How often do you use a light meter

How often do you use a light meter

  • All/most of the time

    Votes: 162 44.5%

  • more than half of the time

    Votes: 68 18.7%

  • half of the time

    Votes: 34 9.3%

  • less than half of the time

    Votes: 47 12.9%

  • almost never

    Votes: 53 14.6%
  • Total voters
    364
It depends. For most daylight conditions, it's fairly simple to use the sunny 16 rule and perhaps a cheat sheet and get a correct exposure (often one better than a meter will give, if your shot has a lot of abnormally light or dark subject matter in it). Twilight or interior shots I find to be much trickier to guess the light level and I typically break out the meter.

That's for a meterless body, of course. For bodies with meters, I typically use the meter unless I know the shot is likely to confuse it.
 
Almost all the times I carry a Gossen Luna Pro with me, and use it unless there is some kind of AE in the camera I´m using. I´m also trying to develop a good judgement practice of lighting conditions with an exposure table, which BTW is always in my bag.
Cheers
Ernesto
 
I usually guess the exposure first and then use my handheld meter to check how far off I am. Sometimes when both don't agree, I bracket. I also take notes so I can compare the results. :)

I am usually more particular with metering when shooting medium format. I write down my exposure settings for every frame. And some times I use my iPhone to record voice memos. :)
 
I have always used in-camera meters and relied on them because I didn't try any other way. I was using the meter in my M6 for a while but I don't think it's that accurate, since getting an M4 I've started only using a little Capital D-III B I got from my grandfather.
I'll use that 90% of the time but it's such a good feeling when I can meter a shot with my eyes and have it come out correctly.
 
I meter if the location or light has changed. If however I am working in the same light for several shots there is no need to meter every shot. I use incident metering for most situations and still bracket if the light confusing and I have time.
 
I use the meter in the M9, M6TTL, and MP, so it would be all/most of the time.

I am picking up a Rolliflex and do plan on purchasing a light meter. Was thinking about a Sekonic L-398A Studio Deluxe III, any thoughts?
 
seakayaker1 said:
I use the meter in the M9, M6TTL, and MP, so it would be all/most of the time.

I am picking up a Rolliflex and do plan on purchasing a light meter. Was thinking about a Sekonic L-398A Studio Deluxe III, any thoughts?
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Its pretty overpriced for what it is: a 50 year old design with very poor low-light sensitivity. For the same price, you can get a good modern digital meter that reads in much lower light, can read flash if needed, and is more accurate.

One of the modern Sekonic models that have built-in spotmeters as well as incident light metering are very good, and available for good prices used.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
Its pretty overpriced for what it is: a 50 year old design with very poor low-light sensitivity. For the same price, you can get a good modern digital meter that reads in much lower light, can read flash if needed, and is more accurate.

One of the modern Sekonic models that have built-in spotmeters as well as incident light metering are very good, and available for good prices used.
Click to expand...

Any idea why those old Sekonics hold their price so well? I have an L28c2 that I bought about 1976 as I was leaving Korea. They still seem to go for big bucks. Mind you, they are a very good incident meter. I do find them not so good as a reflected meter, but maybe that is just me.
 
About half the time I use the sunny 16 rule.

I only meter when the shot requires it..
 
Whenever I shoot with an old meterless camera, I have a handheld meter ready. Something like the compact Gossen Sixtino, easily fits any pocket.
Most often I just take an incident light measure, and shoot with the choosen shutter/aperture combination as long as the light remains about the same.
No need outside to measure each subject individually, except when suddenly a cloud covers the sun etc, then of course I take a fresh reading.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
Its pretty overpriced for what it is: a 50 year old design with very poor low-light sensitivity. For the same price, you can get a good modern digital meter that reads in much lower light, can read flash if needed, and is more accurate.
One of the modern Sekonic models that have built-in spotmeters as well as incident light metering are very good, and available for good prices used.
Click to expand...
Since I have exactly the same thoughts as Seakayaker1, I have acquired a Sekonic L-398A Studio Deluxe III. I agree with Chris that it´s price tag may not be justified. On the other hand, people have owned these (previous versions) for decades and still use them, and the current version comes with a photo cell that ought to last even longer than the Selenium cell in the previous versions.
I chose to start out with the L-398A since I have not "grown up" with external light metering and wanted to learn things from scratch - and I like the fact that it doesn´t need a battery.

And to answer the OP´s question: always - so far with the camera´s built-in meter.
 
Pretty often with the MP and M7. Never or almost never with the M2. I'm comfortable with the Sunny 16 rule. I look at the in-camera meter and frame lines as guides, never relying on them too much. Handheld meters aren't all that helpful for me as I tend to shoot outdoors and like to maintain a pretty quick pace.
 
It depends. Almost always use the built-in meter in digital cameras, often use it in film cameras. With a meterless film camera I almost always just wing it - except for large format cameras, where I almost always use a meter.

It's important to add that I use only negative film. If I were shooting slide film I'd always be using a meter.
 
All the cameras that I use, do not have built in light meters. I use a handheld for less then half the shots that I take. I meter at the beginning of the shoot and when the sun changes I meter again. I normally meter a couple times during a shoot. Im good at guestimating exposure.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
I ALWAYS use a meter. Why bother guessing? I need my photos to come out perfectly, and guessing doesn't do that. Sometimes, it does, but that's luck, not consistency.
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OTOH, being able to set exposure without a meter is very possible and in that case it is certainly not "guessing". I have a system that I've been using for several years that requires no meter and it works, even with slides. I rarely misjudge and blow an exposure in any light condition. Don't get me wrong, it took a whole lot of practice to get it down, just saying it's possible.
 
andredossantos said:
OTOH, being able to set exposure without a meter is very possible and in that case it is certainly not "guessing". I have a system that I've been using for several years that requires no meter and it works, even with slides. I rarely misjudge and blow an exposure in any light condition. Don't get me wrong, it took a whole lot of practice to get it down, just saying it's possible.
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Whats the system?
 
It's something I came up with myself. Im not even sure how to verbalized it and putting it in a post would take a long time.

Basically, I started with sunny 16 and came up with a way to extend it to any light condition.
 
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