MS. DONNA Loc: NEW SMYRNA BEACH FL

do any of you use a light meter on a regular basis? I take a lot of pictures of nature and was told maybe I should invest in a light meter wondering what your thoughts are on this. Thanks, Donna

Phil Miller

Absolutely. I am a film shooter and my Pentax spotmeter is terrific. Couldn't do without it.

Phil Miller

Absolutely. I am a film shooter and my Pentax spotmeter is terrific. Couldn't do without it.

Photog8 Loc: Morriston, FL

Used one all the time when shooting film, but with the instant feedback available in digital, screen review, histograms, etc, the in camera meters will get you in the ball park. Then just tweak it to your liking.

Bearlythere Loc: Baton Rouge, LA

I have a Calcu-lite that I have used since the 80's. It is invaluable
in calculating either incidental or reflected light. It's also very
simple to operate, only two buttons--one to measure the
light and the other to restate the reading that has been taken.
If speed of taking the image is not an issue, use one. They are
very cheap these days, since not too many people use them.

Blaster6 Loc: Central PA

Light meter for nature? Probably not. Your in camera meter should work just fine. When I say nature I am thinking animals that may not hold still while you hold the meter under their chin.

One exception I can think of:
You want a picture of a flower against a dramatic sky background on a sunny day. You meter for the sky (in camera) then set to underexpose 1 stop.
(This is all in manual by the way)
Meter your flash to properly expose the flower by adjusting the flash output to match the camera settings using the light meter. This will give you a properly exposed subject against a very slightly underexposed sky that I feel looks a little better than a properly exposed sky but you are free to not back off a stop if that is your style.

This is the same thing I do with portraits, I just substituded a flower in this example.

Now try it with people too when you get a chance. Light meters ain't cheap so get some use out of it.

Blaster6 Loc: Central PA

Hmmm. We seem to be in disagreement here. :lol: I guess it depends on your definition of cheap or maybe just how cheap you are. 8-)

The meters I am thinking of are the more modern digital ones and they start out around $100 for a used one on ebay.

I am thinking that is quite a bit to spend for a gadget that probably won't get much use. For a pro who needs it then it really is a cheap peice of gear.

I found a couple examples:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sekonic-L508-Zoom-Master-Film-and-Digital-Light-Flash-Meter-/360870177644?pt=US_Light_Meters&hash=item540589eb6c

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kenko-KFM-2100-Flash-Meter-With-Integrated-Spot-Meter-Worldwide-Free-Shipping-/201019433337?pt=US_Light_Meters&hash=item2ecdb12179

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SEKONIC-L-358-LIGHT-FLASH-METER-with-CASE-and-manual-FAST-FREE-SHIPPING-/111289535942?pt=US_Light_Meters&hash=item19e95f8dc6

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gossen-Digisky-Digital-Exposure-Meter-for-Flash-Ambient-Light-GO-4039-/221387722713?pt=US_Light_Meters&hash=item338bbc8fd9

MS. DONNA Loc: NEW SMYRNA BEACH FL

THANKS
:)

Kristoes

Great topic, I am in a similar situation I think. My project is I'm shooting into the light (unfortunately) and need to properly capture the deep fissures in the bark in full shade, while being able to clean-up the burned out areas of the edges of the fir needles. Maybe my camera's spot meter will allow me to zoom in and get an accurate bark reading in spite of the glare all around, I don't know. I used to use a great meter back in my film days, long gone.

Thanks for starting this topic

MS. DONNA Loc: NEW SMYRNA BEACH FL

i shoot birds this time of year someone else told me to aim the camera at the grass first for that light and then shoot the bird because the camera meter is reading the strawlike brush in the back ground instead of the light for the bird so pics are looking over exposed a bit due to the brightness of the dead grass and i light meter would give me a proper exposure for the bird

Rongnongno Loc: FL

The spot meter on a camera is about 2 degrees, even the specialized Gosse light meter did not do better. A digital camera is now your light meter, IF and only IF you learn to use it that way (and set everything manually of course - including ISO -.

MS. DONNA Loc: NEW SMYRNA BEACH FL

they pic doesn't look bad, but I will try to shoot in manual. its tricky when the bird decides to fly so i choose to shoot in shuttter priority so i can stop the action of the wings but thanks for the advice I will manual a shot

Blaster6 Loc: Central PA

Don't be scared to use manual. There are only 3 settings and 1 or 2 of those is usually dictated by your environment or requirements sometimes just leaving you with 1 to play with.

I don't shoot birds but I am guessing maybe 1/1000 to stop motion. If you get blur go faster. ISO is a gimme - set for maybe 100 and change it if you run out of range in your other settings. That leaves you with aperture to play with. Once you get it set you are set until the light changes and you won't have any surprises.

If you are using auto anything your settings are going to be changing without you knowing and they don't always change in the right direction. If you add a flash in the mix you are going to be chasing auto settings all ofer the place.
Auto (Av, Tv) is good when light conditions are changing really fast and you can't keep up. Full auto is only for when you have no idea what you are doing or just want snapshots and don't care about depth of field or motion blur or maybe you just like surprises.

Each setting has it's function and tradeoffs. In manual you choose what you want to give up to get something else.

Shutter - stop motion
Aperture - Depth of field
ISO - noise/grain

Have fun and remember it doesn't cost anything to practice / experiment.

Blaster6 Loc: Central PA

Yeah, that happens.

The light meter isn't going to help you much in this situation. It will work just like the one you already have in your camera. Maybe you are in evaluative metering when you should be spot metering. Try all the different metering modes and find out what one works for you.
As a last resort you could just shoot n chimp in manual mode until you get your settings locked in. (Just change 1 at a time)

MS. DONNA Loc: NEW SMYRNA BEACH FL

Thanks, I do shoot in spot metering