Sekonic 785DR Owners

[Vacation]

What do you like about your meters?

How do you use it?

Stengths and weaknesses?

Calibration how is it done?

Any useful web sites? I have googled and only found part 1 and 2 video on you tube which is more general and not specific.

ANY HELP APPRECIATED!

[RichNY]

Forgetting about calibration, one of the best things about the 558/758 is the fact that you can switch between incident metering of a subject to reflective metering of the background w/o physically changing parts on the meter. This along with 1 % spot metering built in are the major reasons to go with this model vs. the Sekonic 308/358.

[TMR Design]

Hi Vacation,

I own and use an L-758DR every day of the week. It's one of the best tools and investments I could have made for my studio and lighting kit. It's accurate and consistent and offers a feature set that is fabulous.

As Rich pointed out, you have the luxury of going between incident and reflective spot metering quickly and easily without removing or exchanging components. The LED viewfinder is great and 1 degree spot metering is fantastic because it enables you to take meter reading from a distance and maintain accuracy. When rendering backgrounds black or white all the guesswork is gone and you can meter from camera position and it saves you a lot of running around.

The averaging function is nice and very helpful if you working with or learning the Zone System. Of course, seamless integration with Pocket Wizards for remote triggering and metering is a beautiful thing. If you're using Pocket Wizard Multi Max's you can even take advantage of selective quad triggering for different zones or shooting locations in a large studio.

Calibration an be handled on a few levels, ranging from global calibration to independent calibration of incident and reflective for flash or ambient as well as going to the extent of establishing a custom profile for every mode and every ISO with the ability to have 3 presets that can be used for different cameras, lenses or anything you wish.

Battery life is quite good with the CR-123(A) and even though wireless triggering of Pocket Wizards uses a lot more power for the transmitter, I still find battery life to be very good.... but I do always make sure I keep a spare battery in the little holder inside the case.

I don't know what's around the corner in terms of light meters but in my opinion the L-758DR is the Porsche (or Rolls Royce if you prefer) of meters. It does everything, it does it well and I can't think of anything it doesn't offer that I could want. I can't think of anything negative to say about this meter. :D

[WMWARD2]

RichNY and TMR Design have spoken the truth! This is a wonderful tool to have in your kit.
TMR Design did a wonderful review on the meter a long time ago and based on that review, I purchased one. Each and everyday, I say thank you Rob!

[TMR Design]

Thanks for the kind words Wally. As you found out, it's a brilliant meter and very cool to use. It makes life so easy and allows me to work quickly and efficiently, and when critical readings and exposure are needed I can rely on it every time.

One key thing to always remember, even when using a hand held light meter, is that there will always be a technically correct exposure and a creative one. The light meter is making a suggestion based on given parameters and the way it 'sees' the light. It's up to the photographer to determine whether that technically correct suggestion is a better choice than a creative exposure that may help you achieve a concept of artistic expression.

The beauty of a tool such as this one is that it lets you explore that creative side and understand exposure in a way that is hard to do without the use a light meter.

[SYS]

TMR Design did a wonderful review on the meter a long time ago and based on that review, I purchased one. Each and everyday, I say thank you Rob!

Same here! :D

[NancLou]

I just purchased the Sekonic 758 and am having a hard time understanding how to set it up. I loaded the software & set it for ambient, but would like the ambient and spot, both. Do I add the spot settings or begin from scratch? I've tried adding the spot, and nothing "takes". Do I need to do a reset first?
How do I find custom settings mode #17 and item #2?
Nancy

[TMR Design]

I just purchased the Sekonic 758 and am having a hard time understanding how to set it up. I loaded the software & set it for ambient, but would like the ambient and spot, both. Do I add the spot settings or begin from scratch? I've tried adding the spot, and nothing "takes". Do I need to do a reset first?
How do I find custom settings mode #17 and item #2?
Nancy

Hi Nancy.

Let's see if we can make some sense of this for you.

First of all, loading the software to your computer does nothing until you follow the procedure for creating a custom profile. Getting the feel for the meter and learning to use it should come before you begin profiling.

Pressing (and holding) the 'MODE' button and turning the jog wheel will switch between the various modes, starting with Ambient as the far left icon of the sun and then moving to the right you move to Flash (cordless auto-reset), Flash (corded) and then Flash (cordless via built-in Pocket Wizard radio trigger).

Switching between incident and reflective readings is done with the knob on the right side of the meter that surrounds the eyepiece. When you're in reflective mode you are taking spot meter readings (1 degree to be exact) via the eyepiece and lens. Readings can be seen on the front display or in the LED view finder.

There are icons on that knob to indicate the method of metering, with the white icon showing the dome up representing incident and the blue icon with the arrow pointing through from the eye piece towards the lens representing reflective metering.

By selecting the MODE and method of metering you can take any type of reading you like quickly and easily.

You enter the custom function mode by turning the meter off. Then hold down the MODE button as you power up and you will see CS in the top right of the display, the custom function number will be at the bottom left and the value for that parameter will be a larger number at the right of the display. Turning the jog wheel will scroll through the custom settings. Pressing the MODE button will scroll through the available values for that setting. It's easy to get confused so be careful as you are doing this and make sure you know whether you're scrolling the custom settings and when you're changing a value.

Once you've set your custom functions as you like then turn the meter off and then back on as you normally would and you'll have exited the Custom Settings and the meter will be operational with those settings you established.

[NancLou]

Hi Robert
Thanks so much for the quick reply. I was swimming in the dark here.
Another question.
Was the meter then operational when I opened it & installed the battery yesterday?
If so, I will become familiar with it before customizing it.
I use Cannon 5D & 10D, shoot mostly outside except for proms & events.
Nancy

[TMR Design]

Hi Robert
Thanks so much for the quick reply. I was swimming in the dark here.
Another question.
Was the meter then operational when I opened it & installed the battery yesterday?
If so, I will become familiar with it before customizing it.
I use Cannon 5D & 10D, shoot mostly outside except for proms & events.
Nancy

HI Nancy,

The meter may not be perfectly calibrated to your camera right out of the box but it's close enough to get started and the first time turn it on you're ready to rock and roll. :D

The custom functions don't have to change to begin using the meter.

[TMR Design]

Going back to what you were asking about in your original questions, setting Custom function 17 to a value of 2 will allow you to take incident and reflective readings without having to turn the metering mode knob.

[Quad]

Going back to what you were asking about in your original questions, setting Custom function 17 to a value of 2 will allow you to take incident and reflective readings without having to turn the metering mode knob.

CF17-2 Changes which button is used to take a measurement. At setting 2 the round button is used to take a measurement in Incident Mode and the square rubber button is used for Spot Metering like a trigger. You still need to turn the eyepiece switch to change the mode.

[TMR Design]

CF17-2 Changes which button is used to take a measurement. At setting 2 the round button is used to take a measurement in Incident Mode and the square rubber button is used for Spot Metering like a trigger. You still need to turn the eyepiece switch to change the mode.

You are correct Quad. I was doing too many things at once when I wrote that. Thank you.

[akfreak]

Sorry when did Sekonic come out with a L-785DR? "Sekonic 785DR Owners" I looked all over and can only find info on the 758DR am I missing somting?

[zwicko]

Sorry when did Sekonic come out with a L-785DR? "Sekonic 785DR Owners" I looked all over and can only find info on the 785dr Am I missing somting?

Yes, your typo and the TO´s... ;)