Reflected light metering rear camera
Default metering mode via the rear camera sensor.
Where to find it
Viewfinder Metering Mode icon
Summary
Reads the light reflected off the scene using the phone's rear camera and on-device light sensor. The foundation of all metering on the app.
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How it works
What it does
The meter reads the light bouncing off your scene via the rear camera. This is the reflective metering principle: you point at a scene, the camera reads the light, and the app calculates exposure. It is the same physics behind every hand-held light meter.
When to use it
Almost always. Reflective metering is the standard in film photography. Point the meter at the same view the camera will see and the app tells you the exposure.
Accuracy depends on
What you point the meter at. A meter aimed at an average scene (grass, a person's face, a brick wall) gives a reliable base exposure. A meter aimed at a pure white wall or dark shadow will be off by several stops because the meter sees white or black instead of average.
Zone System pairing
In zone system work, you take multiple reflected readings (one for shadows, one for highlights, one for midtones) and decide where each should fall in the print. Use this mode with the Multi-Spot metering mode to build a zone reading.