Color temperature apps

Specifically "White balance color temperature meter" for Android

Was just curious if anyone has actually tried this app or one of these and if they'd had any success? Might have to spend the buck to find out for myself haha just don't have any "confirmed" tints to use as reference.

OK well I ponied up the dollar to try it out (it is refundable after all) out of boredom or curiosity, I don't know...but I wouldn't call the results wildly inaccurate?

For example, 4 mode BLF A6 with 5A (~4000K) tint:
Modes 1-3 read between 3900-4100K
Mode 4 read 4600K

SC52w on most modes except the very highest read either exactly 4400K or slightly above.

L11C with Nichia 219b (4500K) read exactly 4500K except on the highest mode

So it has issues being accurate on higher modes (unless there's actually a tint shift going on here), and on some lights, if you move the spill into the center of the viewfinder, you can clearly see how much cooler they get (over 1000K cooler on some lights according to this). It also helps to be in a completely dark room. I haven't tried a true flooder, but I'd think they could be more accurate as the percentage of hotspot to spill in the viewfinder can change the reading. Every time, you hit the button to take a reading, an inset picture in the corner shows the intensity of your light across the viewfinder; therefore, with a flashlight, you see the hotspot clearly and its degrees of intensity from center to spill. This helps you to keep the hotspot centered or move the spill to center if you prefer.

In short, I wouldn't use this to replace a well-manufactured and calibrated piece of equipment costing several hundreds of dollars, but for a dollar, it seems to be in the ballpark enough to have fun playing around with.

So was there any ambient light while evaluating the app?
Pure white walls/ceilings the light bounced off of?

That stuff matters.

Tried it first in a darkish room with a bit of ambient light coming in from another room and was getting weird readings. That's why I said you need to use it in a completely dark room. The way it works is you point the camera at a white surface with whatever light you want to test reflecting off of it. Only white surfaces I have are my ceilings. Again, it was a dollar smartphone app.

The sensor area using the smart phone apps reads and averages too large of an area.

Try getting a reading on a bright blue sky, first with the screen horizontal, then with the screen vertical. You'll see 1k of difference.

I've got a Minolta color meter 4 and a Gossen Ultra Pro color meter. They read about 500 degrees kelvin difference between the two.

Eh, it's a buck...cheap thrills, right?

I have white ceilings too. But there is enough blue in some or yellow/tan in others to throw off a light meter.
The blue creates a senses of brighter while the yellow/tan colors evoke happy/gentle feelings subliminally.

As a photographer I have color cards for dialing in white balance and other colors the camera tends to skew.

But a white poster board will work pretty good. Another buck or 2...see if that helps.

Tried it again last night laying in bed. Lamp had a clear incandescent bulb (not sure of the wattage though) casting an even and consistent light on the ceiling. I was reading a consistent 2990K. I think a soft white is usually spec'd at 2700K...not sure about clear.

Had the SC62w bedside that has a noticeably cleaner and whiter tint than my SC52w without the nasty tint shift from hotspot to spill. With the exception of the lowest mode, both mediums and both highs (including 900+ mode) read consistent 4700K. Is it accurate? I don't know, but it's pretty neat I guess.

Pro tip: Don't try this at home unless wife is heavy sleeper...