Sekonic L358

I have been watching along of Joe Brady's webinars regarding metering using the incident meter. I am finding that the meter seems to be over exposing by a about 2 stops on my 5D. What's up with that?

I'm afraid that you'll have to explain in detail how you use the handheld meter and how you are arriving at the decision that "the meter" is overexposing.

It be close and don't use spot metering on the 5d. You do know the difference between incident and spot metering, right? Personally, incident metering is useless for me if I and the subject aren't under the same lighting condition....

SkipD wrote in post #16160275
I'm afraid that you'll have to explain in detail how you use the handheld meter and how you are arriving at the decision that "the meter" is overexposing.

I know the difference between an incident reading and a spot meter, I am using the meter for a landscape situation so hold the meter flat with the dome pointing up (per Joe's instructions).

Attached photo appears to me to be over exposed. Based on light room auto exp (for this experiment only) Lightroom shows -1.4 stop correction. The second image was in program mode on the camera, a little underexposed i believe. No white balance has been applied.

I might be missing something here (I am really tired :>, but I think you need to use the Lumigrid (not the dome (Lumisphere) to take reflectance readings.

Ron

DarenM wrote in post #16160790
..... I am using the meter for a landscape situation so hold the meter flat with the dome pointing up (per Joe's instructions).

The translucent dome should be pointed in the general direction of the camera (from the subject area) and not up when doing typical incident light measurements.

Using a light meter is an art, not a science. With that said, you need to do some static testing and calibrate your camera/lens combinations, being sure to take into account the fact that WB will effect exposure also.

DarenM wrote in post #16160790
I know the difference between an incident reading and a spot meter, I am using the meter for a landscape situation so hold the meter flat with the dome pointing up (per Joe's instructions).

Attached photo appears to me to be over exposed. Based on light room auto exp (for this experiment only) Lightroom shows -1.4 stop correction. The second image was in program mode on the camera, a little underexposed i believe. No white balance has been applied.

I think the first image is only 1 stop overexposed. The boats are white, right? Look at the roof and the road by the 4x4 there. They look somewhat in the 18% or 16% gray. Is zone 5. That's what your incident metering is metering for, 18% gray. The second shot is -2 stops underexposed. The white is not even white anymore.

TooManyShots wrote in post #16160901
I think the first image is only 1 stop overexposed. The boats are white, right? Look at the roof and the road by the 4x4 there. They look somewhat in the 18% or 16% gray. Is zone 5. That's what your incident metering is metering for, 18% gray. The second shot is -2 stops underexposed. The white is not even white anymore.

Ok..thanks..I am metering incident, not reflective.....Mr. Brady says that when you are doing a landscape, it is not practical to be at the distance part of the scene and point the dome back at the camera, and, since it is all the same light, you should point the dome up to take the overall reading. It just seemed to me that the whites were blown out with this exposure...fyi, time of day is early morning, cloudy skies..maybe there is just to much range between the sky and the rest of the scene. I will keep playing with it.

DarenM wrote in post #16160943
Ok..thanks..I am metering incident, not reflective.....Mr. Brady says that when you are doing a landscape, it is not practical to be at the distance part of the scene and point the dome back at the camera, and, since it is all the same light, you should point the dome up to take the overall reading.

Think about what you're doing with the meter and think about what's lighting the scene.

All of the light that's hitting the scene is NOT coming directly from the sky, yet that's all you are metering.

It's not uncommon to turn around and point an incident meter backwards, away from the scene and behind the camera to capture light from similar sources that are illuminating the scene. You want the meter to read the combination of light from the sky and all of the reflected light that combines with the direct light. That's really what's illuminating the scene that you are photographing.

SkipD wrote in post #16161033
Think about what you're doing with the meter and think about what's lighting the scene.

All of the light that's hitting the scene is NOT coming directly from the sky, yet that's all you are metering.

It's not uncommon to turn around and point an incident meter backwards, away from the scene and the behind camera to capture light from similar sources that are illuminating the scene. You want the meter to read the combination of light from the sky and all of the reflected light that combines with the direct light. That's really what's illuminating the scene that you are photographing.

Thanks..i have done some more testing this afternoon....a lot to learn for an old man..but i find it interesting and challenging..i will get it..i think maybe the light reflecting off the water came into play as well...thanks all for your comments.