For all those times when you need a better camera than the one strapped to your face, there’s a new light meter app for Google Glass.
Google Glass is still a beta product, though the Explorer Edition is available to anyone willing to pay $1,500. It’s drawn a mixed reaction from tech pundits, partly because of its overly conspicuous design, and partly because of the privacy implications raised by the head-mounted camera.
Those issues may be of less concern in professional settings, which may explain why Google is making a big enterprise push for the hardware—in this case, photography—even if the wearer has no interest in taking it out on the town.
As Android Police points out , Photographer David Young developed the app after struggling with exposure metering on an old Rolleiflex SL66 film camera. Unlike modern SLRs that have metering built in, vintage cameras require a separate, handheld meter. And while it’s now possible to use a smartphone app for this purpose, you’re still left juggling two devices in your hands.
The free Light Meter app for Glass solves this problem by measuring values from the device’s face-mounted light sensor. Users just dial in the camera’s ISO and aperture, and the app will recommend a few shutter speeds. Although the glasses themselves might get in the way of peering through the camera’s viewfinder, it’s probably still easier to flip up your shades than it is to deal with a handheld meter.