Comparison

Cine Meter II vs LightScope

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 cinematographers. It offers zoomable spot metering, RGB waveform monitoring, and false-color capabilities to analyze and adjust lighting for optimal shots. It also provides calculations for exposure settings like shutter speed and aperture.

Highlights
  • Zoomable spotmeter
  • RGB waveform monitor
  • False-color mode
  • Incident meter with lux/foot-candle
  • Color temperature and tint readings
  • Exposure calculation (shutter speed, aperture, ND, ISO)
  • Shutter angle support
Features
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

LightScope

This app uses your device's camera to measure and analyze various light properties, including illuminance, luminous intensity, and color temperature. It offers real-time histograms, contrast ratio, and noise measurements, with options for image capture and history tracking.

Highlights
  • Illuminance (lux) measurement
  • Luminous intensity (candela) calculation
  • Color temperature (K) analysis
  • Real-time histogram
  • Contrast ratio measurement
  • Image capture and storage
  • Measurement history and trends
Features
Read full description

LightScope is a comprehensive solution providing professional light measurement and analysis using your iOS device's camera sensor. 【Key Measurement Features】 • Illuminance (lux) Measurement: Calculates accurate illuminance by analyzing EXIF data from the camera sensor. Illuminance is derived using the formula: (F-number² / (Exposure Time × ISO)) × Calibration Factor. • Exposure (EV) Calculator: Converts measured illuminance to EV and suggests proper exposure combinations in standard stops for your ISO and aperture (or shutter) settings. • Luminous Intensity (candela) Calculation: Automatically calculates the luminous intensity of a light source based on the set distance. Uses the formula: Illuminance (lux) × Distance². • Color Temperature (K) & Tint Analysis: Precisely measures the light source's color temperature (1500K~15000K) and tint (green-magenta bias) by analyzing the camera's white balance sensor data — useful for identifying fluorescent and LED lighting. • Real-time Histogram: Visualizes the balance of shadows, midtones, and highlights through 16-level brightness distribution analysis. • Contrast Ratio Measurement: Evaluates the brightness ratio between bright and dark areas of a scene (based on 10th/90th percentiles) according to WCAG accessibility standards. • Noise Measurement (SNR): Calculates the signal-to-noise ratio in dB to evaluate image quality in the shooting environment. 【Advanced Features】 • Image Capture and Storage: Captures camera images at the time of measurement and stores them with measurement data. • Full-screen Image View: Zoom, pan, and rotate captured images for detailed inspection. • Gallery Saving: Save captured images to your device's photo library. • Measurement History and Trends: Save all measurements chronologically and chart trends for lux, EV, color temperature, contrast, and SNR. • Continuous Logging: Automatically record measurements at a set interval (1-60s) — great for lighting design and site surveys. • Full-Resolution Image Storage: Keep captured images at original quality for detailed inspection and gallery saving. • Export All History: Export every measurement as a CSV file or a PDF report. • Notes & Location Tags: Attach notes to measurements and optionally save the measurement location. • Home Screen Widget: See your last measurement (lux, color temperature, contrast, SNR) right on the home screen. • Camera Full-screen Mode: Hide panels to focus on the camera view while checking key measurements via a mini info panel. • Measurement Lock: Freeze exposure and white balance for stable, steady readings. • Spot Metering: In full-screen mode, tap anywhere to meter around that point. • Perfect Dark/Light Mode Support: All UI elements automatically adapt to the system theme. 【User Settings】 • Calibration Wizard: Enter a reading from a reference lux meter and the calibration factor is calculated automatically. Manual slider adjustment is also available. • Distance Setting: Set the distance to the light source for precise luminous intensity (cd) calculations. • Front/Rear Camera Selection: Choose the appropriate camera for your measurement situation. 【Technical Features】 • Support for measuring various light source types: natural light, LED, fluorescent, incandescent, etc. • Color temperature and tint sourced directly from the camera ISP's white balance estimation for reliable readings • 10-frame moving average filter for measurement stabilization • Center-weighted or spot (tap-to-meter) analysis for accurate evaluation of the main subject • Automatic exposure quality assessment based on histogram analysis Perfect tool for photographers, videographers, lighting designers, UI/UX developers, and anyone who needs accurate light measurements.

Screenshots

Cine Meter II4 screens
LightScope4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: LightScope at $9.99 against Cine Meter II's $24.99. LightScope also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and chart position (#97 vs unranked). Cine Meter II's advantage is review sentiment (79% vs 42%). On ads, in-app purchases, 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 LightScope $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cine Meter II ships an update every 3 months, LightScope every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Cine Meter II versus LightScope: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCine Meter IILightScope
Price$24.99$9.99 — better
Rating4.5 (25 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews79.2% of reviews — better41.7% of reviews
Number of ratings25 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#97 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdam WiltByungil Park

Customer experience

Cine Meter II

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

LightScope

Written reviews12 reviews
Positive41.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative58.3%

In-app purchases

None

Cine Meter II

No in-app purchases

None

LightScope

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cine Meter II free?
Cine Meter II costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is LightScope free?
LightScope costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Cine Meter II or LightScope have ads?
Neither Cine Meter II nor LightScope shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cine Meter II or LightScope?
Cine Meter II ships an update every 3 months, and LightScope every 2 weeks. Most recently, Cine Meter II was updated on November 1, 2026 and LightScope on November 3, 2026.

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