Luxi for All: This Kickstarter project wants to bring a real light meter to mobile

May 21, 2014

Professional photographers who use a light meter can now use their phones instead to get proper exposure information thanks to the Luxi Kickstarter campaign. Luxi, which was previously available for iPhone, is now expanding the campaign to support Android and iPad tablets. The Luxi for All attachment is a small accessory that clips onto your device and measures the light level that will be available so that you can program in the correct exposure settings for your photographs, resulting in photos that are properly exposed so that the images aren't too bright (overexposed) or too dark (underexposed).

The Luxi for All is described as a "small diffusion dome which clips" onto your phone's or tablet's front-facing camera and "will help you determine the best settings for your DSLR or other camera so that you can take perfectly exposed pictures." You would position the Luxi for All dome between your subject and the light source to get an accurate light level reading and the accompanying app will display the necessary exposure settings to program into your camera.

Currently, pledges start at $17 and Luxi says that this is much cheaper than a standalone light meter, which could run upwards of a few hundred dollars for pro-grade equipment. The other nice thing about Luxi is that photographers who use Luxi will now have to carry one less piece of gear in their bag as many people already carry a smartphone or a tablet to shoots anyways.

The updated design, according to the campaign, will work with devices with cases even thanks to a new clip mechanism.

The device's intended retail price is $29.95 so backers of the Kickstarter campaign will see a bit of savings. The device will begin shipping to backers in August according to the company's plans.

Source: Kickstarter