Lighting set-ups.

[mrca]

JB, it is why I like the 64 base iso. Victoria Secret has an amazing thigh high with a fine fabric and the smoothest hand I have found. Before I used lifting straps in the gym, the palm calluses at the base of the pinkie would quickly produce a run in my girlfriends stockings before we got out of the driveway. It would really tick her off as they are pretty expensive. But I only used them as the diffusion material. But the softar filter has it's own look. However, it is baked into the shot if you wish it was sharp.

 

[JBPhotog]

mrca, maybe this topic could be a thread of its own?

Although I owned both Hasselblad Softar I and II's, I never really liked the effect, just too much blur for me from the small lenses spattered across the filter. Nikon made and I owned two really nice soft filters that used silver particles and a chemical to create particulate diffusion, a totally unique approach for a glass filter. Unfortunately mine were in 52mm thread and I no longer own any lenses with that filter diameter so I sold them a number of years ago. I agree, with digital now, baking anything into the file before post is like shooting JPEG only, something I avoid now.

The stockings or "nets" as the term was in those days, acted a lot like the Nikon Soft filters by offering a mechanical barrier to diffuse the light reaching the film/sensor plane. The studio I was working in used a point source enlarger and the nets made for a really unique look to the prints.

I resist commenting on why you couldn't keep your hands off your girlfriends legs before you got out of the driveway, LOL.

 

[smoke665]

Using the 1/200, 200 to kill any ambient light in the space

I'm in the process of calibrating my L308 to my camera and thought you might be interested in this from the FAQ page from Sekonic on matching meter readings to camera Lighting set-ups. In particular #3 Set the camera to its highest possible synch speed so any ambient light will not affect the meter's reading. (Sekonic meters will “see” any ambient light that is present and able to affect exposure-even in flash mode). Now I'm curious how much it will affect the meter.

 

[ronlane]

Thanks @smoke665, that is interesting. I've not calibrated my meter to my camera.

 

[smoke665]

@ronlane sorry I just noticed I pasted the wrong link above. It should be Sekonic > Support > FAQs: Calibrating your flash meter In testing this I really didn't find any difference between faster vs slower shutter speeds. The 308 does not have compensation adjustment at the meter, you have to adjust accordingly at the camera. On the new K1 the meter and camera are very close, on the K3 it ran about a third stop under. I've gleaned a lot of useful information from Sekonic's site.

 

[ronlane]

Thanks @smoke665

 

[mrca]

I calibrate my camera's to my sekonic 758 but do it with sunlight so not sure why this would be a problem. When you calibrate you know EXACTLY where your highlight clipping point is when you take a meter reading and can push the non specular highlights right to the limit where you can pull them back in post. This moves the shadows to the right as far as possible meaning the best possible shadows. The exposure may not be perfect for what you want as middle gray, but that can be adjusted in post as well. The capture may not look perfect out of camera, but it will ultimately produce the best possible file. What has been surprising me though is the dynamic range of the d850 and how well the shadows are rendered. Coming from 7 years with a d700 I will look at a scene and expect clipping at one end and it is completely within the histogram. But for those trying to produce the best image possible, a calibrated meter is invaluable.

 

[mrca]

I calibrate my camera's to my sekonic 758 but do it with sunlight so not sure why this would be a problem. When you calibrate you know EXACTLY where your highlight clipping point is when you take a meter reading and can push the non specular highlights right to the limit where you can pull them back in post. This moves the shadows to the right as far as possible meaning the best possible shadows. The exposure may not be perfect for what you want as middle gray, but that can be adjusted in post as well. The capture may not look perfect out of camera, but it will ultimately produce the best possible file. What has been surprising me though is the dynamic range of the d850 and how well the shadows are rendered. Coming from 7 years with a d700 I will look at a scene and expect clipping at one end and it is completely within the histogram. But for those trying to produce the best image possible, a calibrated meter is invaluable.