Help with my new Sekonic L-358

Can you help me out with my new meter. I have watched this video several times and it is pretty easy to figure this thing out. I see a lot of potential. I’m a little confused about one part of the process. I actually have 3 questions.

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=ozHMjxJbNQo


1. In the video Mark does an ambient reading first. Meter set to 1/60, shutter
priority and ISO 100.

2. Reading shows 1/60, F3.2, ISO 100.

3. Mark raises the ISO to 400 and does another reading. 1/60, F6.3, ISO 400.

4. Sets camera to these settings and does a test shot without flash.

5. Mark then puts meter to flash mode and sets flash to 1/8 power and fires the
flash.

Question 1. He states that now he is taking combined ambient and flash reading. Does this only affect the percentage reading only or are the shutter, aperture and ISO involved in this? The reason I ask is we’re coming up to where I get confused.

6. Mark sets meter to 1/60 and ISO 400 and fires a test shot and gets a aperture of
F8 and 40 %.

7. He would prefer 50% so he increases the flash to 1/4 power. 1/60, F10, 400 and
50%.

8. Then he states he is going to set the camera to these settings.

Question 2. Does he mean all of the camera settings? I thought he wanted to use F5.6 in the first place but now he is at F10? I realize that you have to do that to get a higher flash percentage but this still confuses me. If he is going to change the aperture that much why did he do an ambient reading in the first place?

While I tested this several times to keep F6.3 I just adjusted the flash power until the meter in flash mode read 1/60, F6.3, ISO 400. Not sure if this is correct. I’m assuming that this evenly balances the ambient and flash. Of course if I want more flash then I increase power and sacrifice DOF which in the studio probably does not matter that much.

Question 3. Since we are on this subject do the studio photographers do an ambient reading before flash reading or just go directly to flash? Seems to me going directly to flash is the correct method.

I can't help you with the other questions, but for Question 3: Almost all of the time in the studio you're going to want the flash to be the only thing contributing to the photograph. Unless you're using window light or are going for some kind of weird effects.

digital paradise wrote in post #12137672
Question 2. Does he mean all of the camera settings? I thought he wanted to use F5.6 in the first place but now he is at F10?

his shutter is 1/60, look at the sun, its come out to play, so new light meter reading = f/10 1/60, if he had increased his shutter or lowered his ISO he would be able to come back to f/6.3

q1. he changed the meter to flash mode with 1/60 iso400 fixed... the ss and iso are involved to determine the ambient/flash percentage.. apature will control the flash

q2. yes all of the camera settings.. 1/60 iso400 is the ambient... to get the flash to match the ambient at that distance he used 1/4 power at f10.. he is making 2 exposures... the shutter controls the ambient(exposure 1) and aperture will control the flash(exposure 2)

redrocket wrote in post #12138100
q1. he changed the meter to flash mode with 1/60 iso400 fixed... the ss and iso are involved to determine the ambient/flash percentage.. apature will control the flash

q2. yes all of the camera settings.. 1/60 iso400 is the ambient... to get the flash to match the ambient at that distance he used 1/4 power at f10.. he is making 2 exposures... the shutter controls the ambient(exposure 1) and aperture will control the flash(exposure 2)

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'm familiar with "the shutter controls the ambient(exposure 1) and aperture will control the flash(exposure". I just don't understand why he took an ambient reading first and then a flash reading when the flash reading changed the original aperture anyway.

Perhaps that was just a demonstration of how to take an ambient reading. Maybe I am confusing this thinking it is the process to follow for each mixed ambient/flash situation. In that situation it just seems easier to set the meter to flash, set the ISO and shutter speed then fire the flash. You look at the aperture and %, make whatever adjustments you want and when done set your camera to it.

sorry for the off topic question.. But could you use a RF602 or the new V5's to trigger the flash remotely from the L-358. ??

digital paradise wrote in post #12138350
Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'm familiar with "the shutter controls the ambient(exposure 1) and aperture will control the flash(exposure". I just don't understand why he took an ambient reading first and then a flash reading when the flash reading changed the original aperture anyway.

Perhaps that was just a demonstration of how to take an ambient reading. Maybe I am confusing this thinking it is the process to follow for each mixed ambient/flash situation. In that situation it just seems easier to set the meter to flash, set the ISO and shutter speed then fire the flash. You look at the aperture and %, make whatever adjustments you want and when done set your camera to it.

I think you are right that he did the ambient reading as a demonstration. It would also be helpful perhaps if he was totally clueless about the amount of light for the following reasons. He needs a starting point that keeps t he shutter speed below 1/250 at the desired aperture/ISO combo. If its too bright to keep sync speed, then you gotta lower the ISO (ignoring HSS if its available).

gonzogolf wrote in post #12138382
I think you are right that he did the ambient reading as a demonstration. It would also be helpful perhaps if he was totally clueless about the amount of light for the following reasons. He needs a starting point that keeps t he shutter speed below 1/250 at the desired aperture/ISO combo. If its too bright to keep sync speed, then you gotta lower the ISO (ignoring HSS if its available).

Thanks. Yes. I just noticed that near the beginning he stated he took the ambient exposure to see if there was enough light to even attempt a mixed ambient/flash image. I missed that the several times I watched it. That sure clears things up.

Also I just realized something about my statement about reducing flash power to achieve 6.3 aperture. If I reduce flash power I can't maintain 50% balance. duh

That is very good video. Sure simplifies using that unit. He has quite a few good tutorials.

digital paradise wrote in post #12139250
Thanks. Yes. I just noticed that near the beginning he stated he took the ambient exposure to see if there was enough light to even attempt a mixed ambient/flash image. I missed that the several times I watched it. That sure clears things up.

Also I just realized something about my statement about reducing flash power to achieve 6.3 aperture. If I reduce flash power I can't maintain 50% balance. duh

That is very good video. Sure simplifies using that unit. He has quite a few good tutorials.

I think you've discovered that you have to select the element thats most important to you and then adjust the other variables as needed to accommodate any changes. Usually for this type of work the fixed variable would be the aperture, to either limit or expand depth of field for creative purposes. That means using ISO and flash power to achieve the aperture you want, and then using your shutter speed to balance the ambient.

Yes I think you are correct.

Gaarryy wrote in post #12138355
sorry for the off topic question.. But could you use a RF602 or the new V5's to trigger the flash remotely from the L-358. ??

AFAIK, the Pocketwizard module is the only one for the L-358 to trigger the lights from the meter. (I think that's what you're asking?) If I was looking at either of those systems, I might just invest in a few extra transmitters to carry one with when I wanted to fire the light, but generally, it's easy enough to have the subject/assistant hold the flash meter and trigger it yourself...