Comparison

Datacolor LightColor Meter vs Second View

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

· 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

About

Second View

This tool assists photographers in planning shots by simulating their actual camera's field of view and aspect ratio. It includes a light meter, filter logging, and reciprocity correction for film stocks. Features like LiDAR distance measurement and composition guides help refine framing and exposure before taking the shot.

Highlights
  • Precise field-of-view matching
  • Real-time light meter with spot metering
  • ND, polarizer, and color filter logging
  • Reciprocity failure correction for 60 film stocks
  • LiDAR distance measurement
  • Composition and grid tools
  • Panorama simulation
Read full description

PLEASE READ FIRST Second View is not a camera app and does not take photos for you. It helps you frame, meter, and plan shots before you press the shutter on your own camera. The photos it saves are framing aids, not final images. --- Second View turns your iPhone into a precision field toolkit for analog photographers. Set your lens and format, and it crops the iPhone camera to match what your film camera will capture: same field of view, aspect ratio, and framing. Supports 35mm, medium format (6x4.5 through 6x17), large format (4x5, 5x7, 8x10), digital sensors, and custom sizes. VIEWFINDER Precise field-of-view matching for any focal length and format. Portrait or landscape, control side of your choice, preview rotation per kit. AUTOMATIC LENS SELECTION Frames through the sharpest back camera that holds your crop (ultra-wide, wide or tele), so long lenses look crisp. Calibrate each lens with a sheet of paper. FRAMES MODE Rangefinder-style bright lines for every lens in your kit at once. WORKSPACES Design your own control panel and switch layouts with a swipe. FREEZE MODE Hold a full-resolution still to compose rise and shift, spot-meter, and measure distance without the scene moving. LIGHT METER Pick your aperture and get the shutter speed. EV compensation, hyperfocal distance, auto/manual modes, and whole/half/third stops. SPOT METERING Meter the whole frame or a spot down to 1° through the telephoto. METER CALIBRATION Calibrate against your reference meter at several light levels, per lens. BELLOWS COMPENSATION Folds close-focus light loss into the reading, set manually or by LiDAR. LENS FILTERS Log ND, polarizer, and color filters. The meter compensates and every capture records them. RECIPROCITY CORRECTION 60 film stocks with accurate reciprocity curves, plus your own: Portra, CineStill, Tri-X, Velvia, ECN-2 and more. Exposures over one second are corrected automatically. FILM PREVIEW Simulate B&W film with color filters, and preview color-film white balance from the loaded stock. LONG EXPOSURE TIMER Countdown with a full-screen progress ring, on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, with an optional end alert. HARDWARE BUTTONS Map the volume buttons, Camera Control, the Action button or a Bluetooth remote to shutter, timer, freeze, lens steps and more. LIDAR DISTANCE AND PARALLAX Measure subject distance with LiDAR (iPhone 12 Pro and later) or enter it manually. Parallax between the iPhone and your lens is corrected automatically. RISE, FALL AND SHIFT Simulate view camera movements in 1mm steps, up to your kit's maximum travel. COMPOSITION TOOLS Rule of thirds, phi grid, golden triangle, square, and custom grids up to 12x12. Bubble level with roll and pitch. PANORAMA SIMULATION Preview a stitched multi-frame panorama and save it as a plan. SHOT CHECKLIST Run a per-kit checklist in the viewfinder. One step can fire the shutter automatically. CAMERA KITS Save complete setups and switch instantly: lenses, format, stocks, workspace, parallax, and checklist. Pick a body and the format picker shows only the masks it can shoot. FILM ROLL TRACKING Know which roll is loaded and when every frame was exposed. CAPTURE AND GALLERY Save a reference photo with the exact framing and full metadata: lens, format, stock, filters, exposure, rise/shift, GPS, and time. Export with a data overlay, add notes, group into rolls, and export a CSV log. --- Terms of Use : https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy : https://secondview.app/privacy

Screenshots

Datacolor LightColor Meter4 screens
Second View4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Second View at 4.0 against Datacolor LightColor Meter's 1.7. Second View also leads on review sentiment (56% vs 17%) and update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). Datacolor LightColor Meter's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Second View sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per year. Datacolor LightColor Meter asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Second View holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 1.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of Datacolor LightColor Meter's written reviews are positive against 56% of Second View's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Datacolor LightColor Meter ships an update fortnightly, Second View weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Datacolor LightColor Meter versus Second View: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDatacolor LightColor MeterSecond View
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.7 (7 ratings)4.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews16.7% of reviews55.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7 — better5
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDatacolor Inc.Benoit Linard

Customer experience

Datacolor LightColor Meter

All ratings7 ratings
Positive14.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative85.7%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive16.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative83.3%

Second View

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral11.1%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

Datacolor LightColor Meter

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Second View

Subscriptions2
  • Second View Basic Yearly7 Days trial$7.991 Year
  • Second View Pro Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Datacolor LightColor Meter free?
Datacolor LightColor Meter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Second View free?
Second View is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Datacolor LightColor Meter or Second View?
Second View is rated higher. Datacolor LightColor Meter averages 1.7 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Second View averages 4.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Datacolor LightColor Meter or Second View have ads?
Second View shows ads; Datacolor LightColor Meter does not.
Which is updated more often, Datacolor LightColor Meter or Second View?
Datacolor LightColor Meter ships an update fortnightly, and Second View weekly. Most recently, Datacolor LightColor Meter was updated on October 14, 2026 and Second View on October 19, 2026.

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