TECH SPOTLIGHT

Wind, light meters turn smartphone into different tool

Special to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette - 08-30-2013 - The Luxi Light Meter and the Vaavud Wind Meter use apps to turn smartphones into some rather unusual tools.
Special to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette - 08-30-2013 - The Luxi Light Meter and the Vaavud Wind Meter use apps to turn smartphones into some rather unusual tools.

After the frenzy of smartphone cases in the last few weeks, I’ve been ready for something different. Luckily, I found something different - very, very different.

I’ve come across a few unusual accessories to try out for this week. Both products are made to work with separate apps, and both are made to turn a smartphone into a different instrument.

The first is from a company called Vaavud. It’s the Smartphone Wind Meter. It works with iPhones, iPads and Samsung Galaxy S2, S3 and S4 Android phones.

The Wind Meter is just that, a little fanlike device with cups at the end of each blade to catch the wind and measure it. The device plugs into a smartphone’s headphone jack and spins when you point it into the wind.

The Wind Meter works with the Vaavud Wind Meter app, which is available at the Mac App Store for the iPhones and iPads and Google Play for Android devices. The app is very basic. It includes a graph to plot wind speed, with the speed and average displayed above the graph. It’s easy to read and use.

I ran several tests with this app and device, even one in front of a meteorologist. (OK, he didn’t really have anything to do with the test, but it still was pretty cool.) The meter worked well and seemed to be fairly accurate. The only glitch is that users have to be very careful with any case they might have on the phone. No part of the case can touch the white part that spins, which can influence the readings.

At first glance, you have to wonder what use this device would be. In fact, it could be useful in many ways, from weather spotting to kite flying. The Wind Meter comes with a carrying bag and carabiner, so it’s easy for anyone to carry around. It’s a handy little device to have, although at $50, it’s a little expensive to be so basic.

The second product is made to help photographers by turning their smartphones into pocket light meters.

The device is called the Luxi Light Meter. The version I tested was for the iPhone 5, but they also make a version for the iPhone 4 and 4S models.

The Luxi is a very simple device. Basically, it’s a piece of black plastic that slides over the top corner of the smartphone, lining up a white plastic dome over the phone’s front camera.

The dome is the key to the Luxi. It distributes the ambient light evenly so the phone can detect average brightness. It then can figure out the best digital SLR camera settings to take the best photo in that light - with a little help, of course.

The help comes in the form of an iPhone app. The Luxi is compatible with a couple of apps, but the one it recommends is Pocket Light Meter from Nuwaste Studios.The app can be downloaded for free from Apple’s App Store.

The Pocket Light Meter has a slider on the right side with “Luxi” written on it. Slide it to the left, and it opens the meter designed to work with the Luxi. Users can calibrate the meter with exposure correction to match the camera, and then it’s a simple method to get the proper readings.

Users point the Luxi toward the area they wish to meter and press the up arrow on the bottom of the screen. The app records the light meter settings created by the Luxi. You then set your camera to those settings to get a proper picture.

I found that I had to adjust the exposure compensation, because it metered it a little too dark, which provided settings that made the photos a tad too bright. Once I made that slight adjustment, however, the Luxi was pretty darn accurate. Even in low light, the Luxi figured out the right settings to create a well-lit photo with my camera.

The Luxi certainly can’t take the place of a separate, expensive light meter, but it does a decent job if you need something convenient and portable.

It’s a decent substitution for the real thing, and it provides settings that are close enough to get you in the right area on your camera settings. My only complaint is that at $30, it’s very pricey for a small piece of plastic. Still, it beats paying $300 for a separate light meter.

I was looking for something unusual this week, and I definitely found it. Luckily, the unusual turned out to be useful as well.

Melissa L. Jones can be reached via email at [email protected].

Where it’s @

The Vaavud Smartphone Wind Meter requires an iPhone, iPad or Samsung Galaxy S2, S3 or S4 smartphone and the Vaavud Wind Meter app. The product retails for $50. More information is available at vaavud.com. The Luxi Light Meter requires an iPhone 4, 4S or 5 and a pocket meter app, such as Pocket Light Meter. The Luxi retails for $30. More information is available at luximeter.com.

Business, Pages 23 on 09/02/2013

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