Tag Archives: pinhole assist

General

Smartphone Apps – Revisited

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About this time last year we put together a piece showcasing a handful of the many apps that are available for pinholers with smartphones. So as things tend to go in cycles, we thought a year was a good time to look back and see how things may have changed.

The practice of using a smartphone as a tool to aid in your pinhole photography has become rather commonplace. Everyone has their favorite apps to use. But just as the pinhole camera gives you a new way of seeing, we’re here to round up some of the changes in the landscape and show what you might be missing. (full disclosure, ƒ/D participated in Beta testing and feedback with several app makers reviewed below)

Do Meter Apps Work?

One quick note before we discuss apps individually. The most common question regarding light meter apps I get is “Do they actually work?” After a few years of using apps for my own pinhole photography, I can confidently say “mostly, if used right…” First, they do work in general, and it makes sense that they would, as they’re just reading the exposure value that the device’s camera reads and converting it into an exposure value that would work for pinhole. Light, conveniently obeying physics, should have universal values. Where pinhole meter apps fall down is in tricky lighting situations, such as backlit translucent materials, or direct light reflections.

This brings me to my second point, about using light meter apps “correctly” – learn how to use the spot meter function correctly and always use it. The problem with apps as light meters is the pesky variable brightness of a smartphone screen. Without the spot meter function, you will invariably run into situations where an exposure on the app only looks right because of the auto brightening feature of the phone, but your exposure will come back dark. I’ve had entire rolls turn out thin because of this. Use the spot meter and measure an area in the scene that you want to come through as a middle value and expose for that. Or take it one step further and learn the zone system and use the app to grab your III and VII values (it can be done, I do it regularly).

If you’d like to really dive down the rabbit hole, I recommend this article by Ryan Walters – he uses the Pocket Light Meter app mentioned below, but the same principles apply to all smartphone meters. To get the most out of any light meter, smartphone or not, I recommend learning the Zone System. A quick Google will give you more links on it than you could read in a year – find the one that makes sense to you and check it out. Note that I said to “learn the Zone System” – while I personally apply the Zone System regularly, I think what’s more important than using it is understanding it because of what it teaches you about how light meters, exposure, and film latitude all play together.

Exposure Meters

Pinhole Master (iOS only $3.99)

[singlepic id=346 w=225 float=left] [/singlepic]Pinhole Master is the new kid on the block, having just made it’s V1 debut in the last few weeks. Like other light meter apps, the camera view dominates the app interface. Tap once on the screen and you get a spot meter, tap again to move it to another place in the view. The app includes heads up info on EI, EV, compensation, aperture, and film.

It’s not till you use Pinhole Master that it becomes clear what makes this app different – it’s strengths are in the experience. Instead of an aperture value and film speed, the app displays the camera and film name. If you have a repertoire of cameras and films that you cycle through, this is a nice double check while in the field. Additionally, EV readings are in tenths of a value, which is very useful when shadow values count. The timer is a nice big wheel, easier to read than count downs, and the log includes map and geotagging info. Film entry is a double edged sword: on the one hand there are no preconfigured reciprocity curves (but they might be coming soon), but on the other hand, reciprocity entry is done in an easy to understand way. Another very important feature is the ability to set sensor boundaries in the app settings. This is important so that if something wonky is happening with your camera, or the reading, the app tells you, rather than leading you astray. Finally, the app natively supports the Lumu incident light meter tool, which I haven’t tried personally, but have seen some very promising data on.

 

 

Pinhole Assist (iOS only $2.99)

[singlepic id=345 w=225 float=right] [/singlepic]We reviewed Pinhole Assist (available on the app store) last year as the clear frontrunner in the dedicated pinhole app category. V4 of the app was just released earlier this month, and includes some very important updates. To me, an important update is the breakup of EV values into thirds – like we see in Pinhole Master, this important detailed info helps determine some borderline exposures. Pinhole Assist V4 now provides easy access to a number of predefined cameras in addition to it’s existing set of films and reciprocity curves. It’s a solid update to the heavyweight contender in the pinhole app marketplace.

 

 

Pocket Light Meter (iOS Free, Android $0.99)

[singlepic id=209 h=200 float=left] [/singlepic]Pocket Light Meter, while a solid app for the simple feature set it delivers, has not been updated since before last year’s article. It is available for both iOS (app store) and Android (Google Play). But it’s lack of updating isn’t a knock – Pocket Light Meter is there in absolute simplicity, ideally suited for those pinhole photographers that stick to one camera and one film.

 

 

Reciprocity Management

Reciprocity Timer (iOS only $1.99)

[singlepic id=211 h=200 float=right] [/singlepic]Reciprocity Timer also has not been updated since before last year’s article, though I’m told by the developer that they hope to make an update in the near future. Reciprocity Timer’s strength is in it’s extensibility – from the films covered to built in filter compensation, it covers everything from the film side and is worth a look.

 

In the Darkroom

Massive Dev Chart (iOS $8.99, Android $8.99)

[singlepic id=210 h=200 float=left] [/singlepic]Massive Dev Chart (iOS, Android) made one small update this year since my article last year to add some more film and developer combinations. If you’re a film fanatic and want to develop your own film, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better app.

 

Technical

Smartphone Apps for Pinhole Photographers

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Smartphones today – whether Android or Apple – are of course ubiquitous anymore. It’s hard to find a social setting where there’s not a solid portion of the group with their faces stuck in their phones. The change in social interaction can become tiresome and, in some cases, worrisome. But of course, there’s tremendous good that we get form our phones, and today we’re going to cover one such area.

For the modern pinhole photographer, your phone can be a true godsend. For today’s article, we’re going to cover a few areas where your smartphone can make your life in pinhole photography much much easier.

Exposure Meters

Pinhole Assist (iOS only $2.99)

[singlepic id=208 w=225 float=right] [/singlepic]The aptly named Pinhole Assist (available on the app store) is the first phone app light meter I ever tried for pinhole photography. When you first open the app, you’re presented with a display from your camera, along with exposure readings based on the input ISO and ƒ-number. The upfront operation is simple: once you set the ISO (film canister icon) and aperture (aperture icon), you compose your scene in the view and the app gives you the exposure time. Playing with the buttons and menus, you’ll quickly discover some great features to help you get the right exposure. Diving deeper though, there’s special sauce to this app.

After you get your camera ISO and aperture dialed in, hit the “hamburger menu” in the top left (the three lines) – in this menu, you can choose a film if you like, and you’ll see there’s options for dialing in an exact aperture in case yours wasn’t in the regular aperture menu. Now that you have your setup exactly right, hit the “Add Combo” button in the menu, and enter a name. You’ve now saved your camera preset – this feature is a lifesaver if you have multiple pinhole cameras to manage.

Next, when you’re framing your scene in the app’s viewfinder, it’s using a general evaluative metering mode. Want to meter on something specific? Tap an area in the scene, and note the square – that’s a weighted meter now! Not quite a 1º spot, but it’ll do!

Pocket Light Meter (iOS Free, Android $0.99)

[singlepic id=209 h=200 float=left] [/singlepic]The Pocket Light Meter app is available for both iOS (app store) and Android (Google Play) and offers a solid alternative from the Pinhole Assist. This app lacks some features of Pinhole Assist – notably the ability to save camera profiles, set custom aperture values, and auto calculate reciprocity failure. But what it lacks in complexity, it makes up for in zen simplicity: dial in your ISO and aperture, and it starts measuring.

If you only have one pinhole camera, or you’re just testing the waters, Pocket Light Meter is a good option. The square in the middle acts as a center weighted average meter, and you can tap around the viewfinder to adjust this metering target. The larger viewfinder makes it helpful when double checking to make sure you’ve metered the exact area you need.

Reciprocity Management

Reciprocity Timer (iOS only $1.99)

[singlepic id=211 h=200 float=right] [/singlepic]One thing that we pinholers often run into is reciprocity compensation and management – so often that you may as well be sure you’re managing it correctly. Reciprocity Timer is available on the app store for $1.99, and was originally built for large format photographers. Over the years the app has built quite the reputation for having very exacting reciprocity tables – an advantage that can be crucial for color film such as Ektar.

But Reciprocity Timer doesn’t stop there. It has built in compensation for filters and includes a stopwatch function. Pinhole Assist also has a stopwatch built in, but for the shooter that uses films susceptible to reciprocity, it’s a very helpful app to finish your workflow in.

In the Darkroom

Massive Dev Chart (iOS $8.99, Android $8.99)

[singlepic id=210 h=200 float=left] [/singlepic]Many pinholers are processing their own film, and if you’re processing your own film, you need the Massive Dev Chart, available for Android on the Google Play Store and iOS on the App Store. The Massive Dev Chart is a compilation of a HUGE amount of film and development time combinations. In addition it has great features such as red and green light displays for use in the darkroom and multi-stage timers. For an app, it’s a bit steep in price – but to have every bit of data and timing tools you need at hand, it’s simply awesome.

What We Want

These apps are all great, and I encourage you to try them all. Having all the data that you need right in your pocket can be a huge boon to your process in the field and the darkroom. So what would you want added? What would make these apps perfect for you?

For me, it would be zone masking. I’d love to have options where a blinking mask covers everything in a specified zone, such as Zone V, III, or VII. Put your requests in the comments, and we’ll use our soapbox to reach out to app developers!