I recently got into film photography and tried out the Lumu light meter. Found originally on Kickstarter, it's a handy and accurate light meter.
Until quite recently, I was a dedicated digital photographer but with a craving for film. So I started shooting with a medium format 1934 Rolleicord which used to belong to my grand father.
Using my digital camera as a light meter worked but isn't the ideal or convenient solution, what you really want is an actual light meter.
So I contacted the friendly bunch at LUMU who kindly sent me one to try out.
Let's start this review by saying I do not normally use an incidental light meter. Before you jump on that, I should explain my photography revolves around London street photography and London urban photography in general (urban landscapes, architecture…). So I can’t really go to my subject and ask for a light reading before I shoot them.
I’ve never really felt the need for a light meter but since my 1934 Rolleicord doesn't have any built in metering and the whole thing is more for fun than anything else, Lumu seemed a good match.
The Lumu light meter, which is only intended for ambient light by the way, is very well packaged in a little leather pouch, inside a metallic box, and the meter itself looks like it was designed by Apple.
That’s sadly a problem.
Indeed, after I checked with the Lumu guys, the light meter doesn’t function on my Android device so I ended up using my fiancee’s IPhone. Bit of a fail here, my fault for not checking but definitely something Lumu needs to seriously look at or risk missing out on a big chunk of Android users.
Anyway… So after downloading the free app on the IPhone, off I am measuring away and yes it seems Lumu gets it right. Very accurately actually as long as it’s for film photography. If you test with some digital camera, somehow it doesn’t get the exposure quite right, kind of very slightly underexposed.
Doesn’t matter as I use it for film!
It’s very straight forward and easy to use for the novice light meterer and the photos I took came out as intended.
If you own an IPhone, although the Lumu is maybe a little pricey compared with other light meters, it's easy to carry everywhere, it's slick looking, small and effective.
Check their website here: http://ww.lu.mu/
Nico