Photography

Lumu Power lets your iPhone double as a powerful light meter

Lumu Power lets your iPhone double as a powerful light meter
Lumu Power is a powerful light meter for the iPhone
Lumu Power is a powerful light meter for the iPhone
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A Kickstarter pledge of US$199 is currently enough to bag a Lumu Power light meter
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A Kickstarter pledge of US$199 is currently enough to bag a Lumu Power light meter
A minimalist app is used as the main interface for the Lumu Power light meter
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A minimalist app is used as the main interface for the Lumu Power light meter
The domed Lumu Power dongle is also capable of measuring color temperature, white balance and flash
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The domed Lumu Power dongle is also capable of measuring color temperature, white balance and flash
Lumu Power is a powerful light meter for the iPhone
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Lumu Power is a powerful light meter for the iPhone
View gallery - 4 images

Having already convinced some photographers to leave their dedicated light meter at home in favor of its Lumu smartphone add-on, Lumulabs is back with a significantly more powerful light meter for the iPhone. Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, Lumu Power connects to the Lightning connector and offers a number of improvements over its predecessor.

Lumu Power is a compact but powerful light meter add-on which turns the smartphone into an even more useful photographic tool. In addition to ambient light levels, the domed dongle is also capable of measuring color temperature, white balance and flash, which will allow photographers to dial in the right settings on their camera depending on lighting conditions.

A stainless steel housing with polycarbonate lexan diffusers contains dual sensors. A true color sensor on the one side measures color temperature, white balance and illuminance, while a fast-response silicone photo diode on the other side takes care of exposure, ambient, and flash light. Because Lumu Power connects via a Lightning connector, it's iOS-only and will work with an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad.

A minimalist app is used as the main interface for the Lumu Power light meter
A minimalist app is used as the main interface for the Lumu Power light meter

As with the original Lumu, a minimalist app is used as the main interface for the new device. Here users are able to select whether they want settings for photos or video, and then adjust variables including aperture, exposure time and ISO. They can also get readings for light levels, white balance, and color temperature.

Lumulabs suggests that in addition to photographers, Lumu Power could be used by architects to measure the levels of light in different areas of a building, or by a light designer to measure the color of light as a new lamp is being designed.

A Kickstarter pledge of US$199 is currently enough to bag a Lumu Power light meter. The funding target has already been met, so if everything else goes to plan, shipping should start in June 2016.

Sources: LumuLabs, Kickstarter

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3 comments
3 comments
Chuck Anziulewicz
You know what would also be useful? An app that turns your phone into a decibel meter. Have you ever been in a bar that's been painfully loud? Even wonder what it might be doing to your hearing? Ever think that you just might end up with tinnitus in a couple of decades? A smartphone DB meter would give you a good visual of what you're doing to your hearing.
Daishi
@Chuck There are a couple on the app store.
PlanetPapi
I pledged a light meter dome on Kickstarter for under $20 couple of years ago. $199 is too much for this (color meter) function. The pricing doesn't seem right. My 2 cents anyway.