SnapperJ Posted November 25, 2007 Share #1 Posted November 25, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am thinking of getting a separate light meter. I used in the past a Weston and a Pentax Spot. What do you use, can you recommend one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 25, 2007 Posted November 25, 2007 Hi SnapperJ, Take a look here Light Meter. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
rwfreund Posted November 25, 2007 Share #2 Posted November 25, 2007 I use the camera itself. Chimping and judicious use of the histogram gives me a more complete view of clipping as well as over-all exposure. -bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnapperJ Posted November 25, 2007 Author Share #3 Posted November 25, 2007 I use the camera itself.Chimping and judicious use of the histogram gives me a more complete view of clipping as well as over-all exposure. -bob That’s ok if you have the time to shoot and evaluate. I need a good meter so that I have the camera set ready to go in mixed low light. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pekem Posted November 25, 2007 Share #4 Posted November 25, 2007 I am thinking of getting a separate light meter. I used in the past a Weston and a Pentax Spot. What do you use, can you recommend one. In the past you have used two very different meters. In conjunction with an M8 I am finding it difficult to imagine a situation when a hand held meter costing quite a lot of money would serve me better than the M8's internal meter. How exactly do you propose to use your M8? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted November 25, 2007 Share #5 Posted November 25, 2007 ...I am finding it difficult to imagine a situation when a hand held meter costing quite a lot of money would serve me better than the M8's internal meter Any scene that doesn't average to whatever the grey that the M8 meter is set to? Very bright or very dark for example. As we approach winter in the northern hemisphere snow, or for those lucky people in sunnier climes sand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker Posted November 25, 2007 Share #6 Posted November 25, 2007 I am thinking of getting a separate light meter. I used in the past a Weston and a Pentax Spot. What do you use, can you recommend one. Jeremy, I find the Sekonic range good. There is a small one that does incident and reflected - Sekonic L-308S FLASHMATE whihc I have used and been very happy with. Very pocketable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted November 25, 2007 Share #7 Posted November 25, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have a Sekonic 508 that includes a spot meter. Bought used for about £120. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethC Posted November 25, 2007 Share #8 Posted November 25, 2007 I'm looking at the Sekonic L-508 as it can kill more than one bird as it were. Chimping is not really the best way of metering the light, generally you have to rely solely on the histogram as the tiny little picture on the screen won't really show you too much. A one degree spot meter can really help so that you can retain detail in the part of the image that you are focussed on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyedeebee Posted November 25, 2007 Share #9 Posted November 25, 2007 I use the absolute basic Sekonic L-208 - Always been reliable with my iiic. With my M6, I tend to use the internal meter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubenkok Posted November 25, 2007 Share #10 Posted November 25, 2007 Jeremy, What do you want to do with it? For most photo work you can use the in-build camera meter. For portraits I use the Gossen Digipro F and it works excellent, you can also use this meter for flash systems For landscapes it better to use a spot meter. Some nice reading: Accurate Exposure with Your Meter Reflected light vs Incident light Meters:Sekonic Hope this is some help regards, Ruben Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwfreund Posted November 25, 2007 Share #11 Posted November 25, 2007 A rough approximation of incident, and which will get close to the Weston, is to meter your hand or some other convenient mid-tone with the built in meter. I your light is REALLY mixed, then either a spot, and I like the Sekonic for this, or swag and shoot. Taking a shot and evaluating is faster and more accurate than probing around with a spot meter and calculating. -bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfarkas Posted November 25, 2007 Share #12 Posted November 25, 2007 If you only need incident metering, a Gossen Digipro-F, Sekonic L-308, or Sekonic L-358 are all good choices. If you need a spot meter as well as incident the Gossen Starlite or the Sekonic L-758DR are both excellent. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent10D Posted November 25, 2007 Share #13 Posted November 25, 2007 I have two Sekonic meters: an old Studio Deluxe (with an "ASA" rather than "ISO" dial), and a new L-758D. The L-758D gets used quite a bit for flash metering, but neither get used much outdoors. The advantage of the old Studio Deluxe (you could also get a new version -- the Mark III I think) is that it doesn't require batteries at all. It only does incident readings, however. The L-758D is about the best there is at the moment if you want incident and spot metering with memory, auto averaging, and just about every other feature under the sun. It is a bit bulky though, which is why it stays home when I go out. I was looking at the Gossen Digi Six for portability at one point. It's really tiny, and even has a clock with alarm, timer, and thermometer readouts. But the built-in meters on my M8 and M6 do a good enough job (once you learn their quirks) that I decided not to bother. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodyspedden Posted November 25, 2007 Share #14 Posted November 25, 2007 I have a Sekonic 508 that includes a spot meter. Bought used for about £120. I use the Sekonic L558 which I find extremely accurate. I use it mostly in high contrast conditions where the internal spot metering tends to be too large. The 1 degree spot works well to determine the total dynamic range of light trying to be captured. Hanging it around your neck is pretty simple as it is very light weight and small. Having said that I still use the camera meter for the lions share of my shots. The Sekonic is another tool to use when the light requires it. Woody Spedden Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnapperJ Posted November 25, 2007 Author Share #15 Posted November 25, 2007 In the past you have used two very different meters. In conjunction with an M8 I am finding it difficult to imagine a situation when a hand held meter costing quite a lot of money would serve me better than the M8's internal meter. How exactly do you propose to use your M8? Sorry I did not make it clear I used those meters 20 years ago. Since then I have used in camera meters. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnapperJ Posted November 25, 2007 Author Share #16 Posted November 25, 2007 Jeremy,What do you want to do with it? For most photo work you can use the in-build camera meter. For portraits I use the Gossen Digipro F and it works excellent, you can also use this meter for flash systems For landscapes it better to use a spot meter. Some nice reading: Accurate Exposure with Your Meter Reflected light vs Incident light Meters:Sekonic Hope this is some help regards, Ruben Thanks for the links. The built in meter is good for general flat light. What I have found is that when shooting dusk or night pictures where bright lights from overhead bear bulbs on stalls can cause errors. I need a good incident meter. The picture below give a good indication of the type of work I need the meter for. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwfreund Posted November 25, 2007 Share #17 Posted November 25, 2007 For that shot, I would be tempted to tilt the camera a bit down and to the right, and then to lock in the exposure, re-compose then shoot. I doubt that you would get much different results with a meter. -bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnastovall Posted November 26, 2007 Share #18 Posted November 26, 2007 I'm a traditionalist and use the Sekonic L-398A simple easy and no batteries.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmk60 Posted November 26, 2007 Share #19 Posted November 26, 2007 Thanks for the links. The built in meter is good for general flat light. What I have found is that when shooting dusk or night pictures where bright lights from overhead bear bulbs on stalls can cause errors. I need a good incident meter. The picture below give a good indication of the type of work I need the meter for. I have been using a Sekonic L-508 (zoom spot and incident dome) for many years. It was "a must have" item when I was shooting with films and it helped a lot. I must admit that I use it less often these days because of the instant review and histogram on the digital camera. I, however, still use it in the conditions that you mentioned. If you just need an incident meter, go for a small, basic one. L-508 is almost as large as the M6 body!! cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Roberts Posted November 26, 2007 Share #20 Posted November 26, 2007 I'm a traditionalist and use the Sekonic L-398A simple easy and no batteries.... With no flash to worry about that's what I use too (and it works well for the M3 too ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.