How many people use spot meters versus incident/reflected?

How many people use spot meters versus incident/reflected?

  • Spot Meter

    Votes: 47 16.1%

  • Incident/Reflected handheld

    Votes: 210 71.9%

  • incident/reflected camera mounted

    Votes: 41 14.0%

  • no meter - just guess

    Votes: 49 16.8%
  • Total voters
    292
As a backup meter I nowadays use my telephone, with an Android app called BeeCam Light Meter. Most phones have a built-in built-in light sensor for adjusting screen brightness, and the app turns it into a pretty decent incident meter. The interface is rather basic, but the program is free and the results are good.
 
Hi,
I use my Zone VI Pentax spotmeter when I'm photographing with my field camera mounted on a tripod. When photographing with a hand-held film camera, I usually meter with my Luna Pro used as an incident meter. With my Nikon D60, I let the camera determine the exposure.
JustPlainBill
 
Roger Hicks said:
How many actually know what they're doing? How many recognize the simple fact that with practice, you can get good exposures with just about any form of metering, however unsuitable (think incident for B+W with long brightness ranges)? And how many are saved by the inherent latitude of negative films, especially for overexposure?

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...

I used to use exclusively the slowest transparency film available. Exposure was very critical.
 
My pocket meter is a Gossen Pilot. Not sensitive enough to read in normal nightime room light. That means if I cannot get a reading then it's too dim to shoot handheld. After that out comes the Luna Pro.
 
JTK said:
...also...the Digisix It burns batts, but they're easy to find and cheap (Radio Shack)...never leave home without a spare, then reset the ei...
Click to expand...

Actually in my experience to burns cheap batteries. If you feed it a quality branded battery it will last 6-9 months.

BTW can I object strongly :angel: to the last option, "No meter - just guess" ?

No way is it a guess, it is based on years of experience, careful analysis of the scene, the effect I want, the film and developer combination in use and the effect of the wind on a wet finger held in the air for a precise length of time. You may call it a guess but like the swan paddling there is a lot going on under the surface.
 
Incident/reflected handheld + spot adapter 7,5'. For the batteries I am using the Gossen Silveroxide adapter which can be provided with the Gossen Lunasix-3(S). I think it is the best analogue exposure meter from Gossen Germany. Easy to read out. Very wide E.V. and double scale.
 
What's the best spot meter for low light?

I recently shelled out a lot more than I should for a used Sekonic 758. It is a nice meter, but the spot mode reports 'underexposed' for areas that I would like to meter. I have the big spot attachment for my gossen lunasix, but it's reading drifts if the light intensity is too low.


Thanks!
 
I often do not use any meter. It comes to me as I have done this for so many years. The spotmeter was mostly used when I used SLR with slide film.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
Incident for slide film, Spot for print film (color or BW). If I am shooting 35mm, I usually use the built in spot meter on my Olympus OM-4T even with slide film, but I use the incident meter or handheld spot meter for my other cameras.
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I'm curious why you use incident for your slide film? Could you please elaborate a little more? Thanks! 🙂
 
zauhar said:
What's the best spot meter for low light?

I recently shelled out a lot more than I should for a used Sekonic 758. It is a nice meter, but the spot mode reports 'underexposed' for areas that I would like to meter. I have the big spot attachment for my gossen lunasix, but it's reading drifts if the light intensity is too low.


Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with that meter. My only Sekonic is the L28c2 which is primarily for incident. It works very well at that. I have never had a problem other than as good as it is, in really low light it isn't as sensitive as I would like.

I also have a Gossen Luna Pro sbc which is a great and versatile meter. The Luna Pro sbc is really great in very low light. It is what I prefer for really low light, and my Sekonic for incident readings. If the Lunasix is the Luna Pro for Europe, it may just need a factory tuneup, or even an adjustment.

In a quick search I didn't see any specs for that meter. Is it possible yours needs a tune up at the factory?
 
I use an excellent iphone app called Lightmeterwheel periodically/if I'm unsure of the light. Usually I can guess the right exposure - practice makes perfect. Anyway I really like this app. I always use it in incident mode (using the iPhone's front camera) and it's very accurate. I like old fashioned meters, but it's one more thing to carry, while I already always have my phone on me. The app is organized like an old analogue meter, with all available shutter speed/aperture combinations visible simultaneously. All the other apps I've found only show 1 to 3 pairs at a time.
 
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