Extrasensory Devices announces Luxi, a cheap light meter for iPhone

A company called Extrasensory Devices has solved one of the biggest issues for photographers by announcing Luxi, an incident light meter for iPhones.

Cameras measure light reflected by the subject when taking photos. This is not a particularly good procedure because the camera does not always calculate photo settings in a proper manner. As a result, photos may be too dark or overexposed.

Luxi is a cheap incident light meter for iPhone. It measures the light before reaching the subject and is as good as more expensive light meters, like the Sekonic L-308.

Luxi, an incident light meter which can be clipped on iPhones

Extrasensory Devices promises that this problem will go away forever using Luxi, a clip-on accessory for iPhones. The small add-on is a diffusion dome which can be attached to the front-facing camera of the iOS device.

When used in combination with a light meter app from the iOS Store, the accessory can determine the amount of light in a room and choose the best settings before taking the shot. This way, your camera will always take “perfectly exposed” photos.

Incident light meters which measure the amount of light before reaching a subject are already available on the market. However, they are very expensive and could cost hundreds of dollars. Luxi will become available for $24.95.

Currently, Luxi is only a Kickstarter project. The good thing is that the $10,000 goal was reached in a few days. Although it raised more than $17,000, there are 43 days left to go and backers who donate $14 or more will receive a free Luxi light meter adapter.

The picture on the left was taken using the “Auto” settings in a camera. The picture on the right was taken using Luxi’s incident light readings.

Luxi is expected to ship this May

Extrasensory Devices is expected to ship Luxi in May 2013 for iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 5. Shipping is free within the borders of the US and costs $5 outside the US.

The developer also explains why iPhone owners need a separate device for measuring the light. Conventional light meters found in a camera measure the intensity of light bouncing off a subject, causing photos to be overexposed or underexposed.

Luxi will be a great accessory for beginners. It will help them choose the correct settings in Manual mode on their DSLRs, when it becomes available before summer begins.