tomcat

This is his question:
"Okay, if I use a light meter to tell me the best aperture setting and shutter speed, why is this better than setting the camera on automatic and let it figure it out? I’m referring to not using flash."

To me, when he stated that he wanted to use a light meter, we are all assuming that he means a hand held meter. Otherwise, where would he get a light meter reading? I dunno---just as so many other postings are sometimes, they are not detailed enough to get the complete intent of the question. So I joined the assuming group..... :)

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Pretty tough getting that grizzly bear to hold still to take an incident reading off it's nose. As I stated earlier in this thread it is fine to do incident readings in a studio or simple setting. But for most here, looking at their posted photos, totally impractical or impossible.

tomcat

That's when you point it at the sky and use it for a reading (not at the sun, but an open portion of the sky). The sky generates one huge soft box, regardless of direction where it's coming from

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Yep, the bear in that tree line.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Were I to encounter a bear in my travels, I would not be obsessing over metering. I'd let the camera do the work. If I were feeling a touch obsessive that day, I might bracket.
But I wouldn't stick around to play with my meter.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

My camera meter and my incident meter DO agree, and are correct, but only when the camera is metering a gray card that fills the frame.

I’ve been metering gray cards with camera meters since the 1970s. My incident meter is mostly used as a flash meter.

srt101fan

Wouldn't the two meters also agree if the scene average reflectance equals that of the grey card?

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yes! However, in reality, that may not be the case. It is often hard to discern whether "average reflectance" exists, if there is a light source or specular reflection of one in the scene, or if the scene is monochromatic in a saturated color.

I like my exposures and white balance to be accurate enough to use a JPEG out of the camera. The only time I don't, is when I'm practicing EBTR (exposing beyond the right side of the camera's JPEG histogram when recording raw files). In that case, I don't bother saving JPEGs... The raw file MUST be processed to recover highlight information that would otherwise be burned out. EBTR is used to preserve more shadow details, but requires careful testing and practice to achieve acceptable results in the highlights.

I use different metering methods for different situations. When I have time to set up a scene, and when I'm working in an environment with consistent lighting (office, school classroom, etc.), I use Delta-1 gray cards, or an ExpoDisc, or a One Shot Digital Calibration Target to set BOTH manual exposure and custom (also called manual, or sometimes preset) white balance. That method gives me great JPEGs I can use immediately, if need be, and also gives me a reference photo for post-processing raw files.

Whenever I photograph many things in the same, consistent, never-changing light, I lock down the exposure and create files that can be adjusted as a batch, with one click, after processing the first one.

When I do "run-and-gun" work, I record raw images (sometimes along with JPEGs if immediacy of use is important), using the iA+ (Intelligent Auto) setting, or Aperture Priority, or Shutter Priority, or Program Mode, on my GH4. The choice of mode depends on what's important... getting the image, maintaining depth of field, freezing action, or some on-the-fly adjustment compromise of those things. Since the exposure compensation button is right behind the shutter button, I can quickly apply a correction for lighter and darker subjects, when needed.

As an aside, the only time I use Automatic White Balance is when the light is changing rapidly, and I can capture a neutral in the scene (white bottle cap, gray card, target, etc.). AWB works best, when the light source is close to Daylight. It gets really wonky under incandescent lights, and 2700K LEDs and CFLs.

Metering and white balance are intimately related. If you do a custom/preset/manual white balance, get the exposure right FIRST.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

My interpretation of the question was between reading the internal meter and manually adjusting exposure vs. letting the camera accomplish the final step. And for internal vs. external metering, if the accuracy of the meters have both been verified, and if they have similar sampling angles, it should not matter whether they are internal or external...if they are both correct, then they should read the same, or at least very close to the same. There is, of course (and this has been pointed out), the question of whether they both have the same functionality (spot vs. wide angle, averaging vs. matrix). If not, there will absolutely be a difference in how the readings should be interpreted, even if both meters are calibrated. There are differences, of course. My in-camera meters, when operating in manual mode, generally display their results in "match needle" format, rather than reading in EV (like my Pentax spot meter) or in either a calculated aperture or shutter speed (based on input of ISO and the other value) like my now-old Minolta electronic meter. In the camera, the match needle format in the display allows for quick and easy exposure compensation.

My feeling is that I paid a lot of money for a camera body with a lot of capability. Properly used, it does almost all of the functions very well. As long as I have studied, learned, and practiced how to correctly use that functionality, it is my choice to decide how much to use of what I paid for as long as the results satify my requirements.

Lucasdv123

Larryepage .very well put.

jcboy3

You don't need to set the camera on automatic to use it's light meter.

You can usually set the camera meter to spot, and use it to meter various parts of a scene, and then set the camera settings in manual mode.

Personally, I never use a light meter for straight metering. I do use a flash meter for studio work.

srt101fan

Bill, thank you for another informative and comprehensive response. Much appreciated.

srt101fan

I think we both see the OP's question the same way.

BTW, the photos you posted (on another thread) are awesome! So, whatever you're doing, you're doing right!