light meter

[pocketshaver]

Are the Sekonic analog meters a better option for casual use then the 3-500 dollar digital ones?

 

[tirediron]

What sort of use?

 

[pocketshaver]

just normal work. inside and outside.

Just something that will give me an accurate idea of how to set up a shot. Don't trust my vitomatic light meter anymore

 

[Derrel]

You can get a good light meter for a cell phone. I had one called light meter ( imagine that!) For iPhone a few years ago, and it was as accurate as my Minolta flash meter. I compared the two side-by-side on multiple occasions, and it was super accurate and allowed me to actually snap a photo of a scene and to save it along with exposure readings, something that no light meter that I know of can do.

If all you want to do is get an accurate idea of the correct exposure, then you can get it online at the App Store for free or for as little as $1.99 and have it in three minutes. Provided of course that you have a cell phone. Otherwise spend $150 for a light meter that uses the same technology but which can do nothing else but take light meter readings and of course make you look cool when you wear it around your neck.

 

[pocketshaver]

You can get a good light meter for a cell phone. I had one called light meter ( imagine that!) For iPhone a few years ago, and it was as accurate as my Minolta flash meter. I compared the two side-by-side on multiple occasions, and it was super accurate and allowed me to actually snap a photo of a scene and to save it along with exposure readings, something that no light meter that I know of can do.

If all you want to do is get an accurate idea of the correct exposure, then you can get it online at the App Store for free or for as little as $1.99 and have it in three minutes. Provided of course that you have a cell phone. Otherwise spend $150 for a light meter that uses the same technology but which can do nothing else but take light meter readings and of course make you look cool when you wear it around your neck.

Not to bite the hand offering free advice, but cellphone light meter gadgets not that cheap. Can cost a lot more then the sekonic analog light meters.

 

[Derrel]

I know you are confused. I am talking about simple apps that do continuous light metering, which are available for free, to $2 to $4 at the most. I am not talking about those little hemispheric domes that convert your cell phone into a flash meter. You asked about a light meter, not about a flash meter. I think it would be good if you were to spend more than two minutes researching what I told you before you reply back next time with an incorrect opinion, okay? You came back with an incorrect opinion in about 2 minutes. Look around,do some research, try and find what I told you about not just do a quick Google and come back at me with another ill- informed bit of snarkiness.

 

[tirediron]

I'm going to respectfully disagree with Derrel on this. While I accept that experiences do differ, especially when it comes to cheap computer applications, if you want a proper light meter, and plan to use it, then I would suggest buying a proper light meter. If you just want to play around a bit and figure the novelty will wear off quickly, then sure, go for the 'phone option.

My question on use referred to whether or not you would want to use if for flash exposures. Assuming you don't, then there are likely dozens available for pennies on the dollar on your local used market (Craig's List, et al) assuming you live in or near at least a moderately sized urban centre. One of the best bargains I see are the Luna 6 and Luna Pro meters. In their day, these were top-end pro meters, used by the likes of Dean Collins and others of that calibre. These commonly show up in my area for $75-125 (If you do go this route, be sure to check out which battery the meter uses; some of them used odd size cells, now not commonly available).

 

[Derrel]

What does a proper light meter do? A typical iPhone is a much more sophisticated instrument than a Sekonic or Gossen or Minolta standard ambient light meter. As I said the light meter application that they had for the iPhone 4 worked as well as my Minolta meter which is a roughly $500 instrument and it was a free app.

I have mentioned it several times here before on TPF and every time is has been met withn sarcasm and smart ass disagreements from people who have never even used one.

Kind of like people who badmouth the iPhone and the Macintosh platform but have never used either. I understand where the naysayer sentiment is coming from... from a point of no experience with the product that you are disparaging . The OP asked about a light meter, not about a flash meter or a combination meter,but the analog Sekonic versus versus digital readout light meters .

The analog style Sekonic which as you probably know is not a Flash Reader but an incident and reflected meter has its roots in the Eisenhower era.

I kind of smile when I hear people bad-mouthing light meter application support for handheld computers, which is, surprise! what today's modern cell phone is . This " danger Will Robinson" attitude is kind of like old timers who bad-mouthed the new color TV technology back in the 1960 . Kind of like the Nikon diehards who ridiculed autofocus when it was introduced. Yeah that's right, auto focus was met with ridicule and skepticism when Nikon introduced its autofocus cameras.

Go ahead, stick with Eisenhower era technology. Buy a tool which is 50 years old in its design and 75 years old or more in its idea. Ignore what the new application can easily do far better than any light meter ever made, which is to take snapshots of a scene and teach you by photographs what the exact lighting condition looks like and what the recommend exposure is.

Why buy a microwave when there is a perfectly good tea kettle in the house?

 

[Derrel]

The advantage of a handheld light meter is that you get to carry it or wear it on a cord around your neck, and it looks cool, especially if it has a white hemispherical dome for taking incident light readings. In terms of practical utility the advantage of analog display is that it shows you multiple exposure combinations at a glance, which is something that analog display has in advantage over digital.

This digital versus analog display issue is borne out by the fact that an analog watch allows you to see where you are at in the 12-hour cycle, which is quite a bit different fundamentally from a digital clock, which only shows you one data point.

Very old reflected light meters such as the Weston Master Series also showed a zone system series of input points, which allowed you to place specific areas of a scene on the zone system scale. Digital meters require you to perform this type of mental gymnastics in your head .

Unless you pay a lot of money for a professionally reconditioned unit, your chances of finding a working Weston Master Series meter is very slim, however it should be relatively easy to find a Gossen Luna Pro or Sekonic analog type incident meter on eBay.

 

[Derrel]

Oh by the way the iPhone is crap. $89 Android phones are all you will need. If you want a computer for internet use then spend $349 on a Chromebook. It is just as good as the MacBook Pro. A Kia is just as good a car as a Mercedes Benz.

 

[pocketshaver]

Oh by the way the iPhone is crap. $89 Android phones are all you will need. If you want a computer for internet use then spend $349 on a Chromebook. It is just as good as the MacBook Pro. A Kia is just as good a car as a Mercedes Benz.

KIA as good as Mercedes? bwwaaaaahaaaaahhaaaaaaaaa laughed so hard I almost peed my pants.

NOTHING kia makes can beat a Mercedes m class that's made in Germany for the german market. sure some quality standards are lowered for cars made in America but that's 99% concerning paint quality. I have made merecedes components, so I knows...

I DONT like mac or apple products since Intel released the Pentium 90 chip set.

 

[smoke665]

@tirediron unfortunately I have to go with @Derrel on the light meter app, with the caveat "Depending on use". I've had the free version of the Light Meter app on my phone for several years now. For what it does, it does it very well. They also have a version that has an analog dial for those purist that can't force themselves to use something digital. I always have my cell phone with me, I can't say the same for my Sekonic's meter.

I do have to disagree with Derrel on the Chromebook. Bought DW one last year, she hated it!!!! Immediately sold it, and bought her a Dell laptop.

 

[Designer]

KIA as good as Mercedes? bwwaaaaahaaaaahhaaaaaaaaa laughed so hard I almost peed my pants.

You might not have realized that Derrel's post was sarcasm.

Sarcasm almost never works on the internet.

 

[Braineack]

A Kia is just as good a car as a Mercedes Benz.

My MB is in the shop and I'm driving a Kia rental. I disagree!

I need my twin turbos, awd, adjustable suspension, and 4.5s 0-60 back!

 

[tirediron]

What does a proper light meter do? A typical iPhone is a much more sophisticated instrument than a Sekonic or Gossen or Minolta standard ambient light meter. As I said the light meter application that they had for the iPhone 4 worked as well as my Minolta meter which is a roughly $500 instrument and it was a free app.

I have mentioned it several times here before on TPF and every time is has been met withn sarcasm and smart ass disagreements from people who have never even used one.

I tried several (hence my comment about "experiences vary"), and given the plethora of them available, it's unlikely that they were the same ones you tried, and even more unlikely that we tried them out under even remotely similar conditions. I found them all lacking. While I don't dispute that the hardware is far more sophisticated, it's also not hardware which was purpose-built with the intent of measuring light intensity.

Kind of like people who badmouth the iPhone and the Macintosh platform but have never used either.

Not sure I see the relevance. I use both an iPhone and an iPad and like them both. I use a Windows-based computer, but I have nothing against the Macintosh OS.

I understand where the naysayer sentiment is coming from... from a point of no experience with the product that you are disparaging . The OP asked about a light meter, not about a flash meter or a combination meter, but the analog Sekonic versus versus digital readout light meters .

Limited experience perhaps, "no experience" isn't quite accurate. I would hope Derrel that you would agree that there is more than one way / type of hand-held meter. Specifically: Incident, reflected, spot and flash. Given that the use of hand-held meters is almost non-existent these days, I don't think it was unreasonable of me to try and determine exactly what the OP had in mind.

The analog style Sekonic which as you probably know is not a Flash Reader but an incident and reflected meter has its roots in the Eisenhower era.

I honestly don't recall if there is an analog Sekonic; I know my Luna Pro F does an excellent job of flash metering...

I kind of smile when I hear people bad-mouthing light meter application support for handheld computers, which is, surprise! what today's modern cell phone is . This " danger Will Robinson" attitude is kind of like old timers who bad-mouthed the new color TV technology back in the 1960 . Kind of like the Nikon diehards who ridiculed autofocus when it was introduced. Yeah that's right, auto focus was met with ridicule and skepticism when Nikon introduced its autofocus cameras.

Go ahead, stick with Eisenhower era technology. Buy a tool which is 50 years old in its design and 75 years old or more in its idea. Ignore what the new application can easily do far better than any light meter ever made, which is to take snapshots of a scene and teach you by photographs what the exact lighting condition looks like and what the recommend exposure is.

I don't see it that way at all. My response to the OP suggested two courses of action: (1) if he thought this was likely just a passing fancy or a "how does that work", than the telephone "app" was a good route, but if he thought this was something he wanted to use extensively, than a proper, purpose-built light meter was the way to go. I'm a believer in tools that do too many things do none of them well. I prefer [in most cases] single-purpose tools rather than a Swiss Army Knife. YMMV.

Why buy a microwave when there is a perfectly good tea kettle in the house?

Why indeed?