A light meter helps you get the right exposure when you’re shooting, which means your photos will have the right amount of light and color.
We researched and tested dozens of light meters, evaluating the accuracy, portability, and ease of use. The Dr.meter LX1330B Digital Illuminance Light Meter is our top pick, thanks to its reliable exposure readings, ease of use, and long battery life.
Here are the best light meters for photographers.
Best Photographic Light Meters: Editor Recommended
Our Editor’s Best Photographic Light Meters Reviews
- Measures luminosity from 0 to 200,000 Lux and ambient temperature
- High accuracy of ±3% rdg ± 8 dgts (<10,000 Lux), ±4% rdg ±10 dgts (>10,000 Lux)
- 4 digital color LCD screen, MIN/Max readings, data hold, auto power off, and low battery indication
- Wide range of application, use lux light meter for set design, factory, office or home use
- lightweight and compact, 2 years long period warranty
- High Precision & Fast Response: This high-precision illuminance meter delivers lightning-fast readings 2 times per second, ensuring you get accurate light intensity data—perfect for creating the ideal growing environment for your plants.
- FC/LUX Conversion: FC or LUX? The Power is in Your Hands! Effortlessly toggle between FC and LUX to measure light intensity in the unit that suits your gardening needs—precision made simple.
- PEAK Data Recording: Instantly lock in and display the highest light pulse value with a single press of the PEAK button—perfect for measuring lightning, laser beams, and other brief high-intensity sources.
- Low Battery Alert: Stay powered, stay prepared! A handy + - symbol appears when the battery runs low, so you’ll always know when it’s time to swap out the 9V battery and keep your light measurements going strong.
- Versatile Usage: Ready for any setting! Whether indoors or outdoors, this meter is perfect for homes, offices, factories, or measuring sunlight intensity to create the perfect environment for your plants to thrive.
- UNI-T professional digital illuminance meter UT383. Effectively measures light intensity and display results in units of Lux or FC. Range: 0 to 199,900 Lux / 0 to 18,500 Fc. High accuracy of +/-(4 %+8)
- Compact & easy to use. Large 4 digital LCD screen with backlight. 0.5 s sampling time. Overload indication. Max/Min. Data hold. Low battery indicator. Auto shutdown for power saving
- Portable value pack. What you get: 1 x UT383 mini light meter, 1 x packaging box, 1 x paper manual, 1 x e Manual (free download)
- Effective & Versatile. Widely used in lightening enterprise, agriculture and animal husbandry, mining enterprise, laboratory, office, household, street lights construction, camera & studios, photography, etc
- Easy access to UNI-T 7/24 1 to 1 user support. If you encounter any problems during use, please contact us first (via e-mail) and our customer service team will deal with your problem as soon as it is received
- Exposures accurate down to a tenth-of-a-stop for both ambient and electronic flash light readings in full-stop mode.
- At ISO 100 the ambient EV range is 0 to 19.9 flash f/stops range from f/1.0 to f/90.9 with a shutter-speed span of 60-seconds to 1/8000th-of-a-second (1 sec to 1/500th for flash).
- Photo Mode: for still image photographers featuring shutter or aperture priority display of a full range of ambient and flash functions including cord and cordless flash measurement
- HD Cine Mode: perfect for DSLR and mirrorless videographers who need to take exposure readings and control light using shutter speeds and frame rates
- Cine Mode: designed for use with cinema grade cameras, allows users to select from the most useful frame rates and shutter angles for exposure control with one-tenth stop accuracy.
- Set exposure with an in-camera or handheld meter.
- Create custom in-camera white balance for a consistent white point across a set of images, with no need to correct each individual image later.
- Portable Protective Case Adjusts to accommodate multiple positions so that you can easily incorporate the target(s) into any scene. Also, it includes a handy lanyard so that your Passport is always close by.
- Create custom camera profiles based on your individual camera/lens/lighting combinations for both DNG and ICC workflows.
- Neutralise and create your look with enhancement patches. Check and evaluate shadow details and highlight clipping. Control colour shifts.
- 【Wide Range & Reliable Accuracy】Measure from 0 ~ 200,000 Lux with high accuracy ±4% +10. This professional foot candle light meter helps optimize light levels for plants, libraries, offices, and indoor spaces. With accurate light measurements, growers can ensure that plants receive appropriate photosynthesis light, optimize and adjust light conditions, and achieve a healthier growth environment
- 【180° Rotating Sensor & Clear Backlist Display】Ohcans AS803 light meter features a 180° rotating sensor for flexible measurements from any angle. The backlight LCD ensures clear reading even in low light. With rapid 0.5-second sampling, it delivers real-time data perfect for photography lighting setups, office evaluations, and monitoring indoor plant growth
- 【Multi-Scene Application Versatility】 The light meter foot candles accurately measures all common light sources including LED, fluorescent, halogen, and HID lights. Ideal for photography, flim, classroom, home, laboratory, stages, camera, warehouse, factory, hospital, garden. Use this lux meter for plants to prevent over- or under-exposure, or in photography to control lighting setups with precision. Its flexible design makes it a must-have tool for gardeners, photographers, engineers, and interior designers
- 【Added Environmental Sensing & 3 Measure Modes】 Beyond light measurement, the digital illuminance meter also tracks real-time temperature in °C/°F, helping you monitor growing environments for plants or comfort zones in offices. Three modes to adjust according to your needs, data hold, max/min value recording, enhancing usability while conserving battery. A low-power indicator ensures you never miss a measurement
- 【Easy to Carry】Our lumen meter is really convenience, lightweight and handheld, you can easily carry it anywhere you go. If you have any questions, pls feel free to contact us
- Easy-to-use 35-degree wide-angle metering angle. ±0.1EV metering accuracy. ISO1~ISO3200, 60s~1/8000s, F1~F64.
- Aperture Auto mode (A), Shutterspeed Auto mode (S), Manual Mode and EV mode (A+S). Manual trigger metering (Click M), auto trigger metering (Long-press M). Independent X ISO level can be set to values other than those on the ISO dial scale (1/2/4/6/8/10). Exposure compensation function.
- 3 independent dials for aperture, ISO and shutter speed. Each dial has a tactile and audible feedback. Each dial has a half-stop resolution. Half-stop values can be 1/3 or 2/3 stops. Ability to limit aperture auto mode and shutter speed auto mode to 1/3 or full stops.
- Over 10 "Exposure Indicators" for Manual Mode to choose from! Dual LED cardinal point indicators! Changeable to your favorite colors.You can view the User Manual by：bit.ly/3DwnoSy
- Strong and durable full metal shell! Ultra-small size! Built-in rechargeable battery, charged with USB-C cable.Comprehensive battery life exceeds 20 hours, and it can stand by for more than 6 months when fully charged and turned off.
- Lighting accuracy: plus or minus 3% plus or minus 10 dgts (<10000 LUX), plus or minus 4% plus or minus 10 dgts (>10000 LUX)
- EXTRA LARGE RANGE Our digital illuminance meter has a wide measuring range of up to 200,000 LUX. The highly sensitive illuminance sensor ensures accurate and fast response with a sampling frequency of up to 2 times per second.
- User-friendly design: Easily switch between the two main units of illumination intensity - LUX and FC - as needed. The LCD display ensures clear vision, the backlight ensures the readability of the meter even in dark environments.
- Multifunctional: With our meter, you can not only measure the current brightness, but also the maximum and minimum values. With the data hold function, you can freeze the reading on the display, which can be useful when you need to record the measurement.
- ENERGY EFFICIENT The meter has an automatic shut-off function which helps to save battery when not in use. A low battery indicator lets you know when it's time to change the battery so that the meter is always ready to use.
- 【Widely used】S8608 is a digital illuminometer, used for measuring visible brightness, large screen display, wide measuring range, up to 200000LUX, automatic conversion range. Can be widely used in such as schools, hospitals, factories, airports, families and other occasions of brightness measurement.
- Measurement visible brightness, measurement range is wide
- lluminance unit switch,Unit of illuminance：LUX、FC
- Measurement time: S
- MAX/ MIN,Data HOLD,Backlight function
- Measures light intensity from white LED light sources up to 40k Foot candles (400k Lux) as well as from fluorescent, metal halide, high‐pressure sodium, and incandescent sources
- Silicon photodiode sensor and filter
- Min/Max/Avg function recalls highest, lowest and average reading
- 9,999 count LCD display with Data Hold that freezes readings on the display
- Auto power off with disable
Best Photographic Light Meters Buying Guide
Before choosing the best photographic light meter you should consider the following options:
1. Battery: The first step is to check the power source of the light meter. You can find light meters that use two types of batteries.
You can find light meters that use standard alkaline batteries and others that use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
Standard alkaline batteries are affordable and widely available in the market. However, you will have to replace the batteries quite often.
On the other hand, rechargeable batteries are more expensive. However, you will not have to keep buying new batteries, which makes them a more cost-effective solution.
2. Accuracy: The accuracy of a light meter is determined by its ISO rating. ISO stands for International Standards Organization, which is the international standards body for the photography and imaging industries.
The ISO rating is expressed in a number between 1 and 4096. The higher the ISO number is, the more accurate the light meter is.
You also need to consider the ISO rating of the light meter based on the film or sensor speed you use.
For example, if you use a 400 ISO film, you will need a light meter with an ISO rating of at least 512. If you use a faster film, you need a light meter with a higher ISO rating.
3. Type of Application: You need to consider the type of application you want to use the light meter for.
You can find light meters that are designed for spot metering, incident metering, and sometimes both. You can find light meters with different degrees of sophistication.
You can also find light meters that have built-in exposure modes for different types of photography, such as portrait, landscape, and wildlife photography.
4. Modes: A light meter can have different modes that can help the photographer in the field. For example, you can find light meters that have a spot mode, which is useful for determining the exposure for a specific area.
You also can find light meters with a combination mode, which gives you the option to measure incidents as well as a spotlight.
You can also find light meters with a linear guide, which gives you a visual representation of the exposure.
What else you should know about the best photographic light meters
What is a photographic light meter?
A photographic light meter is an instrument that measures the amount of light in a scene and gives an exposure reading to help photographers determine the proper shutter speed and aperture settings to use for their photos.
How does a photographic light meter work?
A photographic light meter is a device that measures the amount of light in a scene and then translates that information into an aperture and shutter speed value for a given film speed.
What are the benefits of using a photographic light meter?
A photographic light meter can be used to measure the amount of light in a scene, and can be used to determine the correct exposure for a photograph.
What are the different types of photographic light meters?
There are several types of photographic light meters, the most common being built into the camera. Other types of light meters include handheld, incident, and spot meters.
How do I choose the best photographic light meter for my needs?
The best photographic light meter for your needs will depend on the specific features that you are looking for. Some factors to consider include the type of camera you are using, the range of the light meter, the accuracy of the light meter, and the price.
Conclusion
On the market, there are numerous best photographic light meters. Hopefully, the list of the top ten best photographic light meters will save you time researching and deciding on the best one for you.