Recently, new low-cost sensors (similar to 55 (sic)), such as the 'AS7265x' by AMS, have been commercialized. This has allowed them to be considered for a large number of agricultural applications (fertilization, grass cover, etc.), particularly for small farms. However, these low-cost sensors have not been extensively tested for use in agricultural applications and considering the usual constraints (external environment, expected accuracy, etc.). This study proposes to investigate the metrological characteristics of the sensor in the laboratory and to test its potential for two real in-field applications: (1) estimating the percentage of grass cover; and (2) estimating vine vigour. Experiments focused on using a common vegetation index (NDVI) in precision agriculture. NDVI measurements were consistent with those of a Greenseeker sensor (R-2=0.87 for NDVI<0.75). The accuracy of the low-cost sensor made it possible to differentiate densities of grass cover and differences in vine vegetative expression induced by local environmental effects.