Sekonic 358 vs XT

[emarkwick]

Can anybody help me figure out why my Sekonic L358 doesn't agree with the internal metering on my XT? It's suggesting the exposure should be about 2 stops over what the XT says (it seems that the XT metering is right and the 358 if off). I can adjust it out using the compensation setting on the 358, but is that normal?

FYI, the tests were done with a color calendar hung against a white wall, using ambient light. XT was set full manual, with a 1.4 50mm lens closed right down to 22. The 358 was set on ambient light, shutter priority mode with the lumisphere retracted.

Any help you can will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers, Elson
XT, 50mm 1.4 EF, Sekonic 358, Alien Bee B400s

[emarkwick]

PS forgot to mention - the 358 was set up for incident light, not reflective.

EM

[René Damkot]

Just guessing: XT on evaluative metering?

[Mayfly]

Yup that sounds about right. Your meter is not going to give you the same reading as your camera since it is set to incident. The sekonic is reading how much light is falling on the subject while the camera is reading how much light is being reflected of the subject.............Trust your sekonic for it knows much;)

[SkipD]

Quite honestly, it sounds to me like you have not really learned how to use one or both of the meters. There are many situations where one needs to fully understand how the meters work and modify methods accordingly. You have not provided enough information for an honest analysis of your particular problem.

I would suggest going outdoors on a typical sunny day. Using the "Sunny 16" method as a rough reference (1/ISO for a shutter speed at f/16), compare that to readings taken with the L-358 in incident mode (Lumisphere extended and pointed toward the camera from the subject's position) and the camera's meter (scanning the entire scene with the meter and mentally averaging the meter's readings). That should be a good test for you. You can also add the L-358's readings in reflected mode to the comparison as well, again scanning the entire scene and averaging readings for comparison purposes.