atwood1202 Posted February 7, 2008 Share #1 Posted February 7, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) i havent used a camera where a light meter was necessar for a little while and was never too good at it i pulled out my old hasselblad 500ctu and found that the light meter had dissapeared from the case i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what to buy in replacement that could do iso320 i was also wondering if anyone had any tips or a site that would help me learning to use it again it has been a while... thanks for your help, mark:confused: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 7, 2008 Posted February 7, 2008 Hi atwood1202, Take a look here light meter question. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
spydrxx Posted February 7, 2008 Share #2 Posted February 7, 2008 Honestly, if you weren't very good before, you can try a couple of approaches to get started again...get a good book, like Ansel Adams' "the negative", get any reasonably priced light meter with instructions, or try the Sunny 16 rule for a roll and see how you do. You might be surprised, and if it works for you, it will help you understand how to make the necessary adjustments as you begin using a light meter.Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted February 7, 2008 Share #3 Posted February 7, 2008 Mark, I am on record a number of times saying that the "best" meter I have for my M2, IIIc and IID is my Panasonic FX--01. I set it to the same ISO as the film I have loaded, and half-depress the shutter button to get a reading. I can zoom the lens to get a smaller aperture, and I can set it to "spot" if I want to. Above all, I can use it as a backup, and to take pictures that are beyond the capabilities of my meterless Leicas - flash photos, movies, etc. I can even adjust exposure compensation to allow for any filters I have fitted. I tend to meter once when I start shooting, then adjust aperture or shutter speed up or down a stop or two either as conditions change or to compensate for white wall/black subject or vice versa. I rarely meter more than once or twice while I am out and about - conditions don't change that quickly. It is smaller than many handheld meters, and it works - what more do you need? Other than that, I use Sunny f16. It works (although in the UK in Winter it is nearer to Sunny-f11). It doesn't take much to do the necessary mental calculations to adjust aperture and exposure up and down. Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. white Posted February 7, 2008 Share #4 Posted February 7, 2008 I tend to meter once when I start shooting, then adjust aperture or shutter speed up or down a stop or two either as conditions change or to compensate for white wall/black subject or vice versa. I rarely meter more than once or twice while I am out and about - conditions don't change that quickly. It is smaller than many handheld meters, and it works - what more do you need? I agree with Bill's points on this one - my own version of which is that the best meter is the one you're most likely to have with you and enjoy using while shooting. Try a few different models out to get a feel for their ergonomics - digital vs. analog, etc. The sunny 16 rule is surprisingly effective, but as pointed out, augment it with empirical research for the parts of the world in which you shoot. After much practice, you'll find that you depend less and less on a meter at all. My experience defines "much practice" as a period of roughly twenty years. You mileage may vary! -J. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted February 7, 2008 Share #5 Posted February 7, 2008 I use a Minolta Spotmeter F, metering for the point I want the first detail to emerge then close down 2 stops. This places the dark shadows on zone III. Failing that you could do as others suggest and use another camera or even sunny 16 which is basically what the film companies used to print inside the box with those weather symbols. Depends on the type of film you use to a certain extent, I use sunny 16 with my Rollei 35 and neg film, not sure I'd like to shoot Kodachrome 64 or Velvia though. Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted February 7, 2008 Share #6 Posted February 7, 2008 Good point Mark. I use Sunny 16 with Kodak 400CN. It has wide latitude, and I use it exclusively in my non-metered bodies so I know exactly how it behaves under given conditions. Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
osscat Posted February 8, 2008 Share #7 Posted February 8, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) You need to ensure that your method of development is 'constant'. It is the 'control' for all exposures. This applies to all films and all ISO (ASA) settings - it means different methods for pushing or reducing ISO - if the emulsion used is a constant too then you have even more control. Most emulsions should give you at least two stops latitude anyway. I used a Weston Master V - the invacone gives incident light reading (with the 'cone pointed to the main light source) - otherwise it is much the same as in manually setting white balance on a digicam with either a white or grey card, point the lightmeter at the card and the subject and there you have it - multiple choice either exposure for highlights or the average midpoint. After time, with the same emulsion, lenses, darkroom method and darkroom equipment my best lightmeter was in my head. My Nikon F2 was good for accurate exposure - my Oly OM1n was fine too. However, I had two Oly bodies that gave different readings, one equivalent to the F2 and the other half a stop under, this one I used for colour slides as it gave them almost perfect results. Hope that has not confused. A google for ' invacone lightmeter ' brings up some interesting results. regards Osscat Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
atwood1202 Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share #8 Posted February 8, 2008 thanks a lot for the help ... i have landed on the minolta IVf ill post some results when im done... if they aren't terrible! thanks, mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karreaux Posted December 9, 2009 Share #9 Posted December 9, 2009 Sorry for bringing up this (old) thread, but i also have a light-meter question. Since a few months i use a Leica M6 with the in-built metering system. I also have a Gossen lightmeter, Hasselblad in-built meter etc. So i do know where to measure for correct exposure; most of te time I look for an average light condition in the frame. (=dont measure towards the sky, light sources, or very dark shadows). Only with my M6, I've noticed that my pictures in general looked to dark. I think that comes because the light-meter is hyper sensitive to light sources (like a little candle, a little bit of the sky, some reflection). Even a tiny little spot in the background has a large effect on the metering, thats not the case with my other meters. So, at this moment i almost all the times search for the darkest point of my frame, and measure towards that. And i dont care about the higllights in the frame. Well, those pictures came out just fine. It isnt really a problem, but it's sad it took me so long to know what went wrong. Anyone has similar expierence ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
E.M Posted December 9, 2009 Share #10 Posted December 9, 2009 I used to have a Gossen Lunasix 3 , very decent lightmeter , but unfortunately it got stolen together with a brand new Nikon F . Now I have a Sekonic studio deluxe and a Minolta autometer IV F . I prefer the Minolta for it's fast operation , but the Sekonic is better in very cold conditions ( didn't stop working as the Minolta did in Beijing once ) . Etienne Michiels Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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