light meters

[Johnhw]

Don;t know if this should go here but i'll give it a shot as my Fuji x pro is my main camera.

I am considering getting a Sekonic light meter (the 758DR). I think this will save me time mainly with long exposure type photography which I seem to be getting into more and more, as well as general purpose stuff.

I am wondering if any of you still use light meters, and if you have found it to be valuable at times for exposure vs. the cameras metering and exposure compensation.

Please give me your thoughts. I have been hedging on this for a long time, don;t use flash all that often, though I probably should more (I have a EF20) and overall wonder if anyone finds a drastic change in using a meter or viewing screen shots and histogram for corrections,

Thanks...

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I use a handheld meter for every shot, film and digital. A good incident meter like the Sekonic will give perfect exposure 99% of the time with a digital camera. I carry a Minolta Flash Meter IV with my Canon 5DmkII and a Minolta Spotmeter F with my Hasselblad kit. I also have a Minolta Flash Meter VI, Minolta Autometer IIIF, and an ancient Minolta Flash Meter II. Couldn't live without them.

My Spotmeter F isn't shown because I got it after making this photo.

 

[68degrees]

geez what happened to sunny 16? f8 and be there? or just going by feel? Everything is computerized now wheres the fun in that?

 

[raphaelaaron]

minoltas ive found tend to be pretty accurate (edit: accurate with each other) across the boards. at least from what i've used.

i love my Auto meter IV F

Although a Gossen does a pretty fine job, like the Luna Pro F I have. for more of an analog feel.

 

[ChrisN]

geez what happened to sunny 16? f8 and be there? or just going by feel? Everything is computerized now wheres the fun in that?

If that's what you enjoy, stick with it.

Some people just prefer properly exposed images. 🙂

(Here we go again - how many times have we argued the meter/no meter issue?)

 

[Peter_Jones]

I used to use a Weston and invercone, but now use a Minolta 111 meter to measure incident light when using medium format, or less tolerant 35mm films.

Sunny 11 (sunny ? I've not seen the sun for weeks) at this latitude works well with XP2 which has its own latitude 🙂

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

geez what happened to sunny 16? f8 and be there? or just going by feel? Everything is computerized now wheres the fun in that?

To me, photography is not fun if my photos are not flawless. If you aren't going to do it right, why bother?

 

[gustavoAvila]

I use a Sekonic L-308 extensively with my film cameras where it is invaluable in insuring consistent and accurate exposures.

However, in my opinion, light meters are not necessary for contempory digital cameras (especially for EVF equipped bodies where the exposure can be "pre-chimped").

If you do elect to use a light meter with a digital camera, be sure to calibrate it over the ISO range of interest as there can be a non-linear correlation between the camera and light meter (ISO) values.

 

[Tom A]

I keep plenty of meters around - mainly because they have a tendency to die a sudden death. I have gone through 3 af the compact Gossens, 1/2 dozen Sekonic's (various models) and currently I am relying on some old style Gossen Lunapro's for tricky exposures.
Most meters are a bit sluggish with extremely slow exposures and you have to be prepared to bracket and also take into account the films reciprocity loss of speed with long and extremely long exposures. Bracket like hell is my advice.
Most of my "regular" shooting is either with a built in meter or just "sunny f16" - works well with 320 - 400 iso film.

 

[taskoni]

To me, photography is not fun if my photos are not flawless. If you aren't going to do it right, why bother?

Dear Chris,

I have seen photos that are flawless and being shot without meter and the photographers I am sure had great fun taking it and processing it! Doing it right is a matter of point of view, so one more + for Sunny 16.
Nice collection of meters tho'

 

[FrankS]

I like this one for iPhone. Just not great for low light.

 

[Johnhw]

Thanks for the info. I posted this in the fuji forum because I was trying to relate between a light meter and the in camera meter and exposure compensation. I understand especially those of u using film and the need to make sure exposure is correct the first time. I guess in doing long exposure photography instead of calculations for time intervals I thought the meter would not only speed things up but simplify things as well.
Since going digital I know most people don't consider the need for a meter at all anymore and it can be a expensive investment.

Also sorry I did not do a search on the topic as I do not isit many forums on this page e crept the fuji ones.

 

[Frontman]

When shooting black and white, I generally go without a meter, my eyes have become fairly good at reading the light. I began by using the "Sunny 16" rule, and then learned to apply the basic math to adjust it to whatever light I am shooting in.

I have found color film to be much less forgiving to errors in exposure, and when shooting color I use a meter. For my Leica M cameras, the Leica MR meter is the easiest to use. It is coupled to the shutter speed dial, so adjustments are easy and quick to make. For other cameras I use a Sekonic L-398 meter. For large format I use a Pentax digital spot meter.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I keep plenty of meters around - mainly because they have a tendency to die a sudden death. I have gone through 3 af the compact Gossens, 1/2 dozen Sekonic's (various models) and currently I am relying on some old style Gossen Lunapro's for tricky exposures.
Most meters are a bit sluggish with extremely slow exposures and you have to be prepared to bracket and also take into account the films reciprocity loss of speed with long and extremely long exposures. Bracket like hell is my advice.
Most of my "regular" shooting is either with a built in meter or just "sunny f16" - works well with 320 - 400 iso film.

Tom, how are you killing meters? I've never seen a modern digital SBC based meter die, and they're not at all 'sluggish' in low light. My Minoltas read instantly all the way down to their lowest usable light levels, as was the digital Sekonic (L-508) I used to have. The only meters I've seen die were old selenium cell meters and CdS meters that used moving needles, and selenium cells can die with age too. SBC (silicon) cells seem to last forever.

 

[Johnhw]

Frontman,
Why the sekonic vs Pentax meters n using the different cameras/formats?

 

[Johnhw]

Well, I picked up the Sekonic 758. Expensive investment. I am hoping that its use will teach me more about light and help me recognize conditions after a while that will pretty much get me in the ballpark. I took photos with my camera at the store yesterday and then the meter setting. the jpeg LCD then look underexposed when using the meter setting. I take that that some type of fluctuation is normal in this regard. I can see using this a lot with portraits but i do not do studio type lighting...at least not now anyway. My main reason was to gain experience with light, and get me in the ballpark with semi-long exposure and full DR with landscape. Hope I made a good decision. Always trying to learn.