light meters

[jols]

anybody got any thought on these.?

when i take a reading does it tell me what to set my camera at?


sorry guys just done a search on light meters and got loads of info from all you uys.

sorry to bother you

 

[chris_arnet]

i personally use the in-camera meter, but thats only becaus i dont wanna send the money for something else.

 

[Fiendish Astronaut]

A hand-held meter is the equivalent of spot meter in a camera. It can be more accurate - I use mine with my medium format film camera, but I could just as easily use my digital camera and use the meter reading off that. I think meters are good when you have control of the situation. If you are adjusting lighting conditions it's easier to use a meter than having to trudge back to behind the camera lens to see what's what. But I'm a new-comer to light meters so expect someone to come along any minute with a much better answer...

 

[JerryPH]

Unless you are doing portraiture or off camera flash(es), and want to meter in different ratios for a specific effect, using the in camera meter will do it everytime, but if flashes are involved and you don't want to rely on the limitations of TTL... a hand held meter is a must.

The Sekonic is my next purchase, as I am very interested in multi-flash portraiture setups and want to learn more.

 

[SpeedTrap]

Well, here is where I am on light meters,
I use them all the time, sure the meter in the camera is good, but it is not that good. Wether it is in the studio with strobes or on location without, I always cary a light meter, it will more accuratly get the exposure every time. Since I started using one, my set up time for any shot has been cut in half, no fine tuning in the camera, as well as my post process time is cut down because I do not have to tweak my exposure.
If you have the means I would sugest picking up an nice combination ambient/flash meter. I am currently using the Sekonic L358

 

[That One Guy]

i was told by a very experienced photog that if i was to purchase a light meter it should be one that measures both ambient and incident. also if you use off cam flash/strobes you would need a meter for that as well.

 

[jcolman]

i was told by a very experienced photog that if i was to purchase a light meter it should be one that measures both ambient and incident. also if you use off cam flash/strobes you would need a meter for that as well.

He probably meant "incident and reflective".

A quick primer on light meters.

An Incident meter measures the light falling on a subject while reflective meters measures the light reflecting off the subject. Your in-camera meter is a reflective type which works well in most lighting situations.

A spot meter is a refective type meter that measures the light reflecting off a small portion of a scene. These are usefull for lighting situations where you may have a great deal of dark or light areas that would otherwise affect the metering.

I personally use an incident meter (Sekonic) when shooting motion picture film as I find that it's more accurate to measure the light falling on a subject rather than measureing reflecting light since different subjects reflect light in different ways. However, I tend to use the reflective meter in my video and still cameras due to the quickness of metering and my experience in using these cameras. Incidently, my Sekonic is capable of measuring reflected light as well but I've never used it in this mode. It's much more accurate as an incident meter.

Meters that are designed for strobe lights are different from other meters in that they have to obviously do their metering from a very quick burst of light. Sekonic makes a meter than can double as a strobe meter, a spot meter and incident meter.

www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/meters.shtml

 

[jols]

how do i find and use the meter in the camera?

sorry to be thick

 

[jcolman]

how do i find and use the meter in the camera?

sorry to be thick

It would be helpful if we knew what camera you were using. Do you have a users manual with the camera?

 

[jcolman]

Also, to answer your original question, yes the meter in your camera will give you what it thinks is the correct shutter speed and aperture setting to make the proper exposure. It's up to you to determine if that setting is correct or not.

 

[jols]

FUJI S5000.

I HAVE USER MANUAL.

sorry for shouting

is it photometry?

 

[jcolman]

FUJI S5000.

I HAVE USER MANUAL.

sorry for shouting

is it photometry?

Yes. That is what Fuji calls their metering mode. It appears like you have your choice of Average, Spot, or Multi metering modes.

I can't tell you exactly how Fuji's controls work...I'd have to look at the camera or read the owners manual, but if you set the knob on the top right of the camera to "M" it puts the camera into Manual mode. You then select the shutter speed and aperture settings. There will be some sort of indicator that will tell you when the settings are "correct" as determined by the camera's meter.

 

[That One Guy]

yes jcolman he did say reflective and i typed ambient for some reason. thanks for fixing my mistake

 

[jols]

thanks guys this helps a lot as i was well confused.

what has been suggested as to setting to manual and then doing then aprture and settings i am already doing, so that is where i was confused cause i thought i was missing something. ha ha

sorry if thats confusing to you

 

[Steph]

A hand-held meter is the equivalent of spot meter in a camera.

That is not always true. Actually, only the more expensive light meters offer a true spot meter (1 degree). Less expensive ones offer a 5 degree spot meter and most of them provide an average reading.