People's favorite light meter

[Shane Smith]

Hey everyone. Just in the market for a new light meter. Have used Sekonics in the past, wondering what light meter the Red community likes to use.

Thanks.

 

[Kwan Khan]

Sekonic 758Cine...

 

[Steven Parker]

For an incident meter, the Spectra IV-A is my favorite

http://www.spectracine.com/product_2.html

I use an old analog Spectra P-251 as a backup

http://www.spectracine.com/product_9.html

And for spot readings I have an old Sekonic L-488 DigiSpot

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/flashes_meters/sekonic_digi-spot/sekonic_digi-spot.htm

 

[Ryan E. Walters]

Sekonic L-758c (Cine).

 

[Milan Nikolic]

Spectra IV-A is excellent for me!

 

[Liam Hall]

Histogram

 

[J. Eric Camp]

I rock a Sekonic 508C

 

[Patrick Tresch]

Spectra IV-A is excellent for me!

Has any one compared the Spectra with the Sekonic L-758c (Cine)?



I have the Sekonic L-758c (Cine)

Patrick

 

[Peter Strietmann]

Definitely the Weston Master III. One of the caveats is, you have to be a master to use it.

 

[Alexis Vanier]

Has anyone used the Gossen Starlite? I'm into upgrading from my L-358. I'd like both an illumination meter (fc, lux and such) and a spot meter. Unfortunately, the higher priced Sekonic meters still use the same (lame) scheme where you have to read a code and look up a reference chart.

On paper the Spectra looks perfect and is cheaper than other brands for equivalent or better feature set, but it feels a bit light in hand and the spot attachement looks awfully clumsy. It's not ideal since I don't want to lug a separate spot meter.

Gossen Starlite? Anyone?

 

[Ryan E. Walters]

Has anyone used the Gossen Starlite? I'm into upgrading from my L-358. I'd like both an illumination meter (fc, lux and such) and a spot meter. Unfortunately, the higher priced Sekonic meters still use the same (lame) scheme where you have to read a code and look up a reference chart.?

I'm not sure what you mean by that? The L-758c is both an illumination and spot meter, and everything you need is right there in the meter. Take a reading and if you want it to show as fc, lux, etc just turn the dial. It also has a lot of customizable options / features as well.

 

[Ryan E. Walters]

Oh, by the way- check ebay for good deals on meters. I was able to pick my L-758c NEW for $500 Australian dollars- so I saved an additional 20% since I was paying in USD. (This was a while ago, I'm not sure what the exchange rate is now.)

However, if you do buy off of ebay- there is a HIGH chance that you will be getting an Asian / European compatible model. The only difference with this model is that it will not be compatible with the wireless remote module (sold in the US) you can get for checking flash photography equipment. (Which is not a big deal to me as I do not do flash photography.) Other then that difference, it is exactly the same.

 

[Leo Ticheli]

My old Spectra. Are there better ones? Undoubtedly. I happen to have a couple, but I always reach for the old Spectra; it's simple, accurate, and I like it.

Not that I use a meter that much anymore...

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo

 

[Harry Clark]

What Leo said.
I like my 4A, but the analog one works perfectly and doesn't need batteries.
Long ago, I had the fellows at Empire Exposure put in a low-light scale (with corresponding custom slides) so it's really nice.
Meters are still a useful tool for achieving consistency in lighting, especially in regards to fill light and the "dark side" of the face. It's also great when you have a crew prelighting.
I think the False Color tool is the best way to make final, critical judgements on the exact exposure of a scene, but for a point of departure a meter is still a terrific tool.
Cheers,
Harry

 

[JD Holloway]

Spectra IV Incident and an older Gossen Spotmaster.
Love the Gossen. So easy to use. Intuitive. Uses 9 volt battery!
Its nice to find equipment that use easy to find batteries.

I always have two light meters and plenty of batteries.
Shit happens. Nice to have backup.

Both are used less and less these days but are terrific tools for prelighting.
Also a Canon 10D and Minolta Colour-meter II.
Colour meter is gathering a lot of dust these days...

 

[Alexis Vanier]

I'm not sure what you mean by that? The L-758c is both an illumination and spot meter, and everything you need is right there in the meter. Take a reading and if you want it to show as fc, lux, etc just turn the dial. It also has a lot of customizable options / features as well.

From my experience the L-358's display can't just simply show you an amount of FC or Lux. It displays a fixed reference EV value which you have to look-up in the manual to convert to footcandles or lux. Is that different with the L-758C?

 

[Chamber005]

Question: Are light meters really necessary when shooting digital cinema? I mean, for film I understand, but haven't our cameras advanced enough to where we don't need separate light meters?

 

[Liam Hall]

Question: Are light meters really necessary when shooting digital cinema? I mean, for film I understand, but haven't our cameras advanced enough to where we don't need separate light meters?

Correct. You don't need one, you can get by quite happily using the histogram and false color system. Meters are still useful, not least for checking contrast ratios and dynamic range. Also, you can't always have a camera tucked under your arm - particularly on a recce or pre-light.

 

[Peter Strietmann]

Question: Are light meters really necessary when shooting digital cinema? I mean, for film I understand, but haven't our cameras advanced enough to where we don't need separate light meters?

Light meters are useful for things like pre-lighting a set or establishing the quantity of available light on a location where you would not want to drag your camera around. Its kind of like a director's viewfinder, you can lug your camera and a bunch of lenses around to accomplish basically the same thing.

 

[Perry Ho]

I got 508C and 758C, feel great with them!