Photone - Grow Light Meter

This app produces extremely quesitonal readings and are not accurate! they also demand payment for each light type rather then using ads like every other app. I recommend buying a meter on Amazon #screwrTheseCrooks First response: In response to your absurdly, slow and Manipulative response to my review. As a mechanical engineer, I take extreme offense to your statements and innuendos. Furthermore, if you’re paid fair salaries, I would like to know why it took almost 2 weeks to receive a response? And people that buy things on Amazon should expect the garbage that they are purchasing. I did purchase a Sekonic L-858D-U Speedmaster from B&H and compare them to the results from your app that my friend purchased using his brand new iPhone… We also used a cheap $60 sensor from Amazon…. Interestingly, both the sensors were very close. However, your app was not so please again tell me how your app is delivering $500 accuracy 🤣🤣 2nd Response to developer reply: You’re testing your $2.46/month app against “hundreds of measuring devices in a lab” ????? 🤣🤣🤣 this is truly a clown show!! Please provide this list of the hundreds of devices and their testing results or stop the nonsense replies. Lies on top of lies. Honestly, at this point, I’m just embarrassed for you. Light meters are tested and calibrated for accuracy using a device which produces a known luminescence! Why on earth would you be testing against other devices on the market what benefit is that for you or the customer? You should spend more time investigating the science and making your app better rather than coming up with these nonsensical comments in your review section! Now everyone sees what kind of company you truly are. Be better!

I used the Photone app with the paper diffuser for a while, and it seemed to work very well. So I purchased the diffuser accessory. Unfortunately, the accessory was not properly calibrated for the iPhone 13 and my readings were way off. The incorrect default calibration resulted in some young plants with stunted growth from incorrect light intensity. After manually calibrating with the diffuser accessory, the app seems to work well. So, if you use the app, be sure to check it against a good light meter and calibrate accordingly. Update Re: developer response. I’m one of those weirdo’s who actually reads directions. And I did change the defuser type in the settings. The good news is I recognized the problem before it was too late. It’s bush league to blame the user for bugs.

Don’t pay. It’s a waste of money

Love it

I recently learned about PAR/PPFD and DLI. I was totally over lighting my plants because I thought the brighter the better but, I was way off. Most of my plants were dwarfs so I asked for help on Reddit and someone explained DLI to me so I got this app and couldn’t believe how useful it was, all the different meters for different lights, everything on one app that only cost a few dollars, priceless.

I was using this app as a rough guide for my plants that are in indirect sunlight. The values using the default CFL free default light source were not accurate using their paper diffuser as compared to an actual light meter but that was never the expectation. I decided to buy "sunlight" in hopes of getting a more accurate reading, and I got the EXACT same values as CFL across the board. I don't understand why they would charge for the exact same free product under a different name.

After the newest update, I’m getting a pretty drastically different reading than what I’m used to. Makes me question the entire app. I use the diffuser and everything. What was 500 ppfd yesterday is 350 ppfd today. Nothing changed but the app update.

One of my favorite apps of all time. Saves me hundreds off of a professional instrument. More importantly, it gives me something almost priceless. The ability to tell real world how much light my plants are receiving at their level, anywhere they are or anywhere my light source is located. You want this app!

You can buy an actual, physical PAR meter that integrates with your smartphone to calculate DLI and generate PPFD distribution maps, for all light sources, for less than the “unlock” price of this app.

Hi Corey here to tell you the truth about this app and this company. I tested this app on a budget, android device and iPhone 15 Pro Max with Staples paper and then again with the diffuser cosine corrector and for a control i used the Dr meter light lux meter. I took my four different readings with the sun at high noon because the doctor meter is calibrated for sun so I used the sun setting in the app per device. The Dr. meter gave me 119500 IPhone defuser accessorie 119700 iPhone paper 118000 Android beta pro version 97000. Actual reading is 120000 lux at noon. I didn’t stop there. I also tried it out on the Mars Hydro FC 4800. HLG 225 Rspec. The HLG 150 saber. And I threw in a cheap light a Baylab x-man 1000. The app with each devices in light settings were all consistent with the previous sun reading The app might replace the need to get a PAR meter But not with a free or cheap phone My advice, would be get a good phone kill two birds with one stone. I have used this app for three grow cycles with 3 different lights now and it has helped me grow better than using any light companies, specifications, and directions or PAR map. Get the app but purchase at least 2 extra light settings the sun for one and i find the Fill + Red is a game changer.