Any recommendations for lux meters?

[Sullysat]

Hi folks,

After realizing that not all lumen expectations are created equal, I’d like to pick up a budget-friendly lux meter. I see several on Banggood but was wondering if anyone has any recommendations as to what to look for / buy / stay away from.

Thanks in advance,
Sully

[jhalb]

LX1330B Digital Lux Light Illuminance Meter.

[Sullysat]

Thanks jhalb! I’ll check it out.

[atbglenn]

@jhalb

LX1330B Digital Lux Light Illuminance Meter.

Have you compared to other LUX meters? I bought a cheap one for $12. Did I waste my money?

This is what I bought

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161411064045?\_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[jhalb]

@Sullysat

Thanks jhalb! I’ll check it out.

Your welcome, glad I could help. That particular unit is very popular here, I have one myself and use it to measure my flashlights candela output.

[atbglenn]

@jhalb

@Sullysat

Thanks jhalb! I’ll check it out.

Your welcome, glad I could help. That particular unit is very popular here, I have one myself and use it to measure my flashlights candela output.

I’m ordering it…Thanks!

Edit: Ordered!

I’ll donate the one I have now to a homeless person….

[Flashy_Mike]

@atbglenn

I’ll donate the one I have now to a homeless person….

This person will be happy since the HS1010 is not bad at all.

[atbglenn]

@Flashy Mike

@atbglenn

I’ll donate the one I have now to a homeless person….

This person will be happy since the HS1010 is not bad at all.

It’s not??? Then I’ll sell it to him cheap :money_mouth_face:

[atbglenn]

Well, after playing with my $12 HS1010, I’m not liking the user interface at all!. It sucks! Can’t wait to get jhalb’s recommended LUX meter. Mine shipped. I should have it in a few days. I read the reviews on amazon, and people seem to really like it. I’ve should have done this in the first place….

BTW, I paid 29.99 on ebay.

[Pete7874]

I realize this is last year’s thread. I wanted to bump it up to see if there were any other budget luxmeter recommendations or is the LX1330B still the one to get in the $30 price range?

Thanks!

[Enderman]

I’ve been using the Dr Meter LX1330B for a few years and it works great.
Planning to buy a second luxmeter, the UT382, to have a second brand luxmeter to confirm my numbers.
So far all my other uni-t meters are excellent, and the UT382 also can connect to a PC so that may come in useful

[Pete7874]

Thanks!

Does the PEAK function work reasonably well on the 1330B? I’ve seen some people complaining about it on Amazon, but I thought it would be a useful feature to have.

[Enderman]

@Pete7874

Thanks!

Does the PEAK function work reasonably well on the 1330B? I’ve seen some people complaining about it on Amazon, but I thought it would be a useful feature to have.

I’ve never actually used the peak function, when I test my lights I take the average value in the hotspot so that any imperfections or anomalies in the optics or LED don’t give me overestimated results.

[djozz]

@Enderman

I’ve been using the Dr Meter LX1330B for a few years and it works great.
Planning to buy a second luxmeter, the UT382, to have a second brand luxmeter to confirm my numbers.
So far all my other uni-t meters are excellent, and the UT382 also can connect to a PC so that may come in useful

I have that Uni-T UT382 meter and posted some checks that I did with it in the Mitko-thrower thread:

BLF style 18650 1s thrower( poor mans Olight M2X)

Ok,I got the Uni-T luxmeter in and did some testing on it. I compared it to my Mobilux DIN class A luxmeter which is about the best you can get in portable luxmeters, it has a very good optical filter. The most expensive part of a good luxmeter is the optical filter in front of the sensor that makes sure that the relative sensitivities for all wavelengths are correct, following the standard defined luminosity curve. And this luxmeter being cheap, its filter does not do miracles, no surprises h…

and further down:

BLF style 18650 1s thrower( poor mans Olight M2X)

As requested by l.i. I checked the throw of two more flashlights with the Uni-T meter compared to the Mobilux meter. And the results underline (found that in earlier tests of cheap luxmeters as well) that the difference in the optic filters between the two can lead to fairly unpredictable differences in the reading of different leds, it is not just the colour temperature that makes the difference, other differences in the led spectra have significant impact on how different the Uni-T meter reads…

EDIT: sorry, wrong meter, I have the 38 3, not the 38 2. But still be conscious of the quality of the optical filter!!

[Enderman]

@djozz

I have that Uni-T UT382 meter and posted some checks that I did with it in the Mitko-thrower thread:
BLF style 18650 1s thrower( poor mans Olight M2X) - #398 by djozz
and further down:
BLF style 18650 1s thrower( poor mans Olight M2X) - #408 by djozz

EDIT: sorry, wrong meter, I have the 38 3, not the 38 2. But still be conscious of the quality of the optical filter!!

Cool, you should do a comparison between the Dr Meter luxmeter and your mobilux, since a lot of people use the Dr Meter

[Lexel]

so any other Lux meters than the UNI-T UT382 that are worth buying?

[djozz]

@Lexel

so any other Lux meters than the UNI-T UT382 that are worth buying?

As a coincidence both clemence and I have this meter on order:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/TASI-632A-Digital-Light-Meter-USB-DC-Power-Luxmeter-Meters-Digital-LCD-Backlight-illuminometer-Storage-128/32791440073.html
To be honest it is a complete gamble, it has good specs (it is quite special for a chinese luxmeter that so many specs are provided at all) but there are no decent reviews out there (have I ever seen a decent review of a luxmeter?) and the Tasi brand has some suspiciously cheapo luxmeters as well.
The price is mid-range but of course I hope that the performance is top class.
When it is in, I will do the checks!

[polarweis]

What would be a nice cheap luxmeter to get in 2019 ?