The 12 Best PAR meters (2023 reviews)

The U light meter from sekonic is a compact tool for metering both ambient and flash lighting as well as working in video with dedicated cine and hd cine modes. It's very light weight and plastic construction. The spot meter will average those readings to give you your likely best aperture and shutter speed settings.

The X has a wider flash measurement Range of one stop. It's used for lighting class snhu. This meter works with " all light", it is a " light meter from sekonic. It's also used for lighting class snhu. It's nice that it comes with a protective case and a string to carry it around with. If you're looking for a "budget" meter, this is definitely the one to get.

Why We Like This:

Perfect light meter for flash photography
Very accurate, and a nice refinement on the camera's meter in difficult lighting situations
Is compact and easy to use
Definitely an affordable tool for your kit

Best For grow room: Drmeter PAR Meter

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Compared with other meter in this category, the drmeter par meter has a convenient design. It measures from single digit lux to 200, and it measures from single digit lux to 200, and it is great for led retrofit projects. It is light and versatile with a clear screen for easy readability. It has many uses, making sure security lights cover a given area, making sure plants have appropriate light, and so on. It is super easy to operate and comes with a case to keep it protected. It comes with auto zeroing capabilities, so you can be sure you'll always get a reading with pinpoint accuracy, and it will always be fast and fast.

The large digital display is easy to read, although backlighting would be nice. It has a cover for the sensor, comes with batteries, and the included booklet outlines how to use it.

Why We Like This:

Helps make changes to light patterns without just guessing
Helps to find out how far away they should be from the plants
Easy to compare to the required industry standards for lux values

Best For film: URCERI PAR Meter

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Next on the list, we've got yet another meter that manages to win our hearts. It's the urceri par meter and it's widely considered as one of the best convenient meter you can buy. This digital light meter does a great job of measuring incident light between “barely any” and full blown noonday sun. It has a wide range of applications including but not limited to use in school, factories, warehouses, office or home for any photography projects, set and scenic design, and more. This meter measures lux which directly translates into lumens if the area is one square meter. At twice per second frequency, it has a high response rate so you can be rest assured to get both fast and quality readings.

These devices capture the light emitted in all angles, and then measures the collective light emitted. It also measures temperature output of the bulb at different distances. The light meter covers a measuring range up to 200, 000 lux with highly accurate results.

Why We Like This:

Sweet addition and supplementation to knowledge and great for examples
Great value for the money and solid design
Good investment for long term

Best For grow Light: Smartsensor PAR Meter

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The smartsensor par meter is suitable and reliable and fits well with your daily purpose. This low cost light and temperature meter in both FC and Lux, F/C is simple to use and gets the job done. It measures light as perceived by the human eye. It comes with a large LCD display and backlight, so it’s much easier to read the data. It fits hand perfectly, providing a comfortable grip feeling. The Lux meter has its own temperature sensor to measure the temperature of the environment in real time.

This light meter is perfect for gating orchids as houseplants. It is lightweight and portable hand-held design and small size make the meter easy to carry. It comes with the advanced built-in calibration sensor and twice per second frequency, it takes only a split second for an accurate reading.

Why We Like This:

Must have for distancing lights from plant canopy
Lot of satisfied buyers

Best For cinematography: H HOLDPEAK PAR Meter

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We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate meter. The h holdpeak par meter is exactly that - it's a simple meter that hits all the right notes. This device is not only useful for the homeowner, small business owner, student and experimenter but almost a must have to measure and understand the impact and effects of light. It will help with knowing how much light is hitting a photocell array or where to best place a solar collector based on the daily amount of sun hitting any part of the roof. It also comes with pretty comprehensive instructions of how to use the device and how to do manual calibrations and other things.

The temperature measuring feature only applies to ambient temperature and has nothing to do with the amount of heat hitting a surface as well as light. The light sensor can be swiveled so that it can point where you want it while reading the display. It also comes with two AAA batteries and a small screwdriver, necessary to open the battery compartment. The mirror reflects nearly 100% of the light while the velvet only reflects.

Why We Like This:

Nice tool for measuring relative brightness
Constructed very well and easy use
For engineering light design for building
Light and portable, nice carrying case

Best For objectively determining incident Light levels: AOPUTTRIVER PAR Meter

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We would, of course, be remiss if we didn't mention aoputtriver par meter for regular usage. This light meter is an indispensable tool to have on hand. It is a nice consumer grade gadget to objectively measure light levels. It is mostly made of lightweight plastic with some rubberized grip elements and it has a metal 1/4-20 threaded tripod mount. It is easy to use, measure the light very accurately. It is perfectly and accurately and also includes each function information.

A removable light detector and the connecting wire that reaches 2 meters allow you to measure light at the best location for your convenience. It is easy to read, bright, large, and colorful, and the readings are consistent from outdoors to indoors and back. Unlike the "other" common light meter, this one appears to provide much more accurate readings even though they appear to use the same sensor and share the same specifications. This meter should last a long time if used properly according to the instructions.

Why We Like This:

Easy to read from any angle
Great value for low budget, or tight budget
Handy tool for measuring light levels, but not camera exposure settings

Best For your Light planning needs: Cheffort PAR Meter

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The cheffort par meter's high-end materials makes sure that it ages well with use. It is a kind of instrument that specializes in measuring luminosity and brightness. It can be used in agricultural research and lighting control in homes, office buildings, warehouses, production lies, plantations, aquaculture, stage, stadiums, etc. It has a large led backlight screen that allows users to easily cope with harsh environments such as darkness, making it easy to read and free users from time and place constraints. It can help you charge in time to avoid accidents.

This item can measure the luminosity and brightness in the car. It can be used for filming. It is typically calculated using a response curve for human vision (typically the luminous efficiency function) - for cri, you need to look at colorimetry deviations for specific test colors and calibrate to that area to provide the desired luminosity.

Why We Like This:

Rotation sensor（only one direction）, which is convenient for users to adjust
New and hot release

Best For camera work: PROSTER PAR Meter

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Proster is known for creating pragmatic and minimalist meter for people on the go, and its line of proster par meter definitely falls in line with that reputation. Incandescent lights put out half their energy in heat. It can be used in electrical testing, electrical industry, laboratory, home, etc. If you need a basic light meter without extras like usb or temperature, this one is perfect. It is simple and easy to operate, with 4 ranges to be switchable. It is easy to use and has a convenient foot candle conversion. The quality of the product is outstanding.

Why We Like This:

Lot of satisfied buyers
One of the new comers and featured product

Best With remote Sensor: Hydrofarm PAR Meter

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Best part: hydrofarm par meter costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. The meter is fully cosine corrected for the angular incidence of light, meaning that if you are not holding the sensor perfectly perpendicular to the light source, the sensor will still read the light correctly. This is great as long as you are not using it as a PAR meter. It measures light or sunlight. It has a convenient hand-held remote sensor.

The meter’s built-in low battery indicator means you’ll never be caught by surprise by a low-power product. It measures grow lights or sunlight.

Why We Like This:

Measures up to 40, 000 footcandles
One of the new comers and featured product

Best For plant: BTMETER PAR Meter

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If you are currently in the market looking for a suitable meter for your daily usage, btmeter par meter is the natural choice. This meter has all the functions and features one needs to measure light intensity. Built in an extra long 13.8 inch extendable string, it allows you to reach the optimum position and distance from light source for the best accuracy. It comes with a little screwdriver to get the battery door open.

The LED fixtures produce a wider spectrum than this meter can detect so the readings are very inaccurate. It is useful for photography to check camera exposure and take amazing pictures. This meter works great and even has a backlight for reading the display in low light areas. It comes with a high quality zippered carrying case, convenient for both indoor and outdoor usage.

Why We Like This:

Sufficient light is important for proper plants to live and thrive
Small and compact, backlit display, sensor is mobil
New and hot release

Best For Android: Vabira PAR Meter

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The vabira par meter's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. The light meter can test the kelvin (CCT) range up past. It measures almost 3" x 3" and.75" high, with auto off or side mounted on/off button. It includes a waterproof resealable clear pouch. It can see the data directly even if the lux is higher than 200, 000lx when using the light meter. The app displays light levels and auto change as the puck is moved.

The app is easy to install and with a few clicks it is connected to the app. It is good for designers, lighting repairmen, car light inspectors, and photographers.

Why We Like This:

Made temperature balancing easy for a terrarium
Delivers what they promise

Best For outdoor Use: Extech PAR Meter

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The extech par meter is satisfactory and appropriate and fits well with your daily usage. This compact and ruggedly designed meter has a wide measurement range from 99, 990 foot candles in five ranges and 999, 990 lux in five ranges with 0.001 fc/0.01 lux resolution. It features a compact and rugged design with a large display and analog bargraph to view trends. It measures negative lux levels. The sensor is placed on a tabletop or other surface in the area to be measured and the light level reading is indicated on the meter display. The Extending cable enables measurements at arms length or at floor level to avoid shadowing. It includes relative or real time clock stamp. It comes complete with a built-in stand, remote sensor with protective cover and is ideal for outdoor use. The big numbers sure help when you want someone to read it from a distance, like an electrician focusing a light for you.

Why We Like This:

Additional functions include data hold, min/max, and auto power off
Large lcd display with advanced illuminance functions and features
Comes with built-in stand, light sensor and protective cover with