Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Light Meter

Jeffrey T. Morgan

Jeffrey T. Morgan

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2007
Messages
750
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Michigan
And last question (till I think of another)

what light meters do you all use / like?

Affordable options and others.

thanks!

Jeff
 
I've got basically the same question...

What do people think of the sekonic dual meters? The 558 and the 758?

I'm just starting out as a professional grip/DP and I want something of serious quality, but I have basically no money right now. I figure a spot meter would be nice in addition to an incident meter. So professional quality but no need for extraneous features I guess is what I'm looking for.

What about the spectra meters?
 
Last edited:
Go with the 758 Cine- that is the one that I use and love working with. If you have the time, your best bet is to watch for sales on E-Bay. From time to time on E-bay you can find a photoshop in Japan that will sell the 758-Cine (NEW) for very affordable prices. The only catch is that the Japanese meters are set for that region which means that if you plan on using the stills mode to trigger a flash made here in the US, it will not work. But I never use the stills mode, and I do not work with flashes, so it's a non-issue for me. Other then that, it is the same meter- only more affordable.
 
Thanks, I'll pick one up if I can find it. What price should I look for? They seem to be around $700 from B&H and like $500 imported from Hong Kong, which is still pretty expensive. The 558 may be enough for my purposes if I can find one under $400.

Generally, how do you meter with the red? I may shoot something on mysterium x this summer (fingers crossed!) so I assume then it would just be using the incident meter near the part of the face hit by the key light to set your stop (and of course expose either brighter or darker based on artistic intent)--and then using the spot meter on the darkest and brightest parts and comparing that with how many stops over and under you have on the red at a given ISO just to know where you're losing detail (and adding fill, flags, and nets accordingly)?

Of course I plan to use a waveform monitor, too, but I like the light meter because you can check for consistency between set-ups and for contrast ratios, too--and not just look and see if you're getting a "good exposure."

Plus people take you way more seriously when you wear one....
 
Matt W. said:
Thanks, I'll pick one up if I can find it. What price should I look for? They seem to be around $700 from B&H and like $500 imported from Hong Kong, which is still pretty expensive. The 558 may be enough for my purposes if I can find one under $400.
Click to expand...

That may be a bit tricky- but if you have the patience you can do it. I was able to get mine from a store in Tokyo who sold it to me in Australian Dollars for about $450. At the time, with the exchange rate the way it was, I saved an additional 20% - so with shipping it came out to just over $400. So it is possible- you just have to wait, and look for it. If you want it NOW, then you are going to pay more ...

Matt W. said:
Generally, how do you meter with the red? I may shoot something on mysterium x this summer (fingers crossed!) so I assume then it would just be using the incident meter near the part of the face hit by the key light to set your stop (and of course expose either brighter or darker based on artistic intent)--and then using the spot meter on the darkest and brightest parts and comparing that with how many stops over and under you have on the red at a given ISO just to know where you're losing detail (and adding fill, flags, and nets accordingly)?
Click to expand...

There are a multitude of answers to that question depending on what you are looking to accomplish. But your basic theory is solid, and will serve you well. The trick then becomes making sure that your meter is calibrated to the camera / stock you are using. I'm still working on a profile for the MX sensor- but I hope to have one soon. For now, I just have the M sensor, which can be downloaded here: http://www.ryanewalters.com/Blog/files/Sekonic_Profile_For_The_Red_One.html

Matt W. said:
Of course I plan to use a waveform monitor, too, but I like the light meter because you can check for consistency between set-ups and for contrast ratios, too--and not just look and see if you're getting a "good exposure."

Plus people take you way more seriously when you wear one....
Click to expand...

Personally, if I have a meter, then I do not bother with a waveform, as I have found that for my method of working I can work faster without having to consult both measuring tools. But if you can make that work for you- then the waveform will be a good double system. Being able to maintain a consistent exposure throughout set-ups, ratios, etc. is where a meter really shines IMO. :)
 
Ryan E. Walters said:
That may be a bit tricky- but if you have the patience you can do it. I was able to get mine from a store in Tokyo who sold it to me in Australian Dollars for about $450. At the time, with the exchange rate the way it was, I saved an additional 20% - so with shipping it came out to just over $400. So it is possible- you just have to wait, and look for it. If you want it NOW, then you are going to pay more ...



There are a multitude of answers to that question depending on what you are looking to accomplish. But your basic theory is solid, and will serve you well. The trick then becomes making sure that your meter is calibrated to the camera / stock you are using. I'm still working on a profile for the MX sensor- but I hope to have one soon. For now, I just have the M sensor, which can be downloaded here: http://www.ryanewalters.com/Blog/files/Sekonic_Profile_For_The_Red_One.html



Personally, if I have a meter, then I do not bother with a waveform, as I have found that for my method of working I can work faster without having to consult both measuring tools. But if you can make that work for you- then the waveform will be a good double system. Being able to maintain a consistent exposure throughout set-ups, ratios, etc. is where a meter really shines IMO. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks so much; this is incredibly helpful. I'll be on the lookout for an affordable 758-Cine in the next couple months. I would rather use just a meter than a waveform monitor in theory, but I don't have the experience to do so reliably and if this project goes through it will be extremely important that it turns out well. And once I get a meter I can finally use my old Nikon F I've had lying around forever, too.

Post the MX profile here when you're done. I'll definitely be using it if I get this gig. At what ISO are you planning to rate it, by the way? Looking at the samples that have been posted here it seems the dynamic range is best distributed between highlights and shadows at around 800-1200ISO (which is what I plan to rate at), but of course then you run the risk of a grainy image if you accidentally underexpose, and the image is "natively" 320ISO.
 
I use a spectra IV pro. I really like it. I wish I had a spot meter which I will hopefully buy soon. With the Red cam I see more and more DP's just put the meter away. I like having it with me because I don't like to light from behind the camera. It gives me a way to make sure I'm within the range I like to shoot at without having to hang out behind the camera all day. It's also nice to see what the light is actually doing to a face. With exposure for the Red I find that in high contrast scenes exposing as high as you can get without clipping the highlights works well. With low contrast or tungsten I typically overexpose about 2/3 of a stop, again without clipping highlights. Remember that with digital aquisition you are going to be manipulating everything in post anyway. Maybe it's personal taste but I like curving digital down as opposed to up to avoid introducing noise. I shoot my still photography the same way and like the result. I'm not sure about the new Mysterium sensor as I haven't shot with it yet. Anyone have some exposure tips for the new sensor?
 
Philip, thanks for the input!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top