Handheld Lightmeters

[drandy]

I have a D60 and generally work around some of the exposure "issues" through bracketing etc. I was wondering whether to try a separate handheld light meter. There are a variety of analog and digital models at a range of prices. Most of my work is outside, not studio. What are people's experience with light meters? Any recommendations on suitable models for outdoor work (say up to $250max)?

[daveh]

What problems are you having with the D60's meter and what are you expecting the handheld to do differently? Are you thinking incident or reflected light metering? I wouldn't expect the latter to be significantly different than what's built-in to the D60, and for the former, I'd try metering off a gray card first to see if the solves the problem before making the investment.

[Belmondo]

I just picked up a Penax Spotmeter V on eBay. It was an older unit and I was a little leery of the readings, so I bit the bullet and bought a brand new one. As it turns out, the exposure values were about 1/2 a number different---not significant and easily compensated for. I guess the older unit will go back on eBay one of these days (with an appropriate caveat emptor, of course).

The first time or two I tried using the new Spotmeter with the camera in manual mode, I got terrible results. Then I remembered the polarizer, and added a couple f-stops to the settings, and that worked well. The point of all this is to eventually become proficient in the Zone System of exposure evaluation. In the meantime, the built-in metering system in the camera is more than adequate for most shooting environments.

Besides, since there is no cost of film or processing, there really isn't a reason not to keep shooting the same picture repeatedly until you get a pleasing result.

If you are considering a light meter, though, I think the only type that will give you any benefit of the built-in metering system would be a spot meter. There are several on the market, all of which probably do a fine job and will fall within your budget.

Tom

P.S. I've got a fine, used Spotmeter V that works well and gives reasonably accurate readings. It was only driven by a little old lady to church on Sunday.

Caveat emptor (let the buyer beware).

[DaveG]

I really don't see much use in having a light meter with a digital camera. The histogram is going to be more accurate than the meter and it's WYSIWYG, not what the meter thinks that you will get. The in-camera meter will get you close enough and then all you can do is bracket the exposure.

However if you are working with manual studio strobe set ups then a flash meter is still needed so that you can easily establish lighting ratio's.

These kinds of flash meters won't work with the Canon's wireless TTL by the way since the first "information" flash pop will trigger the flash meter and give you no reading for the real pop. I'm wondering if any of the newer flash meters have a circuit to ignore that first weak flash pulse. Has anyone heard?

In any case unless you use or plan to use studio strobe's don't by an incident or spot meter and save your money.

[scottbergerphoto]

My 2c:
1. You must use a flash meter if you are going to do studio lighting. Consider the Sekonic L358.
2. If your shooting a picture with a wide range of tones/intensities of light and you want to properly expose one area, you must use a spot meter which the 10D doesn't have. There is a 5 degree spot meter attachment available for the L358 or you could buy a meter with the spot metering built in.
One advantage on an incident light meter is the fact that you are measuring ambient and not reflected light. That way you don't have to worry as much about correcting for the difference between your subject and 18% grey as you do with a reflected meter like the one in the camera. (A spot Meter or Spot Attachment is a reflected measurement and you will have to do a correction for tone.)

[Vegas Poboy]

I have to agree with Scott on the meters, currently I'm using the L358 and it works great. It really helps for studio projects. Spot meters are also pretty good for long distance shots, most of the digital Pros recommends using a meter and the spot meter anywhere from 1 to 5 degrees.
Remember digital is alot more sensitive to light than film, always check white balance and use a grey card then bracket will save you a couple hundred dollars. For the amountyou want to spend I really don't have any recommendations. for a combo meter. It would be cheaper to get a compact flash card then a meter unless you have the dollars to spend.
The only reason I purchased mine was for photography classes.

[MadMesh]

My 2c:
1. You must use a flash meter if you are going to do studio lighting. Consider the Sekonic L358.
2. If your shooting a picture with a wide range of tones/intensities of light and you want to properly expose one area, you must use a spot meter which the 10D doesn't have. There is a 5 degree spot meter attachment available for the L358 or you could buy a meter with the spot metering built in.
One advantage on an incident light meter is the fact that you are measuring ambient and not reflected light. That way you don't have to worry as much about correcting for the difference between your subject and 18% grey as you do with a reflected meter like the one in the camera. (A spot Meter or Spot Attachment is a reflected measurement and you will have to do a correction for tone.)


Can the 20D do Spot Metering?

[SkipD]

Can the 20D do Spot Metering?The best the 20D can do is approximately a 9-degree cone.

I use a 1-degree attachment on my Sekonic L-358 when doing outdoor work that has a variety of lighting levels that I need to compensate for.

By the way, I have learned that MANY more of their 1-degree attachments are sold than the 5-degree and 10-degree units. I guess I am not surprised.

[MadMesh]

So your saying the 20D can do spot metering, but its going to be in a "reflective metering mode" not incident mode, and not as accurate as a seperate light meter.

Also, do you know the difference beteween the cameras Evaluative and Average metering modes? How do i turn the camera into a Spot Metering Mode?

[SkipD]

The 20D can NOT do real spot metering. It can meter an approximate 9-degree cone which I don't consider anywhere near real spot metering. That is done with the "partial" metering mode. That is the method I always use with the 20D if I am using the built-in meter.

I typically define "spot" metering as 5-degrees or less, most often 1-degree, and spot metering is always reflected light metering.

ALL built-in camera metering is reflected light metering.

Different meters will read the same subject differently for a variety of reasons. Different meters may look at a different portion of the subject material because of different acceptance angles of their sensors. Different meters respond to colors differently. An incident meter may show a different reading than a reflected light meter because of the same things. This doesn't make one meter particularly better than another. You need to know how to interpret what a meter tells you and set your camera accordingly.

You should never expect any meter to be "perfect" all the time. You will frequently find yourself trying to meter subjects that just don't seem to "follow the rules". A meter is just a tool, and you have to know how to apply your tools in a variety of situations. Having a good multi-mode handheld meter (such as the Sekonic L-358) gives you a lot of flexibility in applying the tools to various situations.

[MadMesh]

Skip, thank you so much for your help! Thankks Everyone =)

[MadMesh]

That is done with the "partial" metering mode. That is the method I always use with the 20D if I am using the built-in meter.

I never really used partial metering mode, most of the time i use Evaluative Metering with the camera. Ive rarly even tryed to use the Center Weighted metering mode.

Evaluate = Entire View Finder
Partila Metering = The circle in the center of the viewfinder.

Correct me if im wrong,..

Im guessing if the main subject fills the circle, then i should really be shooting in Partial metering mode, and using evaluative metering for things like landscape...?

[Wilt]

The 20D can NOT do real spot metering. It can meter an approximate 9-degree cone which I don't consider anywhere near real spot metering. That is done with the "partial" metering mode.

The 20D measures a NINE PERCENT area of the frame. The angular measurement (degrees) is totally dependent on the focal length of the lens at the time the measurement is made.

True handheld spotmeters measure 1-5 degrees, and 'real spotmeters' like the Minolta Spotment F measure on ONE degree. SLRs that claim to have spotmeters will always be subject to variation caused by lens focal length (which can be an advantage at times).

Spotmeters are all reflective devices. Incident meters do not have an angle of acceptance. Incident meters can measure with flat disk (primarily for flat work copying) or hemisheres (typically for normal work like portraits). Larger hemispheres are considered by some to have advantages over smaller hemisheres.

[chtgrubbs]

In contrasty lighting situations I use an incident meter. By reading the direct light or the shadow illumination I bias my exposure to preserve highlights or shadows respectively. But for 80% of situations I use evaluative metering and the histogram for exposure determination.,

[Wilt]

<Correct me if im wrong,.. Im guessing if the main subject fills the circle, then i should really be shooting in Partial metering mode, and using evaluative metering for things like landscape...?>

Correct, only if the suject is the only thing in the scene which you want exposed properly, and you don't truly care what happens anywhere else in the scene ('it falls where it falls'. If you have two or more different objects in the scene, and want all to be acceptable in exposure, the evaluative would factor that in better than merely pointing your partial zone at a single subject.
Using a true spotmeter, you would individually meter each object, then mentally calculate where to set your exposure to best most/all of them.

[dmwierz]

The best the 20D can do is approximately a 9-degree cone.

I use a 1-degree attachment on my Sekonic L-358 when doing outdoor work that has a variety of lighting levels that I need to compensate for.

By the way, I have learned that MANY more of their 1-degree attachments are sold than the 5-degree and 10-degree units. I guess I am not surprised.

Skip, I have an L-358 and have considered getting the 1 degree atachement, but wondered how do you accurately aim it? With a 1 degree FOV, you could easily be aiming at the wrong thing, no?

I know one of the higher-end Sekonics has a viewer that shows where the meter is aimed, but how do you accurately aim the 358?

Dennis

[Wilt]

<1 degree atachement, but wondered how do you accurately aim it? >

Usually spot meters have a lens-based viewing system in which the sensitive area is identified by an outline in the middle of the view.

[dmwierz]

<1 degree atachement, but wondered how do you accurately aim it? >

Usually spot meters have a lens-based viewing system in which the sensitive area is identified by an outline in the middle of the view.

Yes I know. I think that's what I said at the end of the post you quoted. So then how does one do it with an L-358 that has no lens yet is equipped with a 1 degree meter lens?

[Wilt]

I have a Minolta Autometer IVf. The spot attachment lens goes in place of the hemisphere diffuser, and the eyepiece of the lens system sticks out beyond the normal meter body. I imagine a similar thing would apply for the Sekonic

[SkipD]

Skip, I have an L-358 and have considered getting the 1 degree atachement, but wondered how do you accurately aim it? With a 1 degree FOV, you could easily be aiming at the wrong thing, no?

I know one of the higher-end Sekonics has a viewer that shows where the meter is aimed, but how do you accurately aim the 358?Look at the spot viewing adapter on the web (see http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=232358&is=REG&addedTroughType=search ) and you can see where it goes into the meter. The rest is a viewfinder that you look through. The total view is much larger than the active portion (a small circle in the viewfinder) so that you can see the area around what you are metering.