, you lock Cine Meter’s auto-exposure and auto-white-balance settings while looking at a known good reference, such as a gray card. The picture and waveform monitor then show you levels and colors relative to your locked settings. See http://www.adamwilt.com/cinemeter/details.html#How_It_Works for details. (Why am I telling you this? I would rather have you understand these limitations up-front and not buy Cine Meter, than have you buy Cine Meter unaware of them and be disappointed.)
Datacolor LightColor Meter
This pocket-sized device streams real-time light and color data to your smartphone, offering precise control over exposure and color consistency for photos, videos, and cinema. It measures various light types and color parameters, and includes gel filter libraries for creative adjustments.
- Real-time light and color data streaming
- Exposure and lighting ratio control
- Color consistency across setups
- Measures Lux, Chromaticity, CCT, DUV
- Includes gel filter libraries
- Simultaneous measurements from multiple meters
- Hands-free functionality
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· The Datacolor LightColor Meter is a Bluetooth-enabled, multifunctional tool that fits in your pocket, continuously streaming both light and color data in real-time, to your smartphone. · Perfect for photos, videos, cinema and hybrid photo/video shoots, the LightColor Meter takes the guesswork out of exposure settings, giving you better control of lighting ratios as well as color consistency across varied lighting conditions and multiple camera setups. · The Datacolor LightColor Meter accurately measures all types of lighting, from fluctuating outdoor light, mixed natural/artificial location lighting, plus any type of studio lighting, including continuous lighting and strobe/flash. · It goes beyond a regular light meter to also measure color temperature, Lux, Chromaticity, CCT and DUV. Additionally, the device comes with filter libraries from Profoto®, LEE® and Rosco® to help you choose the right color gels for functional or creative color adjustments. · The rugged, travel-friendly device goes anywhere you’re shooting, providing you with a wireless versatility that lets you easily fine-tune your lighting and exposure without having to leave your camera. · You can attach the device to a light stand or tripod, use the through-hole for lanyards to hang the meter where needed, use the alligator clip that’s included to attach the LightColor Meter to clothing or other fabrics or use the rare earth magnet on the back of the device for easy magnetic attachment. · You can seamlessly sync multiple Datacolor LightColor Meters to get light and color temperature measurements from several locations simultaneously. The device accurately measures light and color temperature from a distance of up to 80 feet, allowing you to cover wide areas and is perfect for ensuring uniform lighting for green screens for easy and effective chroma keying in post-production. Key Feature Highlights o Incident Metering for Ambient & Flash o Mobile App/Wireless Bluetooth 4.0 LE o Photo, Video, Cine Exposure Modes o Measures Lux, Chromaticity, CCT, and +/- Green (Duv) o Measures Any Kind of Light Source o Color Temperature Range: 1,600K - 20,000K o Luminance Range: 1.0 - 1,000,000 lux o Cine Settings: Frame Rate, Shutter Angle/Speed & ND Filter Compensation o HSS Flash & Flash Duration Measurements o Included: Gel Filter Libraries from Profoto®, LEE® and Rosco® o Simultaneous Measurements from Multiple Meters Up to 80 ft Away o Hands-Free Functionality - incl. Magnet, ¼”-20 Mount o Cord-in (PC Sync) o Custom Exposure Profiles
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Cine Meter at 81% against Datacolor LightColor Meter's 17%. Cine Meter also leads on rating (3.3 vs 1.7) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Datacolor LightColor Meter's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Cine Meter holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 1.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Cine Meter's written reviews are positive against 17% of Datacolor LightColor Meter's.
Cine Meter ships an update every 4 months, Datacolor LightColor Meter fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cine Meter | Datacolor LightColor Meter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (3 ratings) — better | 1.7 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.8% of reviews — better | 16.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 5.1.1 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Adam Wilt | Datacolor Inc. |
Customer experience
Cine Meter
Datacolor LightColor Meter
In-app purchases
Cine Meter
No in-app purchases
Datacolor LightColor Meter
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Cine Meter free?
Is Datacolor LightColor Meter free?
Which has better reviews, Cine Meter or Datacolor LightColor Meter?
Do Cine Meter or Datacolor LightColor Meter have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cine Meter or Datacolor LightColor Meter?
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