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 :)

Meters... what do you like?

Thanks for the offer and info -

I'm actually going to get to play with a few this week - I let you guys know how it goes.
 
Spectra IV & Minolta Spot F have been very effective for me. I thought
about Sekonic Combo's, but they have too many functions that I never use.
On the other side, Spectra and Minolta have nothing too special about them.
You hit the button, and you get the readings. Very simple. Also, they're
both extremely light on your belt.

One thing about the Spectra IV, the battery is hard to get a hold of. I usually
buy a few for a project just in case. For Minolta, I don't care if the battery
runs out even though the meter doesn't have auto power save function. It
takes AA's, which half of the crew usually have.

Hope this helps
 
I've been using spot meters for about twenty odd years now. Given the nature of digital's exposure latitude, it's as important now as ever. I can easily place maximum white- with texture (or black) etc.- exactly. My minolta hand held spot is very precise.
I've found the spot on my DSLR to be a bit too large in its angle, and its a wee bit off centre in its response.
A couple of things to consider with meters: how linear is your meter's response and how good is its lens, and lens shade?
In daylight conditions, check your (spot) meters linearity by first establishing a reading from, say, a grey card (or the side of a house for that matter) now place a series of ND's over your lens, one at a time as you repeat readings; see if your meter responds exactly to the ND values. Watch out for flare. Rosco swatch samples are a pretty decent source for cheap ND's - but not for your camera lenses of course.
Now do the same thing indoors ( low light conditions) to test for the lower end linear response. Strange as it may seem I've come across meters that were linear in daylight and not so with average low light conditions.

Check the lens and baffle quality (how it handles light falling outside the spot area). Does that extraneous light affect the readings? it shouldn't.
On a sunny day, choose a distant dark area (i.e. a small matte black card) a little larger than your spot area. Take a reading; now walk up close to card (same angle and don't cast a shadow) and take another reading.
Ideally, both readings should be identical. If your meter gives a higher distant value than the close up one, consider adding a baffle (ie black card with small hole) to the lens.
 
I've used a Sekonic L-308B in school, and it worked well for what it was. There's no cine scale though. Once out of school, I upgraded to the mother of all meters, the Sekonic L-608cine...and it's been fun to use since.
 
Bill -

Thats good advice - thanks - anyone else have experience with the Sekonic cine meters?
 
Minolta Meters

Minolta Meters

Minolta no longer manufacture photography meters and the only color meters they produce are for industrial use. Sony took over the photographic side of Minolta and dropped the production of meters.
Unfortunately none of the other manufacturers make products that match the Minolta which is a sad reflection of the switch to digital where everyone relies on what the camera tells them to the detriment of photography and its understanding.
Sekonic or Spectra only real options from new.
 
Pentax Digital Spotmeter
pentax-digital-spotmeter.jpg


Or even the old Pentax Spotmeter V
pentax1.gif
 
Meters

Meters

Started with Sekonic analogs and have stayed with them through to the XX8c series. It's not that I will say they are any better it's just been my preference. Bill is right. No matter what meter you have you should check it, I feel, before any note worthy job. Especially if it's film.

I believe it is still an invaluable tool when it comes to "Digital Cinema" and recommend it for anyone who is serious about this.
 
That picture of the Pentax Spotmeter V brings back great memories. I used to have one and used it on just about everything until I lost it on a location shoot in the desert a little over a year ago. Now I just use the spot meter mode in my Skeonic, but really, the Spotmeter V was the best.
 
I still love my Spectra Pro P-251 - 28 years and counting.
I use a Pentax Digital spot meter and also Minolta IV F.
And a Minolta Color Meter.
My Spectra Candella is very handy, Think about pushing Vision 3 stock just one stop to 1000 ISO, you need an accurate read on 2 or 4 footcandles.
 
our sekonic l-558 cine is as expensive as it is perfect. anyway, high recommendation.
 
Spectra IV and Minolta Digital Spot F. I've tried many other combinations and I keep coming back to these 2. It's very love/hate with the minolta, and it's love/love with the spectra. I usually try to guess the stop before I meter to train myself, sometimes I make a bets with my Gaffer on who can guess closest. He hates it because I usually win.

Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com
 
hi guys dose any one have an experience on giving a profile to the sekonic for white reference and black reference according to the red one cemos cleping points

I mean according to this part of an article:


What is camera exposure profiling? Since no two digital cameras, cameras and light meters or different types of film are likely to agree on the same exposure, they need to be profiled (an acquired exposure characteristics). The L-758DR Digitalmaster is the first light meter that can be programmed with these profiles, to respond to light exactly the way your digital camera or type of film does. Each type of film or digital camera sensor has its own unique way of responding to various exposure conditions. These conditions often change the accuracy of the rated ISO and the dynamic range performance. An exposure profile is an exposure test that maps the exposure characteristics, as well as the dynamic range of a particular digital camera sensor’s or type of film’s. The exposure profile test measures the sensors or films response under the following conditions:

Flash Incident mode (at all ISO)
Flash Reflected mode (at all ISO)
Ambient Incident mode (at all ISO)
Ambient Reflected mode (at all ISO)


PLEASE NOTE: The exposure profile of a digital camera can be very different depending on the captured file type (Jpeg, Tiff, RAW). When making an exposure profile, make sure you select the file format that you commonly use to ensure accurate and predictable results.
 
So, it's now 2011 and i would like to see what has changed in this time??

I need a light meter. I'd like to be able to measure colour temperature as well. 4 years down the line, should i still be looking at Minolta??

It will be used within a live TV news environment and on location, using SD cameras but moving towards HD very soon.

TIA, Simon
 
Simon Dunne said:
So no one uses light meters anymore then??! :posti:
Click to expand...

Hasn't been a lot of change in the light meter market in recent years.

I use a 758-cine. It's bloated, but versatile and very precise.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top