Light Meter vs light & deep
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Light Meter
This app helps film photographers precisely measure light, distance, and depth of field before taking a shot. It offers tools for exposure evaluation, flash calculation, and reciprocity failure compensation, with advanced features available via a one-time purchase.
- Light metering
- Zone metering
- Flash calculator
- Reciprocity failure compensation
- Distance meter (LiDAR)
- Depth of field calculator
- Gear library
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FilmBox Toolkit Shoot film with greater confidence. From exposure decisions and manual focusing to long-exposure compensation and photo notes, FilmBox Toolkit brings essential film photography tools together on your iPhone. Make informed choices before you press the shutter. ZONE SYSTEM METERING Visualize readings from different areas of your scene using Zone System principles. Compare highlights and shadows, decide which details to preserve, and adjust your exposure. Built for situations where careful exposure control matters. FREE TOOLS • Light Meter (basic mode): Evaluate ambient light and get exposure settings to work from. • LiDAR Rangefinder (up to 1 meter): Estimate subject distance to assist manual focusing and flash calculations. Requires compatible hardware. • Flash Calculator (GN): Calculate settings from the guide number for shooting without TTL. • Depth of Field Calculator: Estimate your focus range and hyperfocal distance. • Reciprocity Failure Compensation: Calculate long-exposure adjustments based on your selected film. • Shutter Speed Test: Help check your camera's shutter speed and assess its performance. • Negative Viewer: Use the camera to preview negatives as positive images and inspect their contents. For previewing only; not a replacement for professional scanning or post-processing. • Gear Library & Photo Log: Organize film stocks, flashes, and preferred settings, and keep shooting notes for later reference. FREE & PRO FilmBox Toolkit is free to download. All features are free except the three Pro features below. Free features include manual input for Zone System metering, basic light metering, rangefinding up to 1 meter, the Shutter Speed Test, and the Negative Viewer. FilmBox Pro unlocks: • Zone System metering: real-time light readings. • Light Meter: 1-degree spot metering mode. • Rangefinder: distance measurements beyond 1 meter. Choose either: • A one-time lifetime purchase. • An annual subscription with access during the subscription period. See the in-app purchase screen for current pricing and purchase terms. DEVICE COMPATIBILITY • Standard SDR metering: Compatible iPhones running iOS 17 or later. • Apple Log metering: Uses 10-bit Apple Log data. Supported on iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max, 16 Pro/Pro Max, and 17 Pro/Pro Max. The app selects the appropriate mode for your device. • LiDAR rangefinding: Requires a LiDAR-equipped iPhone: Pro and Pro Max models in the iPhone 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 families. Devices without Apple Log or LiDAR can still use other compatible features. Hardware support and Pro access are separate requirements. PRIVACY Metering, depth of field, and other calculations run locally on your device. We do not collect or upload your personal data. Privacy Policy: https://www.filmboxtoolkit.com/privacy.html TERMS OF USE This app is licensed under Apple's standard End User License Agreement (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
light & deep
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Light & Deep is a viewfinder, light meter and LiDAR rangefinder for film, cinema and custom made cameras. Choose your format and focal length, meter the light and measure your subject distance. With Pro (one purchase, no subscription), see the estimated depth of field as zebra stripes over the live scene, and watch it change as you adjust the aperture. Originally built for a handmade camera without a finder or meter, it brings the same practical tools to medium-format, large-format and panoramic photography. SEE DEPTH OF FIELD — PRO Explore which nearby parts of your scene would be sharp for your format, focal length, aperture and focus distance. Open the aperture and the highlighted zone narrows. Stop down and it grows. METER THE LIGHT Set your film ISO, choose aperture or shutter priority, and read the corresponding exposure setting. Pro adds spot metering and calibration for each iPhone lens. FRAME YOUR SHOT Set your format and focal length to preview composition. Free offers 35mm full frame and 6x6 medium format. Pro offers 53 film, digital and cinema formats, including large format, XPan, Instax, Polaroid, Super 8, and IMAX. MEASURE THE DISTANCE On a LiDAR-equipped iPhone, tap a point to measure its distance. The free distance zebra highlights surfaces near the selected distance. Pro adds depth-of-field visualization and can keep measuring a fixed point in the scene even as you move the phone. SAVE A REFERENCE — PRO Keep a reference photo with a settings strip and image metadata. Record aperture, shutter speed, ISO, format, focal length, distance, a film note and optional location, so you can refer back to your setup later. FREE, WITH NO TIME LIMIT • Reflective light meter with aperture and shutter priority • 35mm full-frame and 6×6 frame overlays • Focal-length control • LiDAR distance measurement, tap-to-measure and target-distance zebras on supported hardware PRO - ONE PURCHASE, NO SUBSCRIPTION • Depth-of-field visualization on supported hardware • All 53 formats • Spot metering and light-meter calibration • Reference photos with settings and metadata • Fixed-point distance tracking • Ultrawide camera support on compatible devices • Black-and-white view and virtual horizon • Frame, zebra and crosshair customization • Parallax correction for a phone mounted on a camera • Cinema tools: shutter angle, project frame rate and anamorphic squeeze Pro is an optional one-time in-app purchase. The free features remain available without upgrading. REQUIREMENTS iPhone with iOS 17.6 or later. Distance measurement, distance zebras and depth-of-field visualization require a LiDAR-equipped iPhone: iPhone 12 Pro or 12 Pro Max, or a later model with LiDAR. Metering and framing work without LiDAR. LiDAR is intended for nearby subjects, with a useful range of about five metres depending on conditions. Depth coverage is limited to the central area in ultrawide view. The depth-of-field overlay estimates acceptable sharpness; it does not simulate lens bokeh or guarantee the final photograph's sharpness. PRIVACY No account, ads or analytics. Camera, depth and exposure processing happens on your device. Optional location data is used when you choose to include it in a reference photo.
Screenshots
Verdict
Light Meter and light & deep are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Light Meter sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per year and light & deep sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Light Meter ships an update weekly, light & deep every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Light Meter | light & deep |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 85.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 卓 朱 | Mikhail Rybakov |
In-app purchases
Light Meter
- FilmBox Toolkit Pro Subscription$7.991 Year
- FilmBox Toolkit Pro$17.99
light & deep
- Light & Deep Pro$11.99








