Handheld Light meters, whose do you use?

[ikophot]

Gossen Lunalite
General Electric PR3
Ikophot
Addiphot
Black Cat extended range exposure guide

 

[richard_l]

Gossen Digisix (or Digiflash). Incredibly lightweight, small, sensitive, accurate, always "on" (no warmup delay) but kind to batteries. Looks and feels kinda cheap, but it's sturdier than it seems. Can be mounted on accessory shoe using an adaptor, but who would want to do that?

 

[Jarvis]

I would go for something with a combined spotmeter this will definately come in handy/be very useable at some time in your hptoshooting life...

 

[Fedzilla_Bob]

I use a Sekonic L208, very small and with an adapter can mount on the top of the camera. I used a Gossen Pilot 2 for a long time, but wanted this one. It uses a battery but I have no idea how long it will last. Works for me in low light.

Glad to see this one mentioned, it is what I asked my wife to get me for my birthday. I figured it was time for me to learn how to use a light meter well. I didn't want something any more complicated than that.

 

[peter_n]

That is a nice meter Manolo! 😎 The B&H web site says its an upgrade of the L-308BII. Good down to -5EV? Hmmm... 🙂 Can you set an aperture in the display and then take a reading that then displays a speed for that aperture? Sort of like an aperture priority reading?

 

[peter_n]

Mmm too bad about the non-aperture priority feature. I always think aperture first and shutter speed second, because of DOF. I wonder why meters don't think this way too?

Just finished my testing of the Quantum Calcu-Light XP with some tests using a 18% reflectance gray card. The Quantum gave me identical f stop/shutter speed values for incident/reflected readings, the Minolta differed by almost a stop and the Megatron differed by a full stop between incident and reflected readings. The Quantum reflected value was identical to the Minolta reflected value and it's incident value was identical to the Megatron incident value. Test film I got back included a correctly exposed neg at f2 and 4mins 20secs! Admittedly rather unscientific testing but the Quantum appears to be very accurate.

Just a reminder to those looking for a meter that's good for low light - the Quantum has a measuring range of -7EV to 21EV for 100ASA film. 😀

 

[T_om]

Test film I got back included a correctly exposed neg at f2 and 4mins 20secs! Admittedly rather unscientific testing but the Quantum appears to be very accurate.

Uh, not to throw a clod in the churn here (Old Southern Term) but if your meter called for a "4min 20sec" exposure, and you actually exposed for that time and got a correct exposure, then something is wrong. That is, unless your meter is programmed to compensate for reciprocity failure.

There is a *very general* chart here with some generic corrections, but at least it demonstrates my point.

http://home.earthlink.net/~kitathome/LunarLight/moonlight_gallery/technique/reciprocity.htm

Tom

 

[TPPhotog]

I use the Sekonic 308B, comfortable size and reasonably light. It's even survived me sitting on it a few times as it's nice and slim to slip into the back pocket of my Levi's.

 

[doubs43]

I have three meters, all seemingly accurate.

My first choice to carry is a Gossen Digisix.

Next is a Gossen Luna-Pro and I keep a Capitol meter in the truck "just in case".

Walker

 

[denishr]

Test film I got back included a correctly exposed neg at f2 and 4mins 20secs! Admittedly rather unscientific testing but the Quantum appears to be very accurate.

Peter, regarding your Calcu-Light test - Tom pointed out a serious issue: if you did not compensate for reciprocity failure manually, then something is wrong. AFAIK, almost all films shot with exposures exceeding 1 second should be compensated (i.e. time added) for reciprocity.

As for testing light meters, you should be careful what you're testing against 😀

My reference is usually my Nikon F80 with the lens that matches (approximately) the field of view of the meter being tested (my reference is usually 50mm lens). I compare readings from the Nikon to the ones I get from the meter being tested, trying always to meter off a uniformly lit surface.
The ultimate test, I guess, is to test the readings obtained from the meter with a slide film (with a camera that has a VERY accurate shutter!).
I've never done that, though, since I don't shoot slides - mostly B&W film...

Besides, as was already said in another thread, I think, is that small differences (1/3 to 1/2 stop) are actually irrelevant, unless you shoot with a camera that has recently had its shutter speeds tested. What's the use of measuring light (WHICH light are we measuring? - the "proper" way would be to measure light off a grey card...) up to 1/10 of a stop, if your camera's 1/125 speed is actually 1/95?

Anyway, the problem of having several light meters is that they usually NEVER agree 🙂 - that way you never know which one is accurate 😉 You should have very accurate testing equipment in order to perform a serious test.

So, after a while, you come to a conclusion that the accuracy of the meter to 1/3 of a stop is not important. Even 1/2 stop, sometimes even a full stop, doesn't mean much - unless you're shooting under extremely controlled conditions. That would mean controlled temperature (which might influence camera shutter speeds, which have presumably been precisely calibrated prior to the test shoot), controlled light (meaning clear skies without clouds, or GOOD artificial light, which might get very expensive), controlled readings off a grey card (with very precisely positioned meter)... And, finally, and what's most important, VERY controlled processing of the negative/slide... - which is where all the previous testing usually fails 🙂
If you're shooting negative film and having it processed it in a commercial lab (i.e. not yourself), you can forget any tests you made. If you're doing the processing yourself, get ready for more tedious work - you need very precise and very controlled temperatures, fresh chemicals from same batches, etc., etc...

In short, don't sweat about 1/2 stop difference. If the photos you are getting are satisfactory, forget about the meter and concentrate on the shooting 😀

Regards,

Denis

 

[MCTuomey]

Sekonic L-208, a modest meter but very pocketable, as Richard and others noted

 

[aoresteen]

I use the Sekonic L508 and just love it. Accurate, works with flash cord & cordless, and has a built in spotmeter. Runs on one AA battery available anywhere in the world where there is a hotel.

 

[peter_n]

Uh, not to throw a clod in the churn here (Old Southern Term) but if your meter called for a "4min 20sec" exposure, and you actually exposed for that time and got a correct exposure, then something is wrong. That is, unless your meter is programmed to compensate for reciprocity failure.

There is a *very general* chart here with some generic corrections, but at least it demonstrates my point.

http://home.earthlink.net/~kitathome/LunarLight/moonlight_gallery/technique/reciprocity.htm

Tom

hey Tom & Denis,
I like to throw a clod in the churn Tom! 🙂 I'm a Fuji guy and the film was Acros 100, and it looks like the author of your reference has tested that film and found that the correction factor for it is extremely low (around 1.05?). All I can tell you is that the neg certainly looks like it is printable!

Denis: I'm not worried about 1/3 or 1/2 stop differences, but about underexposed night-time shots that the meter I was using didn't deal with too well. Plus the fact that I'm incompetent and didn't tote my incident cone around with me (I was with my family and would have had no problem taking incident readings). 🙄

 

[Nick R.]

I'm back to using my old Sekonic L-28 C2 since my L328 is broken.

As far as what Denis said about shutter speeds is especially true of leaf shutters. When I tested the speeds of several leaf shutter 60/70's RF's, I found that the speeds were way off in the higher ranges --forget about actually shooting at 1/500th with one of these cameras. Typically, the most acurate setting was at 1/30th or 1/60th.

 

[GeneW]

I have a good incident light meter, but I find the smaller and lighter the meter is, the more likely I want to bring it with me. Hence I favour my little CV meter. Most of the time I carry it in my pocket. Occasionally I mount it on an accessory shoe. It's accurate in any light I can handhold my camera.

Gene

 

[peter_n]

Fuji Neopan 100 Acros & long exposures

Fuji Neopan 100 Acros & long exposures

Attached is a shot using Acros 100 that had a pretty long night-time exposure, I think it was either f11 or f16 at 2+ minutes. It looks bright but it wasn't all that bright - this guy is overexposed.

 

[matu]

I have a Gossen Sixtino, Leningrad 2, 4,7,8 and 6.
Russian Light meters are very cheap, bigger than normal and not very well made.
The one I like best is the Leningrad 6, it has a TLR viewfinder for spot metering, on low light situations performs great, but.... it's very big, bigger than a package of cigarretes.
Now I think that a light meter must be usefull for low light situations, the sunny 16 rule will do the trick outdoors.

 

[laptoprob]

Hi all,
I still have a small Gossen Sixtinette, but it is not for incident lighting. Also a Bewi-Zoom-Spot meter which is brilliant. A small tele-zoomlens with a spotmeter installed!
And since a few months my favourite, an old Sekonic L28C. About the same age as my M2. No batteries and therefore relatively heavy, like the camera.
Not really used yet is the MR3 meter with booster. It feels so big on the camera.

Rob.

 

[RubenBlaedel]

I use a sekonic 508, a Gossen Sixon and for stylish retro shooting 🙂 a weston II

(I used to use a sekonic l328 and I still have the special spot metering attachment (rare!) if anyone should be interrested in buying this - please pm me! i also have a Leica meter wiht booster cell and a spare meter for parts that is up for sale or swap or ?)

Anyway the L 508 is rather big but the SIXON is very light and handy and finds way in my pocket all most always as it has incident reading.

The sekonic 508 with the 1 degr. spot zoom is a great instrument once you get used to it.

 

[back alley]

i like the pilot / pilot 2 meter from gossen.
very small & light and accurate.

and also the metrastar. much bigger, also accurate and has the benefit of a low light scale.

joe