Sekonic 308S Light Meter

I have a Sekonic 308S Light Meter set to 3rd stops. Does this automatically match how my Canon 70D is set up. I clicked the set button on the light meter and the F Stop reflected that I should set my camera to say 3.4. My camera did not have that F stop that the light meter wanted me to use. Any suggestions for this beginner to light meters? I was using a 24-70mm Canon lens.

Yes, what the meter tells you is what you plug into your camera to obtain a proper exposure. Is this a new unit? I'd check the manual to make sure it's set to report aperture values not EV values.

Manual: http://www.sekonic.com​/downloads/l-308s_english.pdf

To directly answer your question, no, the meter will not "match" your camera however, both your camera and the light meter use the same f/stop settings. Meaning that if your lens only opens up to f/5.6 and the meter suggests something bigger, you'll need to adjust the settings.

Think of it as a calculator that samples the light value and converts it into an exposure setting. Typically, for a light meter, you have to tell it what ISO you are shooting at and at what shutter speed your camera will be set to. The meter will then report the appropriate aperture for a proper exposure. From there you will need to modify that setting if the reported aperture is not available on your lens. This is usually done by modifying the camera's ISO or the light's power and/or distance to subject.

Remember with flash your shutter speed affects ambient light and not your flash output. Shutter speed will need to be within your camera's sync speed (typically 1/160-1/200-ish). Most modern meters allow you to toggle the settings up or down in order to determine a setting that does match what is available on your lens. As Alveric mentioned above, you should read the manual to understand the various settings available on your specific meter.

Hope this helps.

Custom Function I -1 sets your 70D to either 1/2 or 1/3 stop exposure increments.

pegmiester wrote in post #18189808
I have a Sekonic 308S Light Meter set to 3rd stops. Does this automatically match how my Canon 70D is set up. I clicked the set button on the light meter and the F Stop reflected that I should set my camera to say 3.4. My camera did not have that F stop that the light meter wanted me to use. Any suggestions for this beginner to light meters? I was using a 24-70mm Canon lens.

Heya,

It will closely match. You may find that your meter can be more specific than your camera in terms of the stops. F-3.4 for example is really F-3.5 on your camera's settings as your camera cannot get into 1/10th stops. Your camera will do 1/3rd stops at best, so you'll have to match the values as closely as approximately possible based on your light meter giving your much more specific metrics than your camera is able to dial in. That said, 1/10th of a stop is not a big deal at all, you won't notice it without measurements.

Very best,

No matter what, you'll still need to calibrate your meter to your different body/lens combo's, or make a list. Light temp effects also. Still, a meter is really nice to get to know and use.

Alveric wrote in post #18189844
I'd check the manual to make sure it's set to report aperture values not EV values.

Manual: http://www.sekonic.com​/downloads/l-308s_english.pdf

Would be my guess as well. Been using the 308 at work and it's easy to put it in EV mode.

How to use a Sekonic Light Meter
http://blog.keh.com …801350136189096​3872263944