Light Meter for Manual mode?

[Marley]

Does anyone use a exposure meter to achieve their aperture/shutter settings?

I just bought a digisix light meter and have tried my 10d in the manual mode for the first time.

The 10d has built in metering and I was wondering if adding this extra step is overkill.

I thought it woud be a good tool to learn with,
but was bought more because I just had to have it.
lol.

[justme_dc]

Actually it's a great way to learn what will and will not trick your internal light meter. With practice, comparing the readings you get from your external meter to the internal you'll develop a "feel" for how the camera "sees" a certian scene which will make you better able to predict what your exposure will be or if compensation will be required. On more than one occasion, with Film, I have trusted the internal meter and been sorry. I have an external light/flash meter in every camera kit I own. I don't leave home without one and it has paid off time and again. For the kind of work I do I'd be lost without a good light meter.

Good luck to you.

p.s. That Digisix sure is a cute little bugger! The thermometer and timer and alarm features are neat too! They'd save a lot of headaches when timing polariods.....

[jduncan]

so just out of interest, how are you finding the lightmeter. is it doing the job etc. have often thought about getting one myself

james

[scotgasch]

WATCH OUT!!! Be sure to confirm with the histogram. I have been using the minolta light meters for years on film cameras and just switched to digital. I have found that it depends on the camera what exposure you will need. My 1ds needs one full stop over to get proper exposure while my 10d is right on with the meter. Any explinations on this would be appreciated.

[Marley]

It's worked really well so far.
And it's small enough to carry in your pocket.

how do you test it against a histogram??

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/items/257033.jpg

[hugodrax]

I am starting to shoot full manual using the little meter just like my K1000. Its fun to go back to manual and very intuitive on the 10D I can control the parameters and get a better feel for how this DSLR exposes etc.. I manually focus for wideangle landscapes.

[Jon_Anhold]

marley wrote:
It's worked really well so far.
And it's small enough to carry in your pocket.

how do you test it against a histogram??

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/items/257033.jpg


I received a Gossen Digisix for Christmas last year.. It sure is cute :)

I haven't tried it much with the 10D or D30, but I have used it with my Yashica-D 6x6 camera and it works well. At around $109, it's a pretty good deal.

-j