Dedicated spot meter or in camera spot?

[davidefontaine]

Hi,

I do a lot of shooting with a Pentax Super ME and I am not too confident in its meter. I would like to have a more accurate metering system and gain a greater intuition for reading the light levels in a scene at a glance. From what I've read using a spot meter can assist in the former with a possibility of eventually leading to the latter.

I've noticed that many cameras from the 90s have built-in spot meters and sell used for much cheaper than much older dedicated spot meters. I'm trying to decide between getting a second body which can double as a spot meter or buying a dedicated one. Since I'm shooting with m42 lenses a second body would have the added benefit of allowing me to switch focal lengths quickly. Any thoughts?

 

[tlitody]

in camera spot meters usually have around 5deg angle with a 50mm lens which is too big depending on how close you are to your subject. Not much use for landscape work.
But if you put a tele lens on then they become more useful. Carrying an slr body and tele lens just for metering is a pain and you always have to have it with you if you always want spot metering. A dedicated meter is much handier and if you are doing zone system some of them help with that too. And dedicated meters tend to be more accurate. But if you are not doing zone system work then an incident meter is just as good, easier to use and a lot cheaper.

 

[davidefontaine]

Hi tlitody,

Thanks for the advice. I had actually been planning on using the second body for wide angle lenses but had worried that could affect the spot metering. I don't plan on implementing the Zone System full on, but I would like to be able to gauge the rough spread of highlights and shadows in a scene. I have an old incident meter but I've found that it's not always easy for me to walk over to the object I'm photographing.

For those who use spot meters with trigger grips, have people ever thought you were holding a gun?

 

[tlitody]

Hi tlitody,

Thanks for the advice. I had actually been planning on using the second body for wide angle lenses but had worried that could affect the spot metering. I don't plan on implementing the Zone System full on, but I would like to be able to gauge the rough spread of highlights and shadows in a scene. I have an old incident meter but I've found that it's not always easy for me to walk over to the object I'm photographing.

For those who use spot meters with trigger grips, have people ever thought you were holding a gun?

Not yet but I wouldn't recommend pointing one at policeman

If all you are doing is getting a rough idea of ranges then an in camera spot should do. I think some of them, maybe nikon F90(possibly others) are only 3 degrees. But usually they cover the area of the focussing ring in an slr. With wide angle the area would be greater than 5 degrees so not too clever for picking dark spots or small highlights, especially from any distance.

 

[john_s]

I like in-camera spot (well, narrow angle) meters except when the camera is on a tripod, when the hand-held meter is much easier to use.

 

[Edward C. Zimmermann]

Hi,

I do a lot of shooting with a Pentax Super ME and I am not too confident in its meter. I would like to have a more accurate metering system and gain a greater intuition for reading the light levels in a scene at a glance.

Then forget "spot" meters. Learn from cine.(<- link) and use, instead, an incident light meter and your brain.

From what I've read using a spot meter can assist in the former with a possibility of eventually leading to the latter.

It can assist in the advancement of Adamismus and other forms of blind fetishismus. Spot meters (1 degree) do have their utility but their use is far from "idiot proof" and with enough skill and feeling to operate one correctly I think one can more or less use ones brain, eyes and the simple reflective meters to superior results. Its really one of the last pieces of kit that most photographers need. Many of the spot meters sold even tend to have some design problems that can limit their textbook applications.

I tend to recommend (and use) analog incident light meters. Digital meters are advised for those working in harsh environments since they are significantly more robust--- but less nice to use-- than analog meters. Kenko (Minolta), Spectra, Gossen and Sekonic all make great meters.