Comparison

second.lux vs Lightmeter

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

Head to head
About

second.lux

Features
Read full description

second.lux is a camera and photo development app for iPhone. Shape the color and tone of your photos using a process modeled on film and photographic printing. Adjust lens filters, halation, and grain to change the look and feel of your photos. Shoot DNG RAW photos using the Fast RAW Finder. On devices that support Apple Log, you can also choose Live Development Preview to preview the developed image as you shoot. You can also import photos and RAW images from your photo library for development. Save and share your finished photos.

About

Lightmeter

This app simulates the look and feel of traditional film photography, offering various film stocks, focal lengths, and a built-in light meter. It allows for RAW capture with authentic film characteristics and provides darkroom-like editing tools.

Highlights
  • Authentic RAW film capture
  • Multiple film stock emulations
  • Adjustable focal lengths
  • Integrated light meter
  • Darkroom-style editing tools
  • Metadata attachment to photos
Features
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A real light meter when you carry film. A film camera when you don't. And now, a disposable. The looks are built out of true RAW capture โ€” grain, halation, and color that behave the way film behaves, rather than a filter sitting on top of a flat phone photo. Every look prints through the same engine, from a neutral negative, the way a lab prints a scan. The difference shows. The LM-35 AF A disposable camera, as a third mode beside the meter and the film camera. A roll of 12, 24, or 36 frames goes in, and it shoots blind: no preview, no thumbnails, a fixed 35mm lens, and a frame counter under a red index. A finished roll goes to the lab, and an hour later the prints land in Photos, each with its own accidents โ€” an exposure wobble, flash falloff, soft corners, the odd light leak, and the orange date stamp if you want it. The body comes in black or yellow. A Lock Screen countdown, a lab widget, and a notification say when a roll is back. A shelf of stocks Color negative, slide, and black and white, each tuned to its own tonality, contrast, and grain. A few are ours alone. Stocks swap from the viewfinder in a tap, favorites stay marked, and the shelf filters down to color or mono. Focal lengths that mean something 24, 35, and 48mm on any iPhone. 85mm and your phone's true telephoto on Pro. The row clicks as it slides. In the hand The shutter fires from the volume buttons or Camera Control, and a tap made while a frame is still exposing is taken, not dropped. RAW works at every focal length and on the front camera. A darkroom, not a filter stack Frames save to Photos with film, aperture, shutter, ISO, and focal length attached. Any frame reopens later onto a different stock, or gets cropped, straightened, inspected, or deleted โ€” from the Lightmeter gallery or from Photos itself. Edits land in place, no duplicates, and the original is always one tap back. Several frames can be handled at once. Developed rolls sit in the gallery as a stack that spreads out. On your Home Screen Widgets carry the loaded film to the Home and Lock Screen. With Plus, one shows your latest frame, another opens the camera in a single tap, and one counts down the roll at the lab. The meter In meter mode Lightmeter reads reflected light for the camera already around your neck โ€” ISO, spot readings, and clean shutter and aperture pairs. Lightmeter Plus The camera and the meter are free. Plus adds the LM-35 AF, the full film-look library, RAW capture where the device supports it with a 24 MP option on supported iPhones, darkroom borders, the camera, shutter, and lab widgets, and alternate app icons. Monthly, yearly, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Eligible new subscribers get seven days free; subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled. Nothing you shoot leaves the phone No account, no cloud, no upload, no ads, no tracking. Your photos, camera feed, and location stay on your iPhone. Apple and RevenueCat process limited purchase information only to run Lightmeter Plus. New stocks and new features land often. Terms of Use: https://shotonlightmeter.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://shotonlightmeter.com/privacy

Screenshots

second.lux3 screens
Lightmeter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: second.lux at none against Lightmeter's 3. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Lightmeter sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. second.lux asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

second.lux ships an update every 2 weeks, Lightmeter weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 7 level
second.lux versus Lightmeter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametersecond.luxLightmeter
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviewsโ€”87.5% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
Monetizationโ€”Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size12 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKotaro IwataAakash Goel

In-app purchases

None

second.lux

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Lightmeter

Subscriptions2
  • Lightmeter Plus Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Lightmeter Plus Yearly7 Days trial$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lightmeter Plus$14.99

Questions

Is second.lux free?
second.lux is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lightmeter free?
Lightmeter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do second.lux or Lightmeter have ads?
Neither second.lux nor Lightmeter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, second.lux or Lightmeter?
second.lux ships an update every 2 weeks, and Lightmeter weekly. Most recently, second.lux was updated on October 28, 2026 and Lightmeter on October 25, 2026.

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