which light meter for an M3?

[colker]

minolta meter

minolta meter

hi mojo,

i have the minolta incident. it's great to shoot w/ my rollei but for candid, reportage like work it does not cut it. i want a reflect light, small, easy to read easy to place back in my pocket meter.

 

[mojobebop]

hi mojo,

i have the minolta incident. it's great to shoot w/ my rollei but for candid, reportage like work it does not cut it. i want a reflect light, small, easy to read easy to place back in my pocket meter.

like i said, i've relied on thru the lens meters for years. notice how much it varies
with moving the meter point from area to area. that's reflected light reading.
whereas the incident light meter does not vary whatsoever. (unless you go from sun to shade). so is the reflective hand held type really essential for street shooting?

what type of meter specifically is good for this?
what type do you use?

 

[Al Kaplan]

I have a little nylon belt pouch that holds a Weston Master V with the Invercone (incident light adapter) in place. If I want reflected readings I put the Invercone in my pocket. The meter fits in a pocket but the belt pouch is easier to use and gives better protection. Nobody notices the pouch if I wear it under a suit jacket. A second little pouch holds two or three rolls of 35mm film.

I find incident much better. Get to the location, make a few readings here and there, shade and sun outdoors or various areas of a room indoors, and go from there. You don't have to meter every shot.

 

[philipp.leser]

I have a Gossen Lunasix F which I use mainly for my medium format stuff. The thought of carrying a light meter which is almost as big as a 35mm camera just isn't attractive to me.

 

[mojobebop]

I have a little nylon belt pouch that holds a Weston Master V with the Invercone (incident light adapter) in place. If I want reflected readings I put the Invercone in my pocket. The meter fits in a pocket but the belt pouch is easier to use and gives better protection. Nobody notices the pouch if I wear it under a suit jacket. A second little pouch holds two or three rolls of 35mm film.

I find incident much better. Get to the location, make a few readings here and there, shade and sun outdoors or various areas of a room indoors, and go from there. You don't have to meter every shot.

nice little meter the weston. too bad no longer in production.
the thing about incident light readings for me at least is that it seems too easy.
one reading for sun. one for shade. with my experience/meter.
with the reflective, thru the lens type the reading may vary 1 to few stops
from a distance, so i wonder hot accurate the incident is.
i know for example you would have to compensate if you wanted to expose for
say someone's face which was not in direct sunlight.

 

[Benjamin]

..I wonder how accurate the incident meter is.
I know for example, that you would have to compensate if you wanted to expose for say somebodies face which was not in direct sunlight.

Something like the Sekonic L-308s seems to work well for that kind of thing. E.g; one can take a few incident readings 'here and there' and then thumb over to the lumigrid for reflective readings.

It's pretty quick, as quick as you are at least, and makes for an effective system.

The only downside I suppose is that the lumisphere is relatively small. Still, on the fly, it's good enough.

Benjamin

 

[colker]

nice little meter the weston. too bad no longer in production.
the thing about incident light readings for me at least is that it seems too easy.
one reading for sun. one for shade. with my experience/meter.
with the reflective, thru the lens type the reading may vary 1 to few stops
from a distance, so i wonder hot accurate the incident is.
i know for example you would have to compensate if you wanted to expose for
say someone's face which was not in direct sunlight.

you are shooting w/ a RF. you want easy, fast, groovy.
want difficult? go w 8x10😀

 

[waileong]

By your logic you should be able to ask anything anywhere and not bother about any subforums, right?

Tried asking a Nikon question in a Canon forum? Or tried praising Nikon in a Canon forum?

It's not just about bureaucracy.

I posted my reply only because the OP said he needed to justify his question here. But if his question is really about light meters, then there are potentially better places to ask, places where light meter experts and collectors congregate.

Yes, there are such people.

but that's the problem w/ endless subforums on a website. it's bureaucracy. it's like needing something from government and constantly being told to look in another section or jurisdiction.

i have cameras w/ built in meters. now i have 2 cameras w/out meters. each of them has a different operation mode and subject. different mood and ergonomics. i ask because i want inspiration from other M3 users. what's wrong w/it? nothing.
the other day i showed some pics and asked if the guys at the critique forum liked it.. someone posts "i don't like it". really? i could ask him to show me his and unleash some hardcore criticsm. pretty easy. but then if you don't have anything nice to say better to...

 

[Pickett Wilson]

I use either an L308s in incident mode or a little Gossen Pilot. The L308s slips in and out of my shirt pocket easily and weighs next to nothing.

 

[colker]

By your logic you should be able to ask anything anywhere and not bother about any subforums, right?

Tried asking a Nikon question in a Canon forum? Or tried praising Nikon in a Canon forum?

It's not just about bureaucracy.

I posted my reply only because the OP said he needed to justify his question here. But if his question is really about light meters, then there are potentially better places to ask, places where light meter experts and collectors congregate.

Yes, there are such people.

the question is about a light meter that fits well w/ the leica gestalt/operation/RF sensibility.