---
title: "VRayLightMeter"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/VMAX/113587759/VRayLightMeter"
format: markdown
---
This page provides information on the Light Meter utility.


## **Overview**

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The VRayLightMeter helper is an aid for evaluating how a scene is illuminated. It is intended to simulate the use of a real-life light meter used in photography and film production.

The VRayLightMeter helper is a grid placed in the scene to gather information about the lighting in the grid's location. After creating and positioning the grid and setting parameters, click **Calculate** to calculate the lighting. The lighting information can be displayed in the viewport as colors and text on the grid representing different levels of light, and can also be saved in text form to a CSV file.

The information presented by the VRayLightMeter does not change or otherwise affect the lighting in the scene; it only reports on it. This helper is intended to provide information so you can make adjustments to the scene's lighting at your own discretion.


**UI Path: **

||V-Ray menu|| > **Create **> **Helpers **>** V-Ray Light Meter**

||Command panel|| > **Create **tab > **Helpers** > **VRay** category >** VRayLightMeter** button > Click and drag in viewport


## **VRayLightMeter**

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## **MaxScript Methods**

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The following methods of the VRayLightMeter object are accessible from MaxScript.


| **VRayLightMeter Method** | **Description** |
| --- | --- |
| calculate() | Calculates the values along the light meter grid. |
| saveCSV*<filename>* | Saves the values from the grid into the specified text file, in CSV (comma-separated values) format. |


## **Notes**

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- The VRayLightMeter helper is based on the texture baking and render elements functionality of the V-Ray renderer.
- The VRayLightMeter helper uses Brute Force + Light Cache GI to calculate the measured values regardless of the GI engine selected, and regardless of whether GI is enabled in the scene, thus making it accurate and faster.
- For more information on the VRayLightMeter and comparison cases, see the *[Lighting Analysis with V-Ray](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/THEORY/pages/116719649)* page.