Which Light Meter and Why?
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- Опубліковано 21 лип 2024
- A guide to some popular types of light meters, and the variation between them. Metering well is an important skill for all photographers, especially when shooting film and each shot costs money!
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►CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 - Intro
00:37 - Why meter light?
01:29 - Smartphone app
02:45 - Hotshoe meters
03:33 - Note on reflective meters
04:25 - Astrhori AH-M1
05:01 - Analogue light meters
06:13 - Digital handheld meters
07:29 - Spot meters
08:24 - Hybrid analogue meters
09:00 - Other options
09:27 - Roundup/conclusion
09:58 - What I use
10:58 - Street photography series
11:30 - My zine
#filmphotography #lightmeter - Розваги
Love, love, LOVE my Gossen Luna F. It does everything I need it to (reflective, incident, flash, spot (with an accessory), is super cheap, and uses modern electronics while also having a physical needle and a dial, so it looks the part IMO. Best $50 I ever spent.
I got the Lunasix 3 and couldn't agree more. It's a bit more bulky and unwieldy than the F, but I got a good deal on one with the spot accessory.
Just purchased the TTArtisan Light Meter II, for my medium format photography. I really don't want to miss my shots there, that would be to costly.
Some one commented on the Gossen Luna Pro F. It is a null meter which allows you to use the Zone system as well as understand what the light is doing. So in terms of learning the craft it is probably one of the best. It also has spot accessories and both incident reflected and flash readings. It may not be the most suitable for street or sports but for almost all other kinds it one of the very best. The analog meters have a deeper level of info than digital if one is still learning
They look great, I'd love to try one sometime
Another great watch. I've used the sekonic 308x for years, handy as. I also like my Pentax Spot master V, the old model before the digital meters. Both are pretty affordable
5:01 I'm old school and I love this option. I have the Seconic and a couple of Weston Master meters.
Nice!
I have an Sekonic 308x and Hedeco Lime 2. Hedeco mostly on my medium format without built in Light meter
Shoe-mount meters are my choice, one with a rear-facing readout (a keks), another with a screen on top (don't remember the brand). I like having the meter readout match the camera - waist level finder? Top readout meter, rangefinder body? rear facing meter. I keep a Pentax Spotmeter V for slide film and LF too, but pretty rare that I grab that anymore. I highly recommend that Pentax model - it goes for maybe $125 in mint condition and uses three 1.5v batteries, so no issues with funny battery stuff. I have had very good luck with the shoe mount and the Pentax, they all match my Canon mirrorless body.
I started doing Zone System with 1° spot meter in 1971 and with LunaPro and Sekonic flash meter for studio lights but today shooting film I’d just carry compact digital, take a shot and adjust exposure via highlight warning and histogram changing ISO setting of digital as needed to match results on the film.
When started shooting digital with key / fill flash I realized it was easier to just put white and black towels on a stand where the face would and add fill until seeing detail the black one and then adding key over fill until the white one was just below 1/3 stop clipping in non-specular highlights. It’s faster and more accurate than incident metering of flash and can be used with ETTL flash.
Fantastic video as always, Hashem! I usually have the TT Artisan cold shoe light meter with me as a backup on photo walks etc, but to be honest I very much prefer to use the internal light meter in my camera(s). Not because they're more accurate in any way (because they're usually not, as you just explained), but just because it's a smoother workflow for me. Although I pretty much always prefer spot metering on my digital cameras, so I might go for one of those next. If only they were smaller, lighter and cheaper, hey? Haha! Cheers /Freddy
Thank you! Yeah it's good that we have so many choices these days. I do hope that there will eventually be more third party/indie brand spot meters
There is another category of light meters you did only cover in passing showing the iPhone: small, digital point and shoot cameras with a decent zoom lens. For example, I use the Olympus XZ-2 as a dedicated meter, especially when I need spot metering. I zoom into the area I want to spot meter, I change the metering mode to spot metering in camera, I set ISO and shutter speed. Then I translate the reading to my film camera if not identical.
You're right! I meant to mention that, and even had some digital cameras on the desk 😅 They can be a perfect way to meter, and preview the exposure. I do the same for night exposures and other difficult lighting situations.
Great video. If buying old meters just check what batteries they need. Some of the old CDS meters needed the 1.35v mercury cells. There are workarounds for these but better to find a meter that will take a 1.5v battery.
Good point! Thank you
Great video.
RS. Canada
I’m happy with my Voigtlander VM and VMII. They look good on my M3 and M2, not too modern. Work well too, more accurate than guessing “sunny 16”.
Imo, nothing beats a dial indicator light meter. My gossen lunasix is basically perfection.
I got one from my grandfather, unfortunately the galvanometer was stuck and repairing it would have been pretty cost prohibitive. So, I bought a Luna Oro F. Looks almost the same, and still has the needle and the chunky dial I like the look of..
Another option if you shoot film on tripod : use a small digital camera to mesure light and even preview an idea of the final image, very useful with slide film
Definitely! I forgot to mention this
I've had zero luck with the light meter apps on my iPhone XR. They are all wildly inaccurate for me with no way to reliably calibrate them. Maybe they work OK on other phone models, who knows.
Thanks. Good summary on options with light meters. Your channel is really good. kutgw..geoff
Thank you!
Sekonic L-398. No battery needed. Saves film, shutter, battery, electricity and even the planet.
Great meter 👍🏼
I have found the cellphone lightmeter results to be VERY inaccurate. (2 stops out)
What are your favorite light meters for iOS / Android? Worth paying for one or just using free apps?
I've never had an iPhone, and only ever used the one called "Lightmeter" on Android (for any extensive period). I have played with others, but can't remember the names, sorry!
I recently bought a Astrhori small light meter for $100 Canadian and it does not work at all !
Consumer beware.
RS. Canada
I have done a lot of light metering with handheld light meters for more than 3 decades, the best way to measure light is with incident light metering where there a dome on the light meter, I can recommend Gossen Light Meters, new or used. I have the Gossen Variosix F2 which is very good, it can also measure flash light.
👍👍👍👍👍👍
I tried the discount. Doesn't work in the US. Oh well.
Hey, sorry about that! It was a bit confusing the way they provided the code and instructions. I've updated it to a direct link now, if you still wanted to try it.
@@pushingfilm Thanks. I bought it anyway. I've been trying to decide which inexpensive hot/cold shoe meter to get for a couple weeks. This one was getting the best reviews overall..
@@pushingfilm It arrived today. It's so tiny! I put it on my Leica M4-2. I'll see how it goes. It might just be to double check my sunny 16 exposures and tricky situations.
@@dodahlberg Nice! yeah, I was surprised at how small it actually is. For sure! that's how I plan to use it (hopefully won't get lazy though 😅)
@@pushingfilm An update now that I've used it. It's really accurate so it's like having an old Leica rangefinder with a light meter. The two downsides: I've had to put a layer of electric tape in the shoe so it fits more snugly and I put a 1/4 in. piece of the same across the back so it doesn't fall out. The other thing I've noticed is the metering button on the back bouncing against me and turning on when I don't want it on. That runs down the battery unnecessarily. That said, it charges really fast, 20 - 30 minutes.
Honestly i can't justify dropping the cash on one so i just use my cameras meter, sunny 16 or my phone.
Nice! That works just fine for most situations
Beware buying old selenium cell (ie: batteryless) light meters - the meter loses linearity when it gets old & becomes hopelessly inaccurate. And it’s not something that can be recalibrated. Old selenium cell light meters basically become paper weights 🤦🏼♂️
All my medium and large format cameras do not have built-in light meters.
Some of my 35mm film cameras do not have built-in light meters.
Some of my 35mm film cameras have built-in light meters but the light meters do not work.
When I shoot black & white film, I may use the Sunny 16 Exposure Guideline.
When I shoot color film, I usually use a light meter.
When I shoot color slides or color print film, I may use one of my two battery-independent selenium light meters.
When I shoot digital cameras, I usually use the built-in light meter.
When I shoot large format film pinhole cameras, medium format film pinhole cameras, or a large format film view camera, I may use a battery-independent Gossen Scout 2 or a battery-independent Sekonic Auto-Lumi model L-158.
In the digital era, I sometimes use a Canon G15 compact digital camera as a light meter for my large format and medium format film cameras.
When I shoot 35mm film cameras with no working built-in light meter, large format pinhole cameras, medium format pinhole cameras, medium format film cameras, or a large format view camera, I usually use a battery-operated Gossen Super Pilot incident/reflected light meter and a battery-operated Wein 500 incident flash meter because they are more accurate and more sensitive to light than my selenium light meters or any of my cell phone applications.
When I need a spot meter, I use a Gossen Luna-Pro with spot meter attachment.
I tend to use incident light readings more when shooting portraits, still life, close-ups, and macro.
I tend to use reflected light more when shooting landscapes, scenics, architecture, events, sports, and street photography.
Spotmeter+learn middle grey technique.
5:37 end of video.......
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