using lightmeters

[macropixman]

Can we have a show of hands on how many members here are using lightmeters and perhaps we can organise a tt or shoot where some of the 'sifus' can share or give tips on the details/shortcuts, etc?

[ShaolinTiger]

Light meters are a thing of the past, with a dSLR with an RGB histogram you don't need a light meter.

http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2008/04/dear-light-meter-youre-dead-to-me.html

[macropixman]

Noted on your comments but there are those who highlight that our LCD shows jpeg images not RAW (for those who shoot RAW) and for critical lighting situations, using a lightmeter reduces post processing time on the curves,etc. as they are accurate to 1/10 stop and ytou can thus choose the metering you want.
Jarvis himself says he shoots test shots and makes adjustments on the fly so he is in fact admitting that the in-camera metering is not always spot on esp. for high contrast shots involving very black or white areas in the shot. Furthermore he is a pro who can most probrably read the light well...
I'm sure we all know abt the zone system where we compensate for black n white by opening and closing the relevant number of stops...but isn't that a hit n miss affair requiring several test shots? A lightmeter is supposed to nail it the first time round..depending on ambient or reflected light readings..

Remember mitmivec's post on the sekonic with links on ambient/reflected light...of coz the manufacturer would refer to those photographers who swear by lightmeters..

What's your thought on this..

[ShaolinTiger]

The histogram shows from the RAW data, I'm not asking you to rely on in camera metering.

In camera metering is not accurate, but that is not because it's flawed it's not accurate because it doesn't know your intent.

I'm asking you to use the histogram on the LCD which shows exposure detail far better than a light meter which will just give you a suggested aperture setting for a given shutter speed.

At the end of the day a light meter is just a fancy incident meter, your camera has that build in, plus center weighted, plus spot..you can do the same thing with your camera if you understand it PLUS you can verify the results with your histogram + highlight warning and adjust to taste.

[macropixman]

Your comments noted. Still reading on various other views.

[moshpit21]

i tested and compared the 20D metering and my lightmeter, results were from 10 attempts, 7 times the 20D metering failed (most of the time underexpose to what i expected/compared to lightmeter)

i didnt test with the 1D mark II tho..

-peace-

[orionmystery]

i tested and compared the 20D metering and my lightmeter, results were from 10 attempts, 7 times the 20D metering failed (most of the time underexpose to what i expected/compared to lightmeter)

i didnt test with the 1D mark II tho..

-peace-

What kind of metering? Should be spot metering.

[lurker]

ST, you are quoting from your own experience or jarvis's experience?

[ShaolinTiger]

ST, you are quoting from your own experience or jarvis's experience?

From mine, I only find a light meter useful in a studio for setting flash power, outdoors I prefer to use the tools in the camera.

[noordin]

The camera measures 'reflected light' while the light meter can measure both 'incident' light as well as 'reflected' light. Incident light measurement is the truest measurement for any object. That's why pros still use light meter when they shoot.

Interestingly we had an outing/workshop last Sunday specifically on 'feel the light' where discussions among others covered means of measuring light by using light meter, camera meter and EV measurement. :)

[ShaolinTiger]

Yeah but remember incidence metering is useless for landscapes where the subject is at 'infinity'. You'll still end up using reflective metering, modern cameras meters do something like the zone system by taking readings from highlights, mid-tones and shadows then averaging them.

Nikon and it's Matrix metering tries to work out what kind of scene or picture you are taking by further analyzing the scene and trying to compensate if there is extreme contrasts.

If you use a spot meter on your camera and average out the best exposure of the highlights, mid-tones and shadows it should give you the same as an incidence reading from a lightmeter placed in front of the subject.

For those interested you can read more here:

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_meter

For most situations the light meter can speed up your setup but you can do the same just fine without it unless you're using a manual or MF camera without a meter, then it's a necessity.

[moshpit21]

What kind of metering? Should be spot metering.

20D dont have spot metering..

The camera measures 'reflected light' while the light meter can measure both 'incident' light as well as 'reflected' light. Incident light measurement is the truest measurement for any object. That's why pros still use light meter when they shoot.

Interestingly we had an outing/workshop last Sunday specifically on 'feel the light' where discussions among others covered means of measuring light by using light meter, camera meter and EV measurement. :)

now i know why both are different most of the time, coz i used 99% of the incident light reading from my lightmeter..

Yeah but remember incidence metering is useless for landscapes where the subject is at 'infinity'. You'll still end up using reflective metering, modern cameras meters do something like the zone system by taking readings from highlights, mid-tones and shadows then averaging them.

Nikon and it's Matrix metering tries to work out what kind of scene or picture you are taking by further analyzing the scene and trying to compensate if there is extreme contrasts.

If you use a spot meter on your camera and average out the best exposure of the highlights, mid-tones and shadows it should give you the same as an incidence reading from a lightmeter placed in front of the subject.

For those interested you can read more here:

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_meter

For most situations the light meter can speed up your setup but you can do the same just fine without it unless you're using a manual or MF camera without a meter, then it's a necessity.

agree with u ST about the landscape thing..

-peace-

[lurker]

From mine, I only find a light meter useful in a studio for setting flash power, outdoors I prefer to use the tools in the camera.

hehe.. yup i just wanted to mention the use of a LM in studio
power ratios :)

[nicolaslau]

1 am using sekonic flash meter for my shooting and sekonic have a new 1 colour meter very nice for portairt.