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If you are trying to take excellent pictures with beautiful lighting, you will need the right tools to determine what your final images will look like. The lighting that you have captured in your images is critical to the final result and judging with your eye alone is not always effective. If you have been trying to figure out how to capture better pictures with improved lighting, you need a good light meter in your tool kit.
These light meters will help you to get the images that you have always wanted to capture with ease. Having access to the right information about the ambient lighting or the natural lighting in your shot makes it much easier to get shots that will not need hours of editing later. Most of these devices will also help you adjust your flash and shutter settings as well which can save you a lot of time and experimentation during your shoot.
Product Comparison Table: Best Light Meter for Photography
| Title | Price | Rating (Amazon) | Best in class | Buy | |
 | Sekonic Flashmate Light Meter | $$ | 5.0 stars | Best product | Amazon |
 | LATNEX Light Meter LM-50KL Measures Lux | $$ | 4.5 stars | Best value product | Amazon |
 | Lux Light Meter | $ | 4.5 stars | Cheapest product | Amazon |
 | Sekonic LiteMaster Pro | $$$ | 5.0 stars | Best for beginners | Amazon |
 | New Sekonic L-478D-U Lightmeter | $$$ | 5.0 stars | Best for small business | Amazon |
Best Light Meter for Photography
These devices will help you to get the right images with the right lighting captured with ease. You will no longer have to struggle with finding the right light for your shots and you will know what kind of flash and other camera settings will deliver best results. Taking the guesswork out of your shoot planning is a big benefit to having a meter that can tell you all of the information that you need to get the perfect pictures every time.
Sekonic Flashmate Light Meter
Product summary: This meter helps you to set your shutter speed and your flash and also helps you to measure light with accuracy down to a tenth of a stop. You will be able to use this meter for ambient and electronic flash light readings in full stop mode as well. This unit offers lots of different modes to help deliver really useful information about the kinds of shot that you are trying to collect.
You can choose from various Cine modes and Photo modes to help you to get the right combination of shutter speed, light, and flash for each kind of picture that you are trying to capture without having to try to set each thing separately. This unit is offered at a great price for a meter with all these functions and you will get accurate and trustworthy performance from this item each time you use it.
Advantages
- Various mode settings
- Accurate and easy to use
- Exposures down to a tenth of a stop
Disadvantages
- Higher price point
- Not water resistant
Verdict
This is a very nice light meter that will take care of all of your needs to set shutter speed, light, and flash for the perfect photo shoots each time. You will be able to select from various modes that allow you to change all the necessary settings at once which saves you time and effort during the set up of your shoot. This is a really nice meter that can take care of all of your needs for shooting both indoors and outdoors.
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LATNEX Light Meter LM-50KL Measures Lux
Product summary: If you want a practical and durable light meter that will offer you limited waterproof protection, this is the right meter to pick for your needs. This meter can give you information about natural and indoor lighting and can offer you reading in LUX or Footcandles. This machine offers a quality display screen and all the readings that you will need to set up your shot and determine how much light is in the area that you are working in.
If you want something simple and reliable that will not break when it has to deal with outdoor conditions, this is the right meter for your needs! This is a very practical and accurate meter that will offer you quality information about the light in the area that you are working with every time.
Advantages
- Durable and well-made
- Water resistant
- Accurate readings
Disadvantages
- Does not offer suggestions for flash or other camera settings
- Might not offer enough information for really technical shots
Verdict
This is a very nice unit to choose for practical considerations like tough outdoor conditions that might impact the performance of other meters on this list. This is a durable and well-made meter that will give you accurate readings in indoor and outdoor settings for a great price. You will be sure of the amount of light in any space that you are shooting in when you pick this meter for your needs.
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Lux Light Meter
Product summary: If you want a reliable meter that is sold for a great price, you need to pick this unit for your needs. This small meter will give you accurate measurement of light and illuminance in various settings with ease. This is a small item which is easy to take with you to photo shoots and you will get clear and easy-to-read results from it due to the quality display screen.
This is a hand-held design which is really convenient and can offer you the right information on the fly when you are setting up a shot. You will get measurements in LUX or Footcandles from this meter and this is a commonly-used tool for teaching as well as illumination control for farming and other needs. This unit measures 0-200,000 LUX so you will get all the information that you could need about the lighting in the area of your shot.
Advantages
- Great price point
- Hand-held design
- Easy to read display screen
Disadvantages
- Does not offer shutter or flash setting suggestions
- Works best for natural light
Verdict
This is a very affordable and effective meter that will take care of all of your light measurement needs when you are starting out. If you don’t want to have to worry about anything other than the settings related to the light itself, this is the right unit for your needs. The accuracy is excellent for the price point and you will be glad that you grabbed this handy little unit for your photo shoot needs.
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Sekonic LiteMaster Pro
Product summary: This is a very nice meter that offers you a really informative LCD screen that shows you the ambient light, the flash and the cine that you are using to determine your shot. Being able to see all of the information in one place can save you a lot of time and offer you everything that you need to capture the perfect photos every time.
This meter offers you information for flash range from -2 to 22.9 EV. You will also be able to change settings with a simple press of the buttons on the screen. This unit also comes with a 3-year warranty and great customer support.
Advantages
- Easy to use
- Great warranty and support
- Lots of information available for each shot location
Disadvantages
- Touch screen is a little sensitive
- A little heavy when hanging around your neck
Verdict
This is one of the easiest units that you can use for light meter functions and to set up flash and shutter speed for your shoot. You will be able to see everything that you need to know on the front screen and the display is excellent quality. You will also get great customer support and a really good warranty on this product which is great for beginners.
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New Sekonic L-478D-U Light Meter
Product summary: If you want a really nice light meter that will give you access to all kinds of additional information for your photo shoot, this is the right choice to make. The large LCD screen offers you all the readings for flash, cine, ambient flash, and light in an easy to read way. You will be able to get information about the percentage of flash in the total exposure and there are two motion-capture modes that will help you pair the readings with your camera style’s adjustments.
This meter allows you to generate unique frame rates and shutter angles and you will have precision down to .000 for precise lighting. The brightness measurement is in Lux or FC and you can display brightness along with exposure when you are checking that your shot will work out the way that you want it to.
Advantages
- Highly accurate
- Offers information about total exposure and flash percentage
- Offer motion capture modes
Disadvantages
- High price point
- Buttons on the front are a little small
Verdict
This is a really nice meter that will offer you everything that you need to be able to determine how much flash is needed for your shots and what the light is like as you work through a photo shoot. Changing daylight conditions and the lengthening of shadows can easily be accounted for with this meter. You will be able to tell just what percentage of flash you need to input and you can see all of the information that you need in one place on the quality screen on the meter.
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Getting the Best Photos is Easy With a Quality Light Meter
You don’t have to struggle to capture quality images with beautiful lighting. Having one of these light meters on hand will take the guesswork out of each photo shoot and make everything about the process less stressful and more rewarding. You can get the perfect shot every time with a good light meter in your tool kit.
