|
Forums >
Photography Talk >
Light meters
How many of you great shooters use a light meter to get your camera setting? I'm hoping all of you................ Feb 23 08 10:09 pm Link that's funny. None of the pros I assist for use meters. i use one everyone once in a while for learning purposes. Feb 23 08 10:11 pm Link if you're be trained well....you know what your setting should be...your light meter just verifies what your expereince has told you..... Feb 23 08 10:13 pm Link Bill Lemon Photography wrote: I hope all the digital photographers use their light meters to get ratios for their lighting and use their histograms to get their camera settings. Feb 23 08 10:17 pm Link My Light Meter would be welded to my hand, if I could get it to run on bio-electric instead of batteries. Feb 23 08 10:20 pm Link Light meters, never leave home without one. Despite what the first responder to your post said, a good and seasoned pro (as well as any other photographer who actually care about making good images) will always have a light meter somewhere close. In camera meters are an engineer's "guess" as to how the camera should intrepret the light falling onto a scene ie: reflected light whereas a light meter measues the light that ACTUALLY falls ONTO the scene , incident light, and is much more accurate. Also, if you ever plan to do any kind of photography with monolights or hotlights a light meter is mandantory. With the advent of digital photography a lot of people have gone to the use of devices like the Photo Vision Target but that only serves to insure that you are not clipping your lows and especially your highlights. A light meter is still very much a necessary tool for every photographer. Feb 23 08 10:20 pm Link Sekonic 558 for studio work, large format field work, and sometimes for digiital field work. For digital field work I mostly use the camera meter (Canon 5D) (with careful placement of the meter to avoid it being fooled by very light or very dark scenes). I occasionally check the histogram as a double check. However, the hjistogram is fooled very easily so I mostly use it to help decide if I want to bracket. Feb 23 08 10:22 pm Link It is true a lot of photographers rely on instict and experience on similar situations to determine their exposure. Evaluate the image and optimize your histogram for digital, and you should be good. The meter is a great starting point. If you think you can determine things with your eye... try this.  Use your meter then optimize your histogram according to the image. Feb 23 08 10:23 pm Link whoa...that pic is crazy. Feb 23 08 10:25 pm Link How many of you use the spot meter in your camera? Feb 23 08 10:25 pm Link I use a meter in the Studio all the time Only when I'm doing photo journal work type, I'll let the camera help alittle Feb 23 08 10:25 pm Link Bill Lemon Photography wrote: Spot meter in camera is a last resort. They actually sell hand held meters with spots as well, they are usually more accurate than in camera meters.. They work well for making something 18% gray. It's a good tool for shooting something that is too far to get an incident reading on. Open up one stop from M.R. for light gray, two stops for white with detail, close down one stop for dark gray, two stops for black w/ detail. Feb 23 08 10:28 pm Link Thank you Stephen for your example, it kind of proves my point Feb 23 08 10:31 pm Link Stephen T Photography wrote: Just so you Know the the author of this thread has written books that describe in detail how to use your handheld incident meters and reflective as well as spot adapters. Feb 23 08 10:32 pm Link I've never handled one nor know how to use it. I use my camera in shutter priority to compensate for hand-shake and gauge everything by eye. Feb 23 08 10:34 pm Link I just purchased a Sekonic L-358 yesterday. Before this I have been doing everything by what looked right to me. I guess I have just been plain lucky. Feb 23 08 10:35 pm Link photobymhanly wrote: Good point, it was more of a general reason to use them/ why I use them, not necessarily directed at the author of this thread. Feb 23 08 10:36 pm Link I keep my light meter on my belt at all times while shooting. There are times where I'll use the camera's metering but nothing is more accurate that my light meter. Feb 23 08 10:38 pm Link Pryor Studios wrote: That is the reason I use the camera previews and histogram, my old D100 back in the day was out by almost a full stop due to mis-stated iso of 200 was more like 120. Long story short my light meter only had to burn me once, even though it was the cameras calibration at fault. Th cameras histogram was still correct. Feb 23 08 10:43 pm Link D Allen Photography wrote: Actually, most of the guys I assist for have been doing it so long they can pretty much guess the fstop and shutter speed. Most of them do an educated guess, shoot a frame (the same way you'd shoot polaroids in days past) and adjust. Most are very successful too. They all own meters...mainly because they used to shoot film...but haven't touched them in a while. They also know their equipment well enough to know the ratios based on the power settings. Feb 23 08 10:44 pm Link Stephen T Photography wrote: Yea right... knew that one. Now everybody takes two sheets of paper. Hide all the squares but the A and B so your eyes cannot be fooled by the set-up and you tell me whether they are the same "shade of gray".. Feb 23 08 10:51 pm Link I use a meter when shooting anything more complicated than general event photographs. If it involves more than a camera-mounted flash, the meter is out. Feb 23 08 10:52 pm Link Arno-S wrote: Open it up in camera raw, use the eye dropper... they are the same ... numbers don't lie, but your eyes do. Feb 23 08 10:53 pm Link Arno-S wrote: I'll make it easier. According to PS3, they're each at about 107. Here's a rough cutout of them with the rest of the board gone... Feb 23 08 10:58 pm Link Thanks guys...this raises a question. Let's admit numbers are right but my eyes arent...What does matter in the end? Who are the watchers? Softwares or humans? Opinions welcomed Feb 23 08 10:59 pm Link Arno-S wrote: The answer is both. What your eyes see not what the camera gives you. If you want your eyes to see in a photograph, the first step is to get the numbers right. This is because the software in your camera processes the numbers... to produce an image your eyes can recognize. Also you will never get exactly what you see with your eyes do to the limits of digital capture and even film capture. Your eyes see about 20 stops of information... your camera about 6. Feb 23 08 11:04 pm Link Shane Kislack wrote: um, yea right Feb 23 08 11:05 pm Link Stephen T Photography wrote: This is why I'm currently in the process of finding an organ donar willing to donate ocular implants for my body. I figure as long as I don't mention it's a "camera body" I may have a chance of it happening. Feb 23 08 11:08 pm Link Stephen T Photography wrote: I appreciate the enlighting. Now i really wanted to post my picture with the rest of the board gone but i didnt manage to do so. It seems with my photoshop I had different shades of gray.I must be doing something wrong. Anyways you guys know your business.Thanks again. Feb 23 08 11:09 pm Link Meter, I always do Feb 23 08 11:11 pm Link I couldn't live without my Sekonic 358 for light, my ExpoDisc for white balance, and my histogram in LightRoom. Feb 23 08 11:16 pm Link Arno-S wrote: Opinions arn't nessisary. The facts will do just fine, asuming you intend to create images that can be shared you need to learn to see like the machines, your eye is very young and you owe it to everyone to open the image in photoshop and take your own measurments! Feb 23 08 11:22 pm Link Matrix Photography Inc wrote: What's that supposed to mean? Feb 23 08 11:24 pm Link Can't leave home without it. Always use a light meter to check my studio lighting and ratios. Also check the histogram to verify. Feb 23 08 11:30 pm Link I use my light meter more now that I ever did. I'm also starting to measure the distances with a tape...it's faster. Feb 23 08 11:30 pm Link photobymhanly wrote: Which indeed i did. The only thing is that i didnt find the same shade. This is why i passed-by the topic. Now if you want to tell me what was wrong in my process please do so. HEre is what i did: Feb 23 08 11:32 pm Link Sekonic man here. L758dr Feb 23 08 11:37 pm Link the ones shooting without a light meter didn't say if they shot on automatic or manual. I shoot on manual and always use a light meter, the little window on the back of the camera is not very good at determining what the image really looks like. I also do not like taking a bunch of pictures and adjusting untill I get it right, quicker to meter and have it right the first time. Bill Lemon Photography wrote: Feb 23 08 11:37 pm Link Just bought my Sekonic 308 yesterday .... loving it so far Feb 23 08 11:41 pm Link I used old light meters for nature photography...mainly an old Sekonic L-158...having started studio work the last few years, I had to recently buy an updated meter....with strobe capabilities....just bought a Sekonic L-308s...and love it....will probably upgrade again though... Feb 23 08 11:45 pm Link |
