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Do you use a Light meter when you shoot digital..?
RobHowardStudios wrote: Nov 30 05 08:12 pm Link RobHowardStudios wrote: Hey Rob... Nov 30 05 08:17 pm Link Light meter? You mean that thing that guys with large-format cameras have to use because there is no light meter built into their cameras? Um. Nope. Never use one. Nov 30 05 08:37 pm Link RobHowardStudios wrote: Thanks for the compliment, as someone else said, sometimes you get lucky!! Nov 30 05 08:42 pm Link I have barely used a meter in several years, I never use a histogram but I do get canon to clibrate my camera lcds to be as accurate as possible then use aplied camera curves to bump it to the actual limits of my camera per shot so the blinking blowout falls just before actual blow out on a native as exposed raw conversion. I use a 1DSMII and Phase and Leaf backs, but usually a 1DSMII now-a-days. It pays to know people who can adjust things to work right which makes them reliable. And I shoot everything in manual mode, I dont like the cameras meters or the cameras decisions much. www.StephenEastwood.com Nov 30 05 08:56 pm Link Oh hell yes! The meter still rules my world. I was < and still am, a little> a kodachrome shooter. You can't beat a well exposed image on the 1st pass, saves a lifetime in post production I'm using an older Sekonic 318 I think it is. Works like a charm, and I have a gossen for back up. If you ignore the basics of lighting it comes back to bite you in the backal region. Paul Nov 30 05 10:20 pm Link I don't even know how to shoot using mulitple-light studio set-up without a light meter. Is it possible? Outdoors with natural light, though, I prefer to use the fine options available on my Nikon, especially when using polarizing filter. Dec 01 05 01:23 am Link Yes. I love mine for fixed shoots. Dec 01 05 01:31 am Link I use a Sekonic 358. Use it a lot when setting up strobes but not much outdoors. Went shooting 3-4 times a week in the summer months and got a good feel for low light exposures. It's definately handy when starting out or when doing studio though. Dec 01 05 02:20 am Link Charcoal Artist wrote: As someone might have said... Sometimes you have raw talent and hone your skills... Dec 01 05 02:30 am Link Best mix= old tecniques with new technology! Dec 01 05 03:13 am Link V Powell wrote: I just got my digital slr a month, or two, ago (and new strobes). For now, I've only used my Sekonic in studio to measure the light from the strobes. For outdoors, I've been looking at the first frame in the display and adjusting from there. I figure one more month (or less) and I'll settle into a methodology that makes sense. Dec 01 05 03:35 am Link Nope...sold mine off when I went digital. A test shot or two and I'm ready to go. Dec 01 05 06:28 am Link Flash meter for studio stuff, and incident readings in the field when dealing with subjects that can fool the in camera meter. Dec 01 05 07:30 am Link using a meter takes two seconds and is the best insurance you can have, I also check the image and the histogram , it is habit and a good one to get into. I am Neurotic and paranoid when it comes to making images what can I say? Dec 01 05 11:57 am Link haven't used my light meter since i went digi (about 3.5 years ago) (even with multiple light setups) haven't checked an in camera historgram ever. haven't had a problem yet. to each his own Dec 01 05 12:20 pm Link I start with a meter, fine tune while tethered, then untether and shoot to cards. I honestly don't watch the histograms that much, as I keep my monitors dialed in every week. Dec 01 05 12:21 pm Link johnny olsen wrote: So any of you that haven't touched your Sekonic 358 in years want to part with it? Jan 03 06 09:42 am Link RobHowardStudios wrote: I dont shoot without my cargo pants,lol.Sometimes I add in my "poor mans photographers jacket" which is a fishermans jacket I got for 8 bucks at Walmart,lol. Jan 03 06 09:46 am Link You still need to calibrate your camera to the light meter. Don't just pick a light meter up expect your images to be dead-on. Most digital cameras come from the factory set to underexpose. Jan 03 06 09:49 am Link Yarborough Photography wrote: Yep. I use both a meter and test shots until I get the best answer. Jan 03 06 09:51 am Link Niesha Studio wrote: Always Jan 03 06 10:08 am Link Niesha Studio wrote: I agree. I have sent my camera and meters in to match them. I use a meter because without it, you can' set precise ratios. Jan 03 06 10:10 am Link I have two built in light meters that I have been using since the day I was born. Jan 03 06 10:12 am Link you can shoot with out a meater ???? i ALWAS use one Jan 03 06 10:21 am Link O.K., I'm going to ruffle a few feathers here, but: Throw the histogram feature, and the internal meter away in your digital camera. For those of us who are old enough to have made the transition from film to digital, the sensor in the camera works much more like transparency film that negative film. Translation, you can only over expose by about 1/3 of a stop, or underexpose by ½ of a stop, and still have the necessary information in the file to yield an image with full tonal range. The best procedure I have seen to achieve accurate exposure can be found at http://www.shootsmarter.com/infocenter/wc001.html . This site is run by Will Crocket, a commercial shooter from Chicago. Will is a friend and mentor. If you go to the above mentioned site, you will need to register to view the article, but itâs free, and the other articles on the site will keep you busy for days as Will extols his wealth of knowledge of still photography. Jan 03 06 10:55 am Link I use a meter, mainly because I have one, an older Minolta lll. It's rarely the final word, though, I always make adjustments after the fact. Jan 03 06 11:03 am Link I use a combo of light meter, a color meter, and histogram. In studio I usualy skip the light meter (have a good idea of the exposure and do a test shot or two). Jan 03 06 11:35 am Link Any recommendations on a light meter that's affordable? Jan 03 06 05:16 pm Link V Powell wrote: I use a light meter 99.99% of the time. Minolta AutoMeter IV 4 Jan 03 06 05:18 pm Link John Jebbia wrote: I have the same meter. When shooting indoors, I use it a lot (80%), and about 50% when I'm shooting on location. I especially use my meter on location when there are clouds in the area and the sun is bright. The sudden change of light wreaks havoc on your images. Jan 03 06 05:36 pm Link I virtually always meter everything. Only time I don't is when shooting journalistic stuff when there is literally no time but to point, focus, and click. Even then, if I can meter in camera, I will. Jan 03 06 05:53 pm Link Oh, and depending on how wide your spot array is, how good the meter in your camera is, and how well you know how to use it, a reflective meter (as in you camera) is as accurate as any meter you can use. In some ways it's intrinsically more accurate than any handheld, and is intrinsically more accurate than any incident reading. But it requires photographic knowledge to interpret. A reflective reading is NOT what you set your exposure AT, but rather what you set your exposure BY. Obviously, you can't use an in-camera meter to measure flash unless you've got one of the very few cameras that do spot-meter flash (my 645 system and my primary 35mm system do, and it's one reason I use them). And in case anybody was wondering, my hand-held meter of choice (which I use a lot, both in spot and incident mode for both ambient and flash exposure) is a Sekonic L-558 Dualmaster and it's a great meter. Jan 03 06 05:57 pm Link I think Alan mentioned this, but always - especially for the ratios. How can you do it any other way - besides eyeballing the LCD. Jan 03 06 06:43 pm Link Don't shoot digital much, but when I have I've used a light meter. I always use one. And I always incident meter, otherwise an in-camera reflected meter would be adequate. -Don Mine is a very old Gossen LunaPro SBC because it's got more EV range than damned near anything going. Jan 03 06 06:52 pm Link I always use mine to get everything dialed in. Just takes a lot of guess work out of setting up my lights. Aaron Jan 03 06 10:00 pm Link I always meter my studio photography, and I plan on starting to meter my outdoor shoots as well. Although, my built-in meter is really accurate it doesn't hurt to get a second opinion especially when the lighting is difficult. I try to not use the camera's monitor, as it lies like a politician. It tends to show more contrast than what I'm really getting, and the exposure can look off in the monitor as well. The monitor isn't a high-res monitor; to me its more of a poloroid and can only give you an estimate of what the image is actually going to look at. This is because the monitor is showing you the jpeg version of the image and not the RAW data that I'll be working with in Photoshop. The histograms I believe are based on the jpeg version of the file as well, and are therefore unreliable as well. So, the best thing I've found is to trust your meter, ignore the camera, and control your lighting. I would ultimatley like to get into the habit of pretending I'm shooting film and not look at the monitor at all during a shoot, but that's not an easy temptation to ignore (even though it lies). Just my 3.5 cents worth. -Pat- Jan 03 06 10:34 pm Link i find it hard to guess the ratios from more than one strobe setups. Jan 04 06 11:46 pm Link no, I dont meter. however I always carry my sekonic. Well since so many of you replied you use a meter, I will check out to see if it helps me at all. Jan 04 06 11:52 pm Link When I do not meter I have to pay for it. When I get lazy I have to work later for being lazy. Meter now save time in production later. My resolution this year is to meter all the time. It is a good feeling when you get it right from the beginning. The images appear on the screen and you say to yourself that is great. Got it. Jan 04 06 11:53 pm Link |
