Lumu Power 2 - An Upgrade of The Popular iPhone Light Meter

Improvements over the years

Lumu Power first appeared on Kickstart back in December 2015. A month and $300.000 later, the product was successfully funded. Like with every crowdfunding project, it can take some time before the final product is ready to ship. All the pre-orders finally went out in May 2017.

Lumu Power is a small accessory that connects to any Apple mobile device thanks to the lightning connector. With only one tool in your pocket, you have a light, color and flash meter at your disposal.

The Lumu Power consists of two sensors. On one side, there is a dome over one sensor, that is for ambient light measurement. On the other side, a flat surface encapsulates the other sensor, which is for color temperature measurement.

The Lumu light meter app.

The nice thing is that even if you don’t have the Lumu Power hardware, you can still use their app called Lumu light meter. Without Lumu Power, the app will use the iPhone’s hardware as a spot meter. You won’t be able to measure the exposure and light temperature precisely – or work with a flash – but it can help. It is available for free in the App Store.

The company has listened to their customers and released about 20 app updates, including new features like:

HSS flash metering capability

Possibility to use the iPhone volume button as a reading trigger

ND filters: different notations, stacking and custom filters

Cine/Video mode for Spot metering

Color correction filters and multiple brands (LEE, Rosco, …)

The New Lumu Power 2

Now that you have a better understanding of what Lumu Power is and what it does, let’s take a look at the new Lumu Power 2. So, does Lumu Power 2 change everything and should you upgrade if you have the first version? The short answer is: no.

According to the team, the Lumu Power 2 features “a new color sensor and additional fast response photodiode enable it to accurately measure the color of either mixture of flash + ambient light or each type of light separately.”

If you are a photographer and need that feature, you could consider upgrading to the new version. However, if you don’t own the Lumu Power “original” and you are new to the ecosystem, the new pricing strategy can be interesting.

Lumu Power 2 is available in 3 different configurations:

For me, the best bang for your bucks is the Power version. If you’re a filmmaker, you can get everything you need for $399.

The Lumu Power 2 is set at a pretty decent price, if you compare it to the cost of a light meter (around $599) + color temperature meter (around $799). It fits in your pocket, and chances are good that you’ll never forget your light meter again.

You can order the Lumu Power 2 directly on Lumu’s website, or in the online Apple Store. The link below to B&H is to the original Lumu Power, we will add the Lumu Power 2 as it becomes listed at B&H.

Do you use a light/color temperature meter? What are your thoughts on the new Lumu Power 2? Let us know in the comments!