Comparison

Lghtmtr vs Silver Lab

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

Head to head
About

Lghtmtr

This app provides a minimalist light meter to help users determine ideal exposure settings for photography. It visually demonstrates the relationship between ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, making it intuitive for learning photographers.

Highlights
  • Minimalist light meter
  • Intuitive exposure settings
  • Visual feedback
  • Adjustable ISO, aperture, shutter speed
  • Camera profile customization
  • Scene reference with readings
Features
Read full description

Lghtmtr is a beautifully simple light meter that helps you find — and understand — the ideal exposure settings for a scene. Built for film photographers and anyone learning the craft, it makes the relationship between ISO, aperture, and shutter speed feel intuitive and the visual feedback helps reinforce the connection between them. Take a reading, get your settings, and start exploring. Adjust one value and the others respond instantly. Lock settings to experiment and see how each change affects your exposure. You can easily add camera profiles to the app to limit the possible values to what's most relevant to your camera and lens combination. With a visual reference of the scene behind every reading, Lghtmtr helps you shoot with clarity and confidence.

About

Silver Lab

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Developing film should feel like a craft, not a calculation. Silver Lab is a darkroom timer built for film photographers who want to focus on the process and not the math. Select your film stock and developer, dial in your temperature and push/pull, and Silver Lab handles the rest. Development times are pulled from an extensive B&W film chart and automatically adjusted for temperature compensation and push/pull processing. For C-41 color negative, the full standardized process is built in and ready to go. When the timer starts, Silver Lab guides you through every stage — agitation cycles, stop bath, fixer, and optional Permawash and Photo-Flo steps. The animated agitation timer tells you exactly when to agitate and when to let the film sit, so you can put the phone down between cycles and not think about it. Features - Automatic development time calculation across a large library of B&W film stocks and developers - Temperature compensation and push/pull adjustment - Configurable agitation timing — set your own initial agitation, rest interval, and cycle duration, independently for Developer and Fixer - Optional Permawash and Photo-Flo steps - C-41 color negative process with push/pull support - Screen stays on throughout development - Live Activity functionality for longer developments - No accounts. No ads. No data collection. Everything runs locally on your device.

Screenshots

Lghtmtr4 screens
Silver Lab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Silver Lab at none against Lghtmtr's 1. Silver Lab also leads on update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 4 months). Lghtmtr's advantage is iOS requirement (17.5 vs 26.0). On price, ads 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. Lghtmtr sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Silver Lab asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lghtmtr ships an update every 4 months, Silver Lab every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Lghtmtr versus Silver Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLghtmtrSilver Lab
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (129 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews79.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings129 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.5 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander JacqueGREGORY HARRISON SCHUCH

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Lghtmtr

One-time1
  • Coffee tip$4.99
None

Silver Lab

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lghtmtr free?
Lghtmtr is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Silver Lab free?
Silver Lab is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Lghtmtr or Silver Lab have ads?
Neither Lghtmtr nor Silver Lab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lghtmtr or Silver Lab?
Lghtmtr ships an update every 4 months, and Silver Lab every 4 weeks. Most recently, Lghtmtr was updated on October 14, 2026 and Silver Lab on September 19, 2026.

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