PHOTONE - Smartphone PAR readings - thoughts?
- Thread starter civics14
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In with what Bill @ichthyoid said. I know that there is a lot of other things that go into a final product. I just believe that if the level of accuracy this product is claiming can be done with a simple CAS (Cheap As Sh**) front facing selfy camera compared to whatever sensor Apogee is using there has to be a way to make something that doesn't require sticking my $1000+ phone in the tank, in a ziploc or not, for a lot less than $500. For all we know the MQ510 is using a cheap sensor and the white plastic dome is serving the same purpose as the piece of paper does with the cell phone camera.
It’s immensely easier to duplicate a product like an Apogee, than to develop original intellectual art.
As for the phone quantum photometer app-
Essentially, they developed a phone app to measure light. Compared many readings to those from an Apogee. Wrote a conversion table to duplicate the readings of the phone app with those from the Apogee & imbedded the conversion table into that app. Done... wow, how unimpressive!
As for the phone quantum photometer app-
Essentially, they developed a phone app to measure light. Compared many readings to those from an Apogee. Wrote a conversion table to duplicate the readings of the phone app with those from the Apogee & imbedded the conversion table into that app. Done... wow, how unimpressive!
Of course you do, because $500 is a lot of money to get light readings you will only need once, while setting up your lights.
Meanwhile, companies like Apogee which invested their money & took all of the risk to develop their product, want to get a return on the money invested & risks taken. In the US a patent gives them exclusivity to their product & all sales from it, for 17 years.
This is why we have a patent system. Even though some countries don’t respect our intellectual property & laws protecting it.
It is also why this club offers supporting members the use of the Apogee’s we purchased, by just putting down a refundable deposit. Or, sometimes getting an officer to come take readings for free. By supporting the club you defer most of the risk & all of the need to buy a PAR meter.
I believe the Seneye had a par meter, and the cost was about $140 (under $200). If i recall, it wasnt the best quality, but when used correctly, the results were comparable to higher quality meters.
I bought one many years ago, and im sure its in one of the boxes. The downside that i remember about the Seneye is that you needed to orient the quantum sensor in direct orientation to the lights. Changing orientation could drastically change results.
I bought one many years ago, and im sure its in one of the boxes. The downside that i remember about the Seneye is that you needed to orient the quantum sensor in direct orientation to the lights. Changing orientation could drastically change results.
But yeah, a free phone app is better.
The last I read, the Seneye has a better response for PUR (photosynthetically useable radiation) than the Apogee. As in, it’s closer to the ~$2,000 Licor quantum photometer than an Apogee is. The Seneye sensor is not cosine corrected, so is more directionally sensitive/variable than the Apogee sensor is, however.
