Light Meters - Lets Hear It
Aug 31, 2015 22:35:42 #
Lets all sound off about your favorite/best/most accurate/easiest to use/would never be without light meter and, most inportant, Why.
Aug 31, 2015 23:08:40 #
I have two, a Sekonic 758 and a 378 w/wireless (I think that's the number as it's been replaced by the 478 series). Although the 758 is more sophisticated, I prefer the latter as it's smaller and has a Pocket Wizard built in which is very handy for work with flash, especially studio type units. Both are great for incident light reading at indoor sports venues. Although the 758 has a built-in spot meter, I normally use the one built-in to my camera as it also seems mighty accurate.
Aug 31, 2015 23:25:08 #
I always used the built in meters on my Nikon F and Nikkormat FTn. For flash, I would guess my flash settings with the guide numbers and scale on the flashes and always got close enough after practice and knowing my equipment. Now I have a used Minolta IIIF flash meter and only use it for multi flash readings, it works great. I usually shoot in manual on my D610 and I use it's spot metering to set my initial exposure and then go by feel up or down as the lighting changes. I like to have control over my exposure, letting my D610 decide the exposure has been inconsistent, especially when there are deep shadows, bright light, or reflective surfaces. I have read up some about using my meter to measure the light falling on my subjects and setting my exposure based on that, but I haven't experimented with that yet.
Sep 1, 2015 00:02:59 #
Pentax Spotmeter V and Sekonic L-398 incident meter. The Pentax is great because I can use the Zone System. The incident meter is great because it is quick and doesn't need batteries. My father recently got a Sekonic L-758DR which does reflective, spot, incident and flash. It is nice but there is no where to put a zone dial which is much easier than doing the math in my head. However, it is a great general meter for digital and film.
Sep 1, 2015 00:57:46 #
John_F wrote:
Lets all sound off about your favorite/best/most accurate/easiest to use/would never be without light meter and, most inportant, Why.
I like the Polaris light meter for basic flash setup; it's small enough that I can slip it into my back pocket when not using it.
If I'm going beyond basic, I use the Sekonic L-558. It measures ambient/flash ratio and computes settings to change the ratio, it has a good spot meter, and it provided pocket wizard integration. But it's a lot bigger, so less convenient to use.
Sep 1, 2015 04:00:18 #
Pablo8
Loc: Nottingham UK.
My Profisix for incident readings, and Bowens SSR Mk 2 for flash. They use batteries, but have lasted me for years.
Sep 1, 2015 05:56:02 #
I have the Sekonic L-478DR light meter that I use for studio photo shoots. That model has the built-in PocketWizard module. The touch screen works very well. I think they got the sensitivity of the touch screen just right. An optional 5-degree spotmeter attachment is available for reflected light readings.
Sep 1, 2015 05:59:58 #
Sep 1, 2015 06:51:25 #
Sep 1, 2015 07:11:47 #
I picked up a Sekonic L-758DR a couple of weeks ago. I'm learning to use the zone system, and the 758 works fine with it. A quick turn of the dial and I'm in exposure mode. The darkest ev it gives me is about 2.5 ev (I think there has to be SOME light, or the meter gives an error). The brightest I've been able to read is about 17.5 ev. From that I figured that the meter ranges from 0 to 20, so, divide that number in half, and you have the zone.
Sep 1, 2015 08:13:47 #
John_F wrote:
Lets all sound off about your favorite/best/most accurate/easiest to use/would never be without light meter and, most inportant, Why.
Minolta 4F, Why? because I picked it up dirt cheap like about $60 about 12 years ago when my Gossen died and it works fine and does everything I need it to.
Sep 1, 2015 08:22:25 #
Sep 1, 2015 08:28:41 #
bimmer124 wrote:
No explanations needed...
The Zeiss Icon.
Perfect.
The Zeiss Icon.
Perfect.
The camera? or did you mean a Zeiss Ikophot light meter? I guess you do need to explain.
Sep 1, 2015 10:07:32 #
John_F wrote:
Lets all sound off about your favorite/best/most accurate/easiest to use/would never be without light meter and, most inportant, Why.
I generally use two at various times. One is an SEI Photometer. It requires some skill to use, but it is exceptionally precise and accurate.
The other is a Sekonic L-758DR, used because it will trigger strobes, is both a spot and ambient meter, and can be profiled to match cameras/films.
I also use a Weston Ranger 9 because of its speed and accuracy.
--Bob
Sep 1, 2015 10:16:21 #
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