Light Meters

[j.weegee]

Hello, I am interested in buying a Sekonic L-398A. This might be a stupid question but can all light meters be used interchangeably with shooting video and taking photos? I know this particular model is used for filmmaking, but I would like to know if I can use it for photography as well because I am interested in both fields. If yes, would it need to be calibrated differently from say shooting 16mm film to taking photos on my T3i? Thanks in advance.

-J.Weegee

 

[Helen B]

You don't have to recalibrate your meter when switching between movie film and a digital still camera, but see the caveats below

You usually calibrate each system via the ISO speed setting on the meter, not by calibrating the meter itself. When you are finding your film speed for (say) 16 mm film you find the preferred meter setting for the film you are using. I use what is called the Laboratory Aim Density method for negative movie film - you find the ISO setting that gives closest to the recommended density in each of the R, G and B channels, for a grey card exposure.

I have an L-398A and it is a very fine meter within its limits. It doesn't do flash - you might want to remember that when choosing. It's not very sensitive either. if you want other recommendations tell us your requirements and your budget. For motion picture use I prefer separate incident and spot meters, but if I carried just one meter I would carry a combined incident/spot like a Sekonic L-758 (which also does flash). I assume that if you can afford to shoot 16 mm, you can afford a decent meter - in fact I would strongly recommend using a spot meter to make sure that every take is spot on. You don't get to bracket exposure with movie film.

By the way, you should not post the same question in two places. Bad form: wastes the time of the people trying to help you..

 

[j.weegee]

Yeah, sorry about the cross post. I'm still new and I would have deleted this post if I knew how. I thought it would be better suited in the equipment forums, not to mention those forums get alot more traffic than this one. I was provided with 16mm film for film projects at my school. That Sekonic L-758 looks very promising. Looks well worth the extra money for flash and spot metering capabilities. I'll look into it a bit more. Thanks for the help, and I apologize for the cross post, again. That will be the last time.