Free FilmMeter App Is an Analog Photographer's Best Friend

Photographer Zachary Hou shoots film, so he decided to build an iPhone app to help him out. The new app, FilmMeter, combines multiple useful features into a single, entirely free application, and it looks as pretty as it is useful.

Hou explains that his new FilmMeter app is built for an entire analog workflow. It tracks film, offers light metering, helps photographers nail focus, has an exposure timer, and offers a film shooting log. As PetaPixel editor-in-chief and analog evangelist Jaron Schneider says, “Most apps do one of the four things this does.”

“The light meter and rangefinder combo is very nice, not to mention the roll tracking. I like that aspect of it since it’s hard to remember if you want to push or pull a roll, or what roll was shot on what camera,” Schneider continues. “I’ve wanted something like this just for that tracking, and the way it’s implemented here is pretty to look at in addition to being legitimately useful.”

FilmMeter does a lot. Once photographers load a roll of film into their camera, they can log it in the app and keep track of which camera has which roll. The app lets users create profiles for their cameras and lenses, which they can then link to a specific roll. As for film roll management, the app includes a ton of film stocks.

The app uses the iPhone’s built-in camera to accurately measure exposure in real-time, including spot and average metering modes. The user retains full control over their desired aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. FilmMeter also supports push/pull metering.

iPhone 16 and 17 users can even adjust EV using the touch-sensitive Camera Control button on the side of their phone. There is also built-in scene recognition to help film photographers handle tricky conditions, such as backlit shots or snowy landscapes.

The app has a focal length frame range from 28mm to 200mm and aspect ratio overlays for 135 and 120 formats. So photographers can meter and take a preview shot using the FilmMeter app, dial in their settings on their film camera, and then have the iPhone shot to reference later for their notes and shooting log. Hou says that a long-term goal for the app is to let users upload their scans and have the app automatically match them with the shooting log. Every time the user meters in the app, it saves full parameters and location, which can be exported to a CSV file.

The app supports ND filters for exposure calculations, ranging from ND2 to ND10000. The app has a long exposure timer that integrates with the iPhone’s Dynamic Island, so photographers can nail long exposures without a fancy remote timer. The app will alert the photographer when it’s time to close the shutter.

It includes reciprocity data for a wide range of popular film stocks, too, which helps photographers dial in the right exposure values for their older and expired film.

With LiDAR-enabled iPhone models, including all Pro and Pro Max versions since the iPhone 12, the app can also deliver ranging and depth-of-field information, including 35mm and medium-format calculations for DoF and hyperfocal distances.

Best of all, FilmMeter is free. There is no subscription, and the app works entirely offline. There are technically in-app purchases, but they are just ways for people to support Hou’s work. While the app is only available for iOS now, Hou says on Threads that he’s started thinking about an Android version, but it’ll “take some time” to make.

Image credits: FilmMeter