"Mobile" Lux Meters

So, theres been a few people that have showed lux readings based on the light sensors in mobile devices. I have tried a few, and my results have been disappointing.

The devices I will test today include the HTC Inspire 4g, Samsung SideKick 4g, HTC G1, and an iPod Touch 2g.

A disclaimer: I have NOT tried this on my G1 or iPod yet. These results will be news to me also.

So here goes. The software for Android based will be Lux Meter


Lux [tf-r2] Lux [Energizer 1w] Max Lux
HTC Inspire 4g 10,240 10,240 10,240
SideKick 4g 15,000 15,000 120,000
HTC G1 ? ? ?
iPod Touch 2g ? ? ?

note: max lux recorded at arms length

So far, if just reading from my newest device, Inspire 4g, I can see them both maxing out the sensor.

Reading from my SideKick 4g, this is where i get skeptical. It goes from 6.0 lux, jumps to 5,000 lux, then 9,000, then maxes out at 15,000 lux

my g1 is packe away (moving) so i cant get it right this min. my ipod touch is saying its disabled connect to itunes. i connect it and it says its locked type password on device... the number pad isnt showing up to type it in..... fn technology

ill get the rest tested tomorrow, hopefully. in the process of moving, cleaning, painting and moving the stuff out of the new house. and working (insert tired as @#%^ smiley here, cus i cant find it)

im really hoping to test the g1 and iPod tomorrow. I would really like to have a reliable way to check elitive brightness at home with out spending any more $. my money says that either the iPod or G1 will give me better results. HTC seems to go backward on certain hardware, as long as it "works" its good for them.

edit: found the g1. flashed back to factory rom before storage, have to root and flash CM. FINALLY got the ipod to function. had to do a full reset. yay. ooh well, waiting on slow wifi to load store and get an app

ok today i messed with the ipod a little bit. there dont seem to be an app that uses the light sensor to read lux, they all seem to use the camera from the iphone or ipod 3g. if im wrong and someone knows of an app for the 2g ipod w/o camera that will use the light sensor, let me know please

the g1 is on hold for a little longer, stay tuned

also, if someone else has done testing with any of these apps, post your results with a low output light and a high output light if possible, also your devices max lux readable. im interested in finding out what devices will actually be useful/reliable to test lux

I've got two apps on my Casio Commando. So far it seems to be fairly consistent.

I'll put some more specifics down when I get the chance, but I will say that I haven't maxed it yet - I think it measures higher than the app is programmed to say the max is - ie, it shows higher measurements than the stated max.

One thing I've noticed, the cover for the meter is slightly reflective and with a focused light I get a slightly higher reading if I point it at the meter from a slight angle, instead of perpendicular to that cover. I suppose that's why the proper meters I've seen have a dome cover?

Motorola Defy max 9987 lux.

I don't know if that is accurate but somehow you can employ it to measure light intensity at 1 meter for two flashlights. Say one is x2 or x3 brighter at the spot than the other

Or to measure light intensity arrangement between hight and low modes too

Spot luminance reading of a Trustfire F20 on 1 NiMh AA. I am not sold on the values given being real lux units

lux?@2.3m lux@1m calculated
High mode 165 873
Low mode 15 79

Otherwise i found another thread about this here but people there are believed to think ambient light sensors on smarphones are useless for this purpose.