Comparison

light & deep vs PocketMeter Pro

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

Head to head
About

light & deep

Features
Read full description

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.

About

PocketMeter Pro

This professional light meter app transforms your iPhone into a versatile tool for film photographers and cinematographers. It offers live exposure readings, tap-to-spot metering, and cinema-specific features like shutter angle and false color overlays.

Highlights
  • Live scene metering
  • Tap-to-spot metering
  • Lockable exposure dials
  • Cinema mode with shutter angle
  • False color exposure map
  • LiDAR rangefinder (Pro models)
  • Save exposure logs with metadata
Features
Read full description

PocketMeter Pro turns your iPhone into a professional light meter. Built for film photographers and cinematographers who think in stops, angles, and zones. Point it at a scene and get a live exposure reading, solved across real photographic stop tables. Lock any two of shutter, aperture, and ISO, and the third tracks the light in real time. Tap anywhere in the frame to spot-meter: the tapped area is placed at middle gray, exactly like a spot reading for shadows or skin. • Live scene metering read directly from the camera sensor • Tap-to-spot metering with one-tap return to full-scene evaluation • Lockable dials with a priority-aware exposure solver • Pop-up scrub wheels with haptic detents — it feels like a meter, not a form • Hold any reading while you work, then release to go live again • Over- and under-exposure warnings when a solve runs out of range CINEMA MODE • Shutter angle instead of shutter speed — 180° at 24 fps reads 1/48 • Frame rates from 23.976 to 60 • ND filters in cinema density notation (ND 0.3 to ND 1.8), right on the control deck — photo mode shows classic filter factors (ND2 to ND64) instead • False color, one tap from the viewfinder: an ARRI-style exposure map where green is middle gray, pink is skin key, and red is clipping — read relative to YOUR dialed settings, not the phone's auto-exposure ON SET, IN THE FIELD • LiDAR rangefinder: distance to your metering point in feet and inches (iPhone Pro models) • Live color-temperature readout in Kelvin from scene white balance • LOG: save a frame to Photos stamped with your full exposure — EV, shutter or angle, aperture, ISO, ND, white balance, distance — and geotagged, so you can swipe up later and see exactly where you metered it • Full portrait and landscape support with translucent controls that keep the viewfinder clear BUILT BY FILMMAKERS PocketMeter Pro comes from Studio C-41 and was built and field-tested alongside working cinematographers. Requires iOS 17 or later. Rangefinder requires a LiDAR-equipped iPhone (Pro models). Camera, Photos, and location permissions are used only for metering, saving your logs, and tagging them — nothing is collected or shared.

Screenshots

light & deep4 screens
PocketMeter Pro3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: light & deep at Free against PocketMeter Pro's $9.99. PocketMeter Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#198 vs unranked). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

light & deep is free to download; PocketMeter Pro costs $9.99 up front. light & deep sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PocketMeter Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
light & deep versus PocketMeter Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterlight & deepPocketMeter Pro
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating—5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Paid
Best chart rank—#198 — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMikhail RybakovStudio C-41 Productions, LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

light & deep

One-time1
  • Light & Deep Pro$11.99
None

PocketMeter Pro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is light & deep free?
light & deep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PocketMeter Pro free?
PocketMeter Pro costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do light & deep or PocketMeter Pro have ads?
Neither light & deep nor PocketMeter Pro shows ads.

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