Light meters ... finding one you're comfortable with.

Keith

Keith

The best camera is one that still works!
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Yes ... I know that 'sunny sixteen' is god's gift to photography (not) and all that but I find that the more I learn about exposure through frequent mistakes the more I want to get it dead right every time next time because perfect exposure and not near enough, still gives the best negative!

My recently purchased Sekonic L308s is a great meter in incident mode but I still find that it occasionally leaves me wanting more information ... or should I say more subtle information. I note that it can be set to read full aperture stops with whatever shutter speed corresponds which is not necessarily what's on the standard shutter speed dial ... or the other way round with full standard stops for shutter speed and aperture split into thirds!

When I have time I now use the meter's EV setting and apply the reading to an EV chart I carry with me to calculate my exact exposure ... I actually find this preferable to the other two available settings on the Sekonic. It almost makes me wish I'd bought an analog meter!

Then of course there's the option to bracket! :bang: 😀
 
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Keith, if you get the older chrome lenses for your Hasselblad, you'll be able to set the exposure with the EV scale on the lens. Perfect!

Edit: Have you ever owned and used a good spot-meter? I reckon that's the ultimate for people who like to strive for the perfect exposure.
 
Evening Keith, I have seen the L308s and very nice it is too but a bit flash for me, by the time i have worked out the exposure I'm sure the image would have passed me by. I did use an old Weston Master 2 when i was shooting 6x9 slides in the old Mamiya Press and i might say the exposures were very good.
I used a much newer Weston 4 with my Fed 2 and no problems there either, so i would say it's a case of trusting your ability a bit more mate. If I can do it anyone can ... i have also found that usually the light doesn't change that much and once you have a good first reading you can work from there as the light changes, easier for B&W of course as the darkroom is a place were magic can occur.
I also like the simple match needle in my Canon FTb and the XA has a good meter as well, hell even the over and under lights on the Electro seem to produce good exposures.
EV sounds interesting have you tried that?
 
One of the reasons I love my Weston Master IV was for its visible information on a wheel; analog I guess. I can instantly visualize the values when I move the meter around to get an average. Once the wheel is set, I have the EV and the various possible exposure settings. It is just a great little meter, but alas I broke the glass and now it won't meter well in windy weather; needle is being blown around.

So, now I've but a Minolta Autometer IV to work with. It is just not the same. Sure it gives me great and accurate incident readings, but something is missing. I can toggle the button up and down to get different aperture and shutter speed settings, but it doesn't feel the same. I just can't get the flowing feeling I get with my old old analog meter. Not sure why, and now that I'm out of the country I won't have a chance to send it to QLM in California to fix it; on the move too much. Guess it'll be digital for a while till I can get back to good ol' analog...
 
bgb said:
Evening Keith, I have seen the L308s and very nice it is too but a bit flash for me, by the time i have worked out the exposure I'm sure the image would have passed me by. I did use an old Weston Master 2 when i was shooting 6x9 slides in the old Mamiya Press and i might say the exposures were very good.
I used a much newer Weston 4 with my Fed 2 and no problems there either, so i would say it's a case of trusting your ability a bit more mate. If I can do it anyone can ... i have also found that usually the light doesn't change that much and once you have a good first reading you can work from there as the light changes, easier for B&W of course as the darkroom is a place were magic can occur.
I also like the simple match needle in my Canon FTb and the XA has a good meter as well, hell even the over and under lights on the Electro seem to produce good exposures.
EV sounds interesting have you tried that?
Click to expand...



Good evening bgb from one Kiwi to another!

When I'm shooting on the fly I'm quite happy to rely on my judgement via an in camera meter or sunny sixteen if need be ... and as we know a shot missed will never pass by you again so get it now and sort it out in post process is a good moto IMO!

That said ... most of my photography is very deliberate and often quite constructed so agonising over aperture and shutter speed settings all ads to the fun for a fanatic like myself! 😛

Working with an EV reading is quite interesting and I'd actually never done it until the other day ... I didn't realise however that EV charts are based on an assumed ISO of 100 (I know now) and I'd been taking my incident readings with the Sekonic unknowingly set on 400! :bang:😱😛
 
Hi Keith,
Ok so you like to torture yourself huh? I had a little phase of not trusting the meter and rechecking every reading and setting over and over again ... i got over it and it was using the Fed2 and not having that silly meter in my vision all the time that did the trick.

It will be interesting to hear how EV works for you an even if i don't understand it very well I'm interested in knowing how the process of using EV translates into work flow. It sounds like it should make things easy, just so long as it's not like the Zone System thing!

I read once that the 'best camera' is one that doesn't get between you and the image you are trying to capture ( Roger Hicks ?) sounds like you metering fetish is getting in the way 🙂

How about you look at some of your best photos and think about how you metered them, you might find you shoot better on the fly.

Cheers, Brian
 
The best meter so far 'for me' was the Lunasix 3 with the zone scale on the bottom of the wheel.
Close second any good spotmeter, Pentax, Minolta, Gossen etc

Sunny 16 in Belgium, naaaaah wouldn't work.
 
I've got a Pentax Spotmeter V and a Sekonic 398. Both are 20+ years old and quite reliable. My Pentax meter gets tuned up every now and again, the Sekonic is nearing replacement time, but only because it is so battered the dome keeps falling off. I use the Sekonic much more than the Pentax, not only because it is smaller, but because it is faster and makes for less fussing. I can't meter this and that and then that. Incident rules. When I shot with the Hasselblad and the Pentax 67 the Sekonic was always with me. I got the Pentax for a specific project, and use it with LF or in high contrast situations with B&W to see exactly how much pulling I'm going to need to do.
 
A Weston Master V with a incident light adapter, "Invercone" they call it, is as good as it gets in all but extremely low light. Even then there are work-arounds such as making a reading off of a white instead of a grey card and opening up 2.5 stops, or making an incident reading closer to the light source and calculating exposure based on the inverse square rule.
 
I have a few meters (other than TTL in cameras), and the two I would say are my go to devices are a Soligor spotmeter (similar to Pentax, etc.,) and a Weston Master IV.

Keith, for your deliberate work, especially LF tripod work, I would recommend a 1deg spotmeter with EV scale and a zone scale added. The Weston can do the same thing (sorta, but without 1deg spot,) but when working from a tripod, the spotmeter is more convenient and thus faster.
 
The meter I like best is a Sekonic Studio 398 used in incident mode. It is small, needs no batteries and the read shows all the f stop/speed combination at a glance. It is not the greatest in very low light but I use an old Gossen Luna Pro SBC for that.

Bob
 
Keith, do you have film camera/lens which could make use of the finer information you are looking for? My cameras have speed dials in full stops and lenses in full or half f-stops. I ordered L308s last week and I chose it because it had everything I'd needed and nothing more (small, one-hand operation, incident/reflective switch done without carrying and mounting another accessory, universal battery, incident sensor on the front panel). Still waiting for it to be delivered and I'm curious why do you think it's not precise/good enough.
 
I have a Minolta Flashmeter III which I use in incident mode 99% of the time. I've also got a spot attachment that I use very infrequently, and once in a while when doing portraits or studio set-ups, use the meter in flash mode.
Funny but I've never bothered with the EV business, but rather just select an aperture that works best and then just meter to give me the corresponding shutter speed.
However, as I get older, I use the meter less and less, preferring to simply use the F16 rule and it's permutations and combinations, unless the light is tricky.
It's the only meter I've ever owned or needed, and it is one of the best photographic purchases I've made in the 31 years I've been shooting.
 
rbsinto said:
I have a Minolta Flashmeter III ... the only meter I've ever owned or needed, and it is one of the best photographic purchases I've made in the 31 years I've been shooting.
Click to expand...

Second the Flashmeter III. Also occasionally use a Weston III and a Minolta Spotmeter, but for my needs the Flashmeter is the one I use 90% of the time. FWIW, Quality Light Metric does a superb job of repairing and calibrating most old meters. They did the Weston and an Alpa version Metraphot, along with calibration of the newer meters. Fast turn around, fair price, and strong references.
 
Keith said:
My recently purchased Sekonic L308s is a great meter in incident mode but I still find that it occasionally leaves me wanting more information ... or should I say more subtle information. I note that it can be set to read full aperture stops with whatever shutter speed corresponds which is not necessarily what's on the standard shutter speed dial ... or the other way round with full standard stops for shutter speed and aperture split into thirds!
Click to expand...

For give me for speaking bluntly... but you don't need a new meter at all. That meter will do all that you want, plus more. Perhaps it is "too complicated" and you need a simpler meter, but in terms of information you have as "subtle" as you can get.

Maybe what you need to do is learn to use it more effectively; program it to display what you want to see. The Sekonic L308s can be set for full aperture, half, thirds... and displays in tenths of a stop, as you mention. What more detailed information could one want? This notion of using an EV translator is way more work than anyone should do if they have a meter like you have. If you think spot readings will give you that more "subtle" informaiton you should have bought a L558.

Suggest you play with the programming and set the meter up so it tells you what you want to know.
 
Keith,

just get the Gossen Digisix: cheap, accurate, EV readout, incidence / reflective, 25 degrees view, reads Ev differences for any partial of the whole scene, low light capable, ... timer, clock ... tiny

Only caveat; my brand new one is one stop off. So I set the ISO to 200 for 400 ISO film and get perfect results. No need to bother with an exchange/complaint ... Just a first 16 rule calibration, that is all.

Maybe it is factory set this way not to blow out highs in digital?
 
Gumby said:
For give me for speaking bluntly... but you don't need a new meter at all. That meter will do all that you want, plus more. Perhaps it is "too complicated" and you need a simpler meter, but in terms of information you have as "subtle" as you can get.

Maybe what you need to do is learn to use it more effectively; program it to display what you want to see. The Sekonic L308s can be set for full aperture, half, thirds... and displays in tenths of a stop, as you mention. What more detailed information could one want? This notion of using an EV translator is way more work than anyone should do if they have a meter like you have. If you think spot readings will give you that more "subtle" informaiton you should have bought a L558.

Suggest you play with the programming and set the meter up so it tells you what you want to know.
Click to expand...


As you say it tells me all I need to know in reallity ... I think it's the digital display that makes it seem less so. I guess with analog meters you're seeing what is actually between the relevant readings whether you need to or not and maybe it's just a comfort thing. 😛

Like all meters though I've noticed if you dont have the ISO set correctly you may as well have a guess! Must pay more attention in future! 😱
 
It sounds to me like it definitely is not a matter of information, but comfort. Some peole learn/see visually; others are more numerically oriented. I'd suspect that you are visual.

I take back what I said... perhaps you should go buy a meter that you can read/interpret more easily.
 
I also used a Minolta IIIf to use with my Leica IIIf. I only have the incident dome, not the reflective attachment. Works great except can't turn it off and lock it. Thus I always need an extra battery.
 
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