Comparison

Cine Meter II vs pCAM Pro

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

Head to head
About

Cine Meter II

This app functions as a professional light and color meter for filmmakers. It offers features like a zoomable spotmeter, RGB waveform monitor, and false-color mode to help users precisely control lighting and color in their shots.

Highlights
  • Zoomable spotmeter
  • RGB waveform monitor
  • False-color mode
  • Incident meter with lux/foot-candle
  • Color temperature and tint readings
  • Shutter angle and speed calculations
  • ND filter and exposure compensation
Read full description

Cine Meter II measures light and color, so you can light and shoot and know what you'll get. “Cine Meter II is an essential app for every cinematographer.” — Jon Fauer, ASC “[T]he perfect app to have with you at all times.” — Roberto “Ganzo” Schaefer, ASC, AIC It's a zoomable spotmeter with an RGB waveform monitor and a false-color picture. It's an incident meter using a Lenny Hat or other diffusion, or Lumu™ Lite attachment, with lux and foot-candle readouts. (Lumu Power is NOT supported, and flash metering is NOT possible.) It's a color meter, showing color temperature and green/magenta tint, and giving you corrections to or from your target color. Measure more than just shutter-priority or aperture-priority: calculate shutter speed, shutter angle, aperture, ND, or ISO directly. • The exposure meter shows your stop as a decimal value (for cameras with EVF iris readouts) or as a full stop and fraction (for cine lenses with marked iris rings). Cine Meter II lets you use shutter angles – ideal for Digital Bolex and Blackmagic cameras – as well as speeds, and you can dial in ND filters and arbitrary exposure compensations. The spotmeter is zoomable up to 15x magnification (on devices that support camera zooming), using either the front or back camera. • The waveform monitor shows you how light levels vary across a scene. You'll see how smooth and even the lighting is on a greenscreen or background, and find subtle hotspots and shadows at a glance. The waveform’s RGB mode shows you color imbalances in the image and gives you a handy way to check color purity and separation for chroma-keying. • False-color mode lets you define allowable contrast ranges, and see instantly which shadows are underexposed and what highlights risk clipping. _______________________ READ BEFORE YOU BUY: Cine Meter II is NOT a flash meter; it can't measure strobes. Cine Meter II does NOT work with Lumu Power (the Lightning port Lumu), only Lumu Lite (the headphone jack Lumu). Cine Meter II gives you *absolute* light meter readings, but *relative* picture and waveform monitor levels: Cine Meter II’s picture and waveform monitor do not use the *exact* exposure shown by the light meter (they are close to the meter reading, but can differ from it slightly). The picture and waveform monitor show you *relative* levels within a scene, not *absolute* levels based on the meter reading. Shutter speeds, apertures, and ISOs shown in Cine Meter II are for metering purposes only and do not control the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO of the iPhone camera. The iPhone camera uses whatever exposure settings it needs to capture a reading. Cine Meter II is a light and color meter only; it is *not* a camera simulator. See http://www.adamwilt.com/cinemeterii/details.html#How_It_Works for details.

About

pCAM Pro

This app provides 27 essential tools for cinematography and photography professionals and students. It offers instant calculations for depth of field, field of view, exposure, and more, with a user-friendly interface designed for on-the-go use.

Highlights
  • Depth of Field calculations
  • Field of View preview
  • Focal Length matching
  • Exposure calculations
  • HMI Flicker-free settings
  • Speed Booster adapter calculations
  • VFX tracking markers
Features
Read full description

Plan shots, choose lenses, calculate exposure, and pre-visualize the frame in seconds. 27 pro tools. Every result illustrated. 2,000+ camera formats plus unlimited user-defined formats. I've deliberately kept pCAM Pro a one-time purchase, with none of the subscriptions that have crept into so many apps. • Universal app for iPhone, iPad, Apple Silicon Mac, and Apple Vision Pro • Depth of Field (hyperfocal, total depth, near and far, image circle) • Field of View (and angle of view) • Field of View Preview in both Portrait & Landscape camera positions (8 images to pre-visualize & size shots by distance & focal length) • Focal Length (lens) Matching — match to horizontal, vertical, or diagonal dimensions • Relative Size (compares sensors) • Exposure calculations • HMI Flicker-free (safe shutters & safe camera speeds) • Reference (technical charts, lists & tables. Cine film stocks with film can labels, cine lens specs, false color/exposure change, diopter distance table, miniature shooting, safe panning speeds, zone system) • Insert Slate (4 font colors plus white or black backgrounds) • Splits — Aperture Finder calculation • Speed Booster® Adapter — calculate reduced Focal Length & Boosted Aperture with various adapters. Also create camera format profiles with attached adapters for use in other tools • Eye Light (soft-edged light shapes — Full Screen, Oval, Ring, and Strip) • Chroma Key & VFX Tracking (green and blue screen and VFX tracking markers) • Light Effects for handheld light or via Apple AirPlay to HDTV. Includes templates for: fire, television, siren, neon, strobe, flashbulb, lightning. Create unlimited custom animations • Mired Shift — Gel Selector • Conversion calculator • 4 Test Charts (incl. Siemens Star) • Triangulate calculation (calculate distances, image circle, etc.) • Film Running Time to Length • Shooting to Screen Time • Color Correction (chooses color correction filters) • Time Lapse (shooting interval, event duration, screen time) • Scene Illumination (beam intensity) • Light Coverage (width/distance) • Underwater Distance • Diopter (lens focus, diopter power) • Macro (object distance, magnification, corrected stop, DoF, object size, image size, fill percentage) • Built-in user guides on each screen • Calculates instantly & automatically as each entry is entered • 2,000+ camera formats plus unlimited customizable, user-defined camera formats, CoC & filters • Designed by a working camera technician who understands that calculations must be done simply and on-the-run AND ONE THING THAT ISN'T A CALCULATOR Crew Wheel — spin to settle who's buying the coffee. Not a tool, just a small gift for the standing-around time. Every long day needs one. TRUSTED WORLDWIDE BY DPs, Photographers, Camera Assistants, Camera Operators, Production Designers, VFX, Videographers, Gaffers, plus Film, Television, and Digital Media students. INDUSTRY RECOGNITION • Membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Production and Technology Branch). • 75th Primetime Emmy Awards — Emmy® for "Outstanding Achievement in Engineering, Science & Technology" from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. • 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards — Engineering Plaque for "Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development" from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. • Technical Achievement Award from Society of Camera Operators — "For outstanding contributions to cinematography through the design and development of the pCAM Film+Digital Calculator."

Screenshots

Cine Meter II4 screens
pCAM Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Cine Meter II at $24.99 against pCAM Pro's $34.99. Cine Meter II also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and chart position (#199 vs unranked). pCAM Pro's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and rating (4.9 vs 4.5). On ads, 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

Cine Meter II costs $24.99 and pCAM Pro $34.99 up front. pCAM Pro sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Cine Meter II asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

pCAM Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: pCAM Pro has 222 ratings behind it against 25, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Cine Meter II's written reviews are positive against 97% of pCAM Pro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cine Meter II ships an update every 3 months, pCAM Pro weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Cine Meter II versus pCAM Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCine Meter IIpCAM Pro
Price$24.99 — better$34.99
Rating4.5 (25 ratings)4.9 (222 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.2% of reviews97.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25222 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#199 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdam WiltDavid Eubank

Customer experience

Cine Meter II

All ratings25 ratings
Positive84.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive79.2%
Neutral4.2%
Negative16.7%

pCAM Pro

All ratings222 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.5%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews39 reviews
Positive97.4%
Neutral2.6%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Cine Meter II

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

pCAM Pro

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • None explicitly mentioned, but feature requests imply areas for improvement.

Requested features

3 requests
  • Access iPhone camera for exact POV simulation
  • Implement a night mode
  • Relocate hyperfocal 'apply' button in Depth-of-Field calculator

In-app purchases

None

Cine Meter II

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

pCAM Pro

One-time3
  • Small Tip$1.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$7.99

Questions

Is Cine Meter II free?
Cine Meter II costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is pCAM Pro free?
pCAM Pro costs $34.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Cine Meter II or pCAM Pro?
pCAM Pro is rated higher. Cine Meter II averages 4.5 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while pCAM Pro averages 4.9 from 222 ratings.
Do Cine Meter II or pCAM Pro have ads?
Neither Cine Meter II nor pCAM Pro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cine Meter II or pCAM Pro?
Cine Meter II ships an update every 3 months, and pCAM Pro weekly. Most recently, Cine Meter II was updated on October 18, 2026 and pCAM Pro on October 16, 2026.

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