Got Sekonic 358 - Now Confused

[Baadil]

Hi Everyone,

I am back with my personal issues :-)

I finally got a brand new Senokic 358 flash meter. Read the book and with so many options I am so very confused.

I will be using this with my 4x AB800 indoors. I am thinking I will use it as a ambient/flash tester instead of testing for reflected light. Currently I am using one of the ebay wireless triggers with my ABs.

If you had this setup, what setting would you set on the meter to use it properly? What about dip switches? Also, when testing, would you have only your main light turned on or all of them as a particular setup might call for?

Also, in brightly lit room (with three huge windows and sunlight coming in), I am getting 1/60-2.8-ISO100 at best in the shade. Is this how it usually is? May be I am getting too old to measure this stuff with my eyes :-)

Thanks.

[MarKap77]

Wow, there is so much in you post, I don't know where to start.

First off, congratulations on the -358. It is a fine light meter.

Okay, how do you meter a setup? I will tell you what I was taught by Chris Grey, author of "Mater Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers". First off, you should meter each light individually. If you have a three light setup, first meter the key light to the exposure you want, then the fill light by itself, then the hair light/background light. How you set up the ratios is a matter of taste and style, so I won't tell you what to do on that issue.

Once you have your ratios set up, meter the entire setup with all lights to get the final exposure, set your camera and shoot.

As to HOW to meter, extend the dome on your meter, and for the key light, place it in the position of your subject. If it is a portrait and the subject is in position, place it just below the subject's chin. Point the dome directly into the lens of the camera to get an accurate reading. Do the same with the fill light. For the background, place the meter on the background at the center point of where the light strikes the background. For a hair light, place the meter on your subject's head with the dome pointed toward the hair light.

One of the nice feactures of the Sekonic meters is the ability to get a ratio of flash to ambient light from the meter. It will tell you how much of your light is coming from each source.

As to shooting with only ambient light and getting a low reading, if that is what the meter says, it is most likely correct. Sekonic meters come from the factory pretty dead on accurate. Having said that, it is possible that there is some error in your meter. Mine reads about 2/3 stop dark. Try using a setting a little up or down from the metered reading and see if you can't get a better exposure within 1 stop of that value.

A good source for this sort of thing is here (http://www.shootsmarter.com/). Will Crocket has several online and DVD selections that speak directly to this sort of thing.

Good luck, and happy shooting.

Regards,

[Baadil]

Thank you Mark for the detailed reply. It helped a lot for sure. I guess I still have a lot to learn :-)