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  • 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 :)

What is the best light meter for Red?

Harmonica said:
Any votes for the L-398A analog incident light meter? It's affordable, it fits real nicely into your hand, and you don't ever have to worry about batteries. It was my first meter in film school, and it will be my last!
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Because it's rubbish in low light. It's not sensitive at all *down there*

jb
 
ibloom said:
Sounds like a consensus around the Sekonic L-758C Cine Light Meter as an all in one meter. Wonderful to see.

IBloom
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Everyone I know that gets one of these meters seems to have made the mistake at least once of getting the asa settings wrong, forgetting they had a filter compensation dialed in, or thinking they were in spot and metering ambient etc.

While they are great meters that do it all, it's hard to beat the Spectra for sheer simpleness to use in the heat of battle.

And it is so indestructible it's not funny. And their customer service is unsurpassed as well. Sending your meter in for a service is like getting a brand new meter because they replace the overlays and make it all shiny again.

Plus.... They make the only true RED light meter that's actually made for RED.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/329964-REG/Spectra_18007SPR_Spot_Meter_System_.html

Light meters for video are awesome. Firstly you can light without needing a camera or powering it up. Plus, i usually don't *rate* the camera. I just use my meters to check the ratio and balance.

jb
 
John Brawley said:
Light meters for video are awesome. Firstly you can light without needing a camera or powering it up. Plus, i usually don't *rate* the camera. I just use my meters to check the ratio and balance.

jb
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Exactly! That is usually the biggest misconception of newbies on digital filmmaking, they think that light meters with video is useless when in fact it is a very important tool, not to determine exposure (or your aperture for that matter), but to know the exact lighting ratio, and control the relationships of your lights and shadows to keep them within the known sensitivity and exposure latitude of your camera.
We used to re-learn how different film stocks "see" light, now we have to learn how each digital camera sees, and your light meter is your tool along with your visual perception.
 
John Brawley said:
Plus.... They make the only true RED light meter that's actually made for RED.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/329964-REG/Spectra_18007SPR_Spot_Meter_System_.html
jb
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That's pretty funny! I didn't know they made a red colored meter, mine is basic black, I should have bought a yellow one, then I could find it much easier! It looks like the spot meter is an attachment that connects to the sphere socket,... hmmm, ... right now, zebras and waveform are taking care of highlights ... but this would be nice addition to my PRO IV. Thanks!
 
One day I'd love to own this meter:

http://www.sekonic.com/products/products.asp?ID=133

I think people underestimate the value of a good color temp meter. My only issue with this meter though is it doesn't seem to read out the mired difference between what color temp your light source is, and where you need it to be. I'm gonna dig around in the online manual and see what I can find....

This Kenko color temp meter shows mireds:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._KCM_3100_Professional_Color_Temperature.html
 
From what little I can tell, the C-500 seems to give the info needed for determining the color temp and compensation. See below:


Sekonic PRODIGI COLOR C-500
Digital and Film Compatible
The PRODIGI COLOR C-500 and C-500R measures and displays color temperature and compensation values in LB/CC index or filter numbers for both digital and film cameras. In Digital mode, the color temperature and compensation readings are based on human visual response. In Film mode, readings are based on the color characteristics of traditional photographic film. By engineering the spectral characteristics of both systems into a single meter, Sekonic designers have given today??s digital and film photographers greater control over lighting and color reproduction than ever before.



Engineering a meter to accurately measure color for both human visual response (digital sensors) and the characteristics of photographic color film required more that just creating a new set of algorithms to process the data. Properly measuring red intensity was a major hurtle. Sekonic designers solved the problem by incorporating four color sensors: a Red sensor for visual/digital response (Rd); a Red sensor for photographic film response (Rf); a Green sensor (G); and a Blue sensor (B). They then developed a new "Simulated Spectrum" software solution (patent pending) that emulates the blue and green channel color response for both digital and film.

Illuminance Measurement
The brightness of continuous light sources is displayed in LUX (lx) or Foot-Candle (FC). Illuminance measurement is especially useful for cinematography, videography, theatrical and other applications that require precise control light source brightness.

Color Values Displayed in Three Ways

COLOR TEMPERATURE DISPLAY (in Kelvin)
The color temperature is displayed for human visual response in Digital Mode or the spectral response for photographic color film in Film Mode.
LB /CC INDEX DISPLAY
Light Balancing in MK-1 (Per Mega Kelvin) and Color Compensation Index correspond to light source filtration systems. The correction values can be directly entered into the color adjustment mode of some professional DSLR cameras.

LB/CC FILTER NUMBER DISPLAY
Light Balancing and Color Compensation filtration for lens or light-source filtration is displayed in direct filter values. The display can be adjusted to read out in KODAK Wratten, LEE or FUJIFILM filter systems.

Other Functions
Flash Color Measurement Flash readings are available in non-cord, cord and wireless modes at shutter speeds from 1 to 1/500 second. Flash brightness is read in two intensity ranges, H (high) for high-power studio strobes or L (low) lower power or shoe-mount flash units.

PRESET WHITE BALANCE/COLOR COMPENSATION FUNCTION
Nineteen presets enable adjusting display values to compensate for differences in film types, light sources, digital sensors, or personal preference. An eight-character readout on the display allows creating custom naming for easy identification of the compensation value.
MEMORY (DELTA) FUNCTION
For quick measurement of color or brightness difference between light sources.

POWER SOURCE Uses convenient, readily available AA alkaline, lithium or rechargeable batteries.

CUSTOM SETTINGS

Shutter speed steps (Full, 1/3 step or 1/2 step)
Target color temperature increments (100K, or 10MK-1 Step)
LB index display step (1MK-1, 1daMK-1 step, w/o decimal point, 1daMK-1 step with decimal point)
LB filter number display (Kodak/LEE or Fujifilm)
Automatic power off setting (20, 10, 5 minutes, or no setting)
Illuminance measurement mode (No display, both lx & FC, either lx. or FC)
 
How about a DSLR, maybe a Canon 40d? The meter on it works great. You got RAW, Pre-vis different color temps. Just a thought. :)

Have to admit though, I own a Sekonic too.
 
A friend of my mentioned the whole instant preview of video as being a color temp meter, and in some ways, it is. But here's the big difference:

A camera won't tell you exactly what kind of filtering you need on a given fixture. To me, thats a big deal.
 
I am using with my RED ONE Spectra IV-A and I am happy with it. Recently I broke white halph-sphere covering photo sensor. Is there a way to get new one somehow?
 
Yes, you can get a new photosphere. Call Spectra at (818) 954-9222 or try a WEB search for their Site. I'm happy with my meter too!
 
Milan Nikolic said:
I am using with my RED ONE Spectra IV-A and I am happy with it. Recently I broke white halph-sphere covering photo sensor. Is there a way to get new one somehow?
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Where abouts are you ?

Any spectra dealer should be able to replace that for you fairly easy as a spare part. I lost one when switching between the flat and round dome and had to buy a new one. Now I just have two spectra's.....:-)

Or you can try here...

www.spectracine.com

They also have a great little piece about WHY you should use a lightmeter with video...

http://www.spectracine.com/Spectra_Pro_4_artical_3.html

jb
 
John Brawley, that was a good article. Everyone should read it.

Thanks for the link!
 
When you shoot a talk show with 9 heads it is the better way to use a light meter in order to get the same amount of light on each person , for this the best light meter would be the seconic pro to measure the incident light falling on the people in the set, otherwise on outdoor shootings with video it can be of great help to use also a light meter,if you shoot at night with great contrast to get an average exposure, therefore I recommend the spectra pro to do the job.
Peter Pietrowski
 
When you shoot a talk show with 9 heads it is the better way to use a light meter in order to get the same amount of light on each person , for this the best light meter would be the seconic pro to measure the incident light falling on the people in the set, otherwise on outdoor shootings with video it can be of great help to use also a light meter,if you shoot at night with great contrast to get an average exposure, therefore I recommend the spectra pro to do the job.
Peter Pietrowski
 
The Sekonic L-758C, is what I use and love it, find it at B&H (link below) for $669,

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/476493-REG/Sekonic_401760_L_758C_Cine_Light_Meter.html


and I also purchased this

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/232354-REG/Sekonic_401624_Zoom_Lens_Hood_for.html


with the Polarizer, as to better give light reading when using my lenses with a polarizer, also you can add a o.6 ND on it, which I also do, especially when shooting half naked ladies on the beach or near or in water.



***EDIT: OOps, I see that I tucked too long in researching and linking you the info, as I now see that you made the great decision and purchased, but still consider the hood and the 40.5mm filters.
ciao
 
So I've been testing this meter.

It seems the spot and incident disagree by a full stop, straight out of the box. On a chroma dumond chart.

Anyone else had this experience.

Ian
 
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