How does LensHint work?
LensHint turns your camera, lens and the light you are shooting in into concrete settings: aperture, shutter speed, ISO and a few plain-language tips.
What does LensHint calculate?
You pick a situation (portrait, sports, night sky…) and the light. LensHint works out an exposure (aperture, shutter speed, ISO) that suits your camera and lens, using standard photographic formulas: the exposure triangle, depth of field, hyperfocal distance, the handheld shutter-speed limit and the astro 'NPF' rule.
The results are estimates to start from, not guarantees. Real scenes, lenses and your own taste differ: check the preview on your camera and adjust.
How do I get started?
1. Add your camera body and lens to the gear bag (see below), or start with a quick profile such as 'APS-C + kit lens'.
2. Choose what you are shooting and the light: tap a light card, or measure it with the camera light meter (Pro).
3. Read the suggested settings and the tips. Save a setup as a recipe if you want to reuse it (accounts only).
How do I enter my gear?
Use the search in the gear bag: type a model name the way it is written on the camera or lens (for example 'EF 50mm f/1.8' or 'XF 23mm F2'). Brand-specific markings such as stabilisation codes are understood.
Without an account your gear bag lives only on this device. When you sign in it is saved to your account and follows you to your other devices.
If your camera or lens is missing, tell us through the Feedback button in the footer.
How do I pick the light?
The light cards run from bright sun (EV 15) through shade, golden hour and bright indoors to night streets and starry skies (EV −3). EV is a standard way to describe how much light there is: a higher number means brighter.
Pick the card that looks closest to your scene. When in doubt, choose the darker one and check the result.
How do I use and calibrate the camera light meter?
The light meter (a Pro feature) uses your phone camera to estimate the light. Allow camera access when asked, hold the phone steady towards the scene and wait for the reading to become stable, then use the light value.
It needs a secure (HTTPS) connection, and some phones do not share their exposure data with the browser. In that case, pick the light by hand.
To calibrate, point the camera at an evenly lit 18% gray card and press Calibrate. Clear the calibration any time to go back to the default.
What is free, what is Pro, and what is the trial?
Guests (no account): situations, light cards, quick profiles, brand-specific markings and short tips; a gear bag of 1 camera and 2 lenses on this device.
Free account: the same, plus saving your gear bag to your account (2 cameras and 3 lenses) and 3 saved recipes.
Pro: unlimited gear and recipes, the lens recommender, the camera light meter, the fine-tuning slider with the depth-of-field band and the 'The photo did not turn out' (SOS) troubleshooter.
Every new account gets one 7-day full Pro trial. Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription; the current price is shown before you pay. Payment is handled by Lemon Squeezy, which acts as the seller (merchant of record), handles VAT and issues your receipt.
What about my privacy?
The camera light meter never saves or uploads any picture: only the average brightness is used, on your device, and the camera runs only while you are metering.
We store the account details you sign up with and, if you use an account, your gear bag and recipes. Card details never reach us: they go to Lemon Squeezy.
In the Account window you can download your data and delete your account at any time. The details are in the Privacy notice:
Can I get my money back?
Yes. If you are not happy with Pro, ask for a refund within 14 days of buying it, no questions asked. Use the Feedback button in the footer; the Pro license is switched off when the refund is made.
The details are in the policy:
How do I contact you?
Use the Feedback button in the footer for bugs, ideas, complaints and questions. Signed-in users get a confirmation, and complaints are answered within 30 days.