FAQ

Yes. It reads reflected light through the iPhone camera and gives you an exposure for the ISO you set — center-weighted across the frame, or spot metered by tapping a point. It reads out every shutter and aperture pair that matches the light, so you can dial the one your camera can actually do.

No. It is two things in one app: a meter for the film camera in your bag, and a camera that shoots through film looks when you are not carrying one.

Neither. There is no sign-up, no login and no cloud. Metering, shooting and the darkroom all work offline. The only time the app talks to a server is when you buy or restore Lightmeter Plus, which goes through Apple.

Into your own Photos library, including a Lightmeter album, where they stay whether or not you keep the app. The app also keeps ungraded negatives in its private storage so you can restyle a shot later; those are kept out of iCloud backup and go when you delete the app.

Yes, on iPhones that support it. The film look is developed from real sensor data rather than a flattened photo. RAW capture is part of Lightmeter Plus.

RAW capture, the full film library including every future look, the darkroom borders and polaroid treatments, and the alternate app icons. It is sold as a monthly or yearly subscription, or once outright — Apple handles the billing and the refunds.

They are our own recipes, built to match how analog film responds to light — grain, halation and colour. They are not products of, licensed by, or affiliated with any film manufacturer.

Any iPhone on iOS 17 or later. There are Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for the film you have loaded.

The app has no advertising, no behavioural analytics and no third-party tracking, and it sends us nothing you shoot. This website is a separate thing and does use Google Analytics — the privacy page spells out exactly what each one does.

It is in open beta through TestFlight. The fastest way to report something is from TestFlight itself, which attaches your device and iOS version; the support page has the rest.