Comparison

Grainium vs Light Meter LuMe

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

Head to head
About

Grainium

Features
Read full description

Grainium is the analog ecosystem — six precision tools, a community of working film photographers, an AI built for film, and a worldwide directory of labs and camera shops, all in one app. CAPTURE & MEASURE - Light Meter — incident and reflective metering with film-specific reciprocity correction - Colour Temp — Kelvin readings calibrated for daylight and tungsten stocks - Zone Reference — Train your eye to estimate subject distance for sharper zone focusing DEVELOP & PROCESS - Dev Timer — push/pull-aware multi-bath timers with haptic step alerts - Safe Light — true-red darkroom mode, coin-test calibrated - Negative View — instant in-camera positive preview for inversion DISCOVER & SHARE - A worldwide directory of film labs, repair shops, and analogue camera stores — find what's near you, find what's worth a flight - A community gallery to publish your work, follow photographers who inspire you, and find your next favourite film - Photo walks, meet-ups, gallery openings, expos — find local events or host your own - A blog of field notes, gear reviews, and darkroom guides from the community GRAINIUM ASSIST — AI BUILT FOR FILM Ask anything: identify a roll from a half-remembered design, plan an exposure for an unfamiliar stock, get a starting recipe for a push to 3200. Grainium Assist is trained on the language of film photographers, not generic photo metadata. WHY FILM PHOTOGRAPHERS LOVE GRAINIUM Six precision tools that fit in your pocket. A community that actually shoots film. AI that knows film and development. And a directory of every lab worth knowing. GRAINIUM PRO Unlock the full toolkit, AI Assist, event creation, and an ad-free experience. - Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. - Manage or cancel any time from Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. PRIVACY & TERMS We don't sell your data. We don't track you across other apps. Our privacy policy and terms are at https://grainium.tech/privacy and https://grainium.tech/terms. SUPPORT https://www.grainium.tech/support Built for photographers, by photographers.

About

Light Meter LuMe

This app acts as a professional light meter and exposure calculator for film photographers. It offers various metering modes, reciprocity correction for different film stocks, and depth of field calculations. It aims to replace multiple handheld tools with a single, convenient app.

Highlights
  • Multiple metering modes (Matrix, Center-weighted, Spot, Zone System)
  • Multi-point spot metering with contrast evaluation
  • Reciprocity correction for various film stocks
  • Depth of field and hyperfocal distance calculator
  • Flash guide number calculator
  • Live exposure tools including histogram and clipping warnings
Features
Read full description

LuMe is a pro-grade light meter and exposure calculator built for film photographers. Whether you're shooting medium format on a Mamiya, large format on a 4×5, or 35mm on a Leica, LuMe gives you the exposure intelligence your film camera doesn't have. METERING MODES FOR EVERY SITUATION • Matrix — averages the whole scene for balanced exposures • Center-weighted — emphasizes the middle, like a classic SLR meter • Spot — measures a small area you tap, just like a 1° spot meter • Zone System — Ansel Adams' tonal mapping (Zones I–IX) right in your viewfinder MULTI-POINT SPOT METERING Place up to four spot markers anywhere on your scene. Read each EV at a glance, evaluate contrast range, and place tones with intention. LIDAR SPOT DISTANCE (on Pro devices) See the physical distance to any metered spot — useful for hyperfocal setup and verifying focus on rangefinders and manual-focus lenses. RECIPROCITY CORRECTION FOR EVERY FILM STOCK Long exposures don't behave linearly on film. LuMe applies the Schwarzschild exponent for your stock — Tri-X, TMax, Portra, Ektar, Velvia, and more — so you don't need printed tables in your bag. DEPTH OF FIELD CALCULATOR Hyperfocal distance, near limit, far limit — for 35mm, APS-C, medium format (6×4.5, 6×6, 6×7), and large format (4×5). One tap. FLASH GUIDE NUMBER CALCULATOR GN, distance, power fraction → f-stop. Solved. LIVE EXPOSURE TOOLS • Histogram overlay • Highlight/shadow clipping warnings • ND filter compensation • Aperture priority & shutter priority • Exposure compensation dial • ISO and shutter range constraints (cap at your film speed) BUILT FOR THE WAY FILM PHOTOGRAPHERS ACTUALLY SHOOT • Spot meter a high-contrast scene; place highlights on Zone VII • Apply reciprocity for a 30-second exposure on Tri-X • Calculate hyperfocal for landscape work on Portra 400 • Verify a flash setup before burning a frame LuMe replaces your handheld meter, reciprocity card, DoF chart, and flash calculator with one tool that fits in your camera bag. Available in 16 languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Polish, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional). LUME PRO • $6.99 USD for lifetime access Privacy policy: https://lume.contraststudio.app/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://lume.contraststudio.app/terms.html

Screenshots

Grainium4 screens
Light Meter LuMe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Grainium at every 2 days against Light Meter LuMe's every 5 days. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Grainium sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Light Meter LuMe sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grainium ships an update every 2 days, Light Meter LuMe every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Grainium versus Light Meter LuMe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrainiumLight Meter LuMe
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.9 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—17 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB16 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperGareth Lee JosephContrast Studio

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Grainium

Subscriptions2
  • Grainium Pro · Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Grainium Pro · Annual$29.991 Year
1 purchases

Light Meter LuMe

One-time1
  • LuMe Pro Lifetime2 variants$6.99

Questions

Is Grainium free?
Grainium is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Light Meter LuMe free?
Light Meter LuMe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Grainium or Light Meter LuMe have ads?
Neither Grainium nor Light Meter LuMe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Grainium or Light Meter LuMe?
Grainium ships an update every 2 days, and Light Meter LuMe every 5 days. Most recently, Grainium was updated on September 9, 2026 and Light Meter LuMe on September 26, 2026.

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