light meter for sunset/rise photos

[draka]

I recently picked up a Ercona I, and tried today to meter with a Weston 715 (selenium?) meter - it was 15 minutes after sunset, the sky was still lit up, but the meter did not show anything. Will getting something like a Gossen Digisix help? Are there other inexpensive lightmeters around?
thanks,

 

[tlitody]

I think you want one of these for accurate low light metering but since you said inexpensive perhaps not.

http://www.spectracine.com/product_2.html#Specifications

http://www.spectracine.com/Product_3.html#Specifications

 

[draka]

Thanks, tlitody, it is a bit beyond my budget and what I want to carry on a backpacking trip..I could use my dslr's meter, but wanted something for when I do not have that handy..

 

[sparrow6224]

there's the digisix and the selonic L 208 twinmate. both quite small and effective. i have the digisix and am quite happy with it. btw, those older meters often have a higher and lower setting and if you're in the higher and it's dark you'll get no reaction from the meter. i assume that wasn't the case.

 

[Richard G]

Better to go with Fred Parker's ultimate exposure calculator for this purpose and bracket. Tables for this sort of thing probably work better than meters, as you don't necessarily want a 'well exposed' image according to the ambient light, but a particular look based on a decision derived from your experience or someone else's.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

For low light, you should stay away from older meters, including Selenium and CDS meters. CDS cells: can take as long as 30 minutes to settle in for low light.

Newer meters using Photo Diodes are fast. The Clip on Voigtlander meter which uses LED's would be good for this purpose.

I have the Weston 715 and CDS clip-on meters. For the light level that you describe, my Nikon F2AS would be the choice.

 

[Richard G]

What do you do with the result of a meter reading in this situation? It never occurred to me to meter it. I would need to experiment with the results, perhaps using a digital camera first. Here are a few lines from the Fred Parker table. I've usually found this works well for standard scenes.

Exposure table ISO 100 From Fred Parker's Ultimate Exposure Calculator

lighted buildings at night from distance 1 sec f2. EV 1

skyline 10 mins after sunset 1/60 f4. EV 9

Crescent moon, long lens. EV 10

 

[draka]

Thanks everyone!
@RichardG: I did come across that - I thought I would carry the light meter instead of the paper, just my preference, one day, I might ditch the light meter. I think I shot mostly at f/8 and 1/30 or 1/20 (close to what you had for skyline after sunset). That is the lowest speed I thought I could go without a tripod, but I might be wrong 🙂

@sparrow6224: I was in the lower setting. As Brian Sweeney noted, the Se light meter is just not good enough for low-light situations.

Here is another twist in the tale: I got myself a gossen luna pro sbc, and now have buyer's remorse about the bulk - Is the Gossen digisix any less sensitive to light than the luna pro sbc? (The luna pro sbc can read from 16 to 32000 footcandles - according to the manual).

 

[Doug]

The Luna Pro SBC is a great choice for low light, very sensitive. Often a professional's choice. Plus the Silicon Blue Cell has no memory, so it responds accurately to large changes in light. Further, it does not require the old mercury batteries, using instead a 9 volt one easy to find in any grocery store. Ok, it's a bit large. 😉

You could reserve it for times when you're carrying more gear and/or anticipate dim light. Or you could look at the Gossen Super Pilot SBC, similar layout but smaller, my favorite.

 

[draka]

Thanks Doug.
I like how sensitive the SBC is (it is even possibly lighter than the battery-less selenium meter), but carrying it itself is a chore. It is thicker than the body of a 35mm canonet G III RF camera !!
I will dig a little deeper about the specs for the digisix before returning this.

 

[Steve M.]

I would heartily recommend a Sekonic L 308B. It's small, light, and takes a cheap, readily available battery. Paid somewhere around $100 for mine I think, and I bought it solely because I wanted a good low light meter. It's worked perfectly.


As I shoot B&W, sunsets aren't something I shoot a lot of, but I suppose that it mainly consists of metering the brightest and the darkest part and deciding which one to feature. This was shot by letting the in-camera meter figure it out on my Nikon n8008s, and that worked out OK. Lens was a 90 R Summicron.

 

[draka]

Late reply, but yes, you are right, it is about striking a balance, nice silhouette!

I would heartily recommend a Sekonic L 308B. It's small, light, and takes a cheap, readily available battery. Paid somewhere around $100 for mine I think, and I bought it solely because I wanted a good low light meter. It's worked perfectly.


As I shoot B&W, sunsets aren't something I shoot a lot of, but I suppose that it mainly consists of metering the brightest and the darkest part and deciding which one to feature. This was shot by letting the in-camera meter figure it out on my Nikon n8008s, and that worked out OK. Lens was a 90 R Summicron.