When determining the effects of light on human beings, it is essential to correctly measure the effects, and to correctly measure the adequate properties of light. Therefore, it is important to know what is being measured and know the quality of the measurement devices. This paper describes simple methods for identifying three quality indices; the directional response index, the linearity index and the temperature index. These indices are also checked for several commonly used portable light measurement devices. The results stresses what was already assumed, the quality and the outcome of these devices under different circumstances were very different. Also, the location were these devices are normally worn has an impact on the results. The deviation range between worn vertically at eye level and the wrist is between 11% (outdoor) to 27% (indoor). The smallest deviation, both in indoor and outdoor, was found when the device was placed on the sides of the eye (7%). (C) 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.