EV readout on light meter - Soligor v Sekonic

Threeracers

Threeracers

Suspended / Banned
Messages
573
Name
Mark
Edit My Images
No
Ok, potential idiot question coming up……

So far I have been using a Sekonic L 308S with my Hasselblad. As the Hasselblad allows an EV setting to be used on the lens I tend to set the Sekonic readout in EV, which I then set on the lens, lock the aperture and shutter speed together and then choose the desired combination. This EV readout from the Sekonic varies with the ISO setting.

I have just bought a Soligor Spot Sensor II which arrived this morning and I have noticed the EV readout does not change as the ISO setting is changed on the lens. It would appear that the ISO setting is merely a ring which also displays aperture which is adjacent to a ring with EV settings and shutter speeds, so that they line up.

Now I haven’t really thought about it before but that makes sense, the EV is a measure of light and shouldn’t change as the ISO is changed. So why does the Sekonic?

So my question is, should I be just taking the EV value from the Spot meter and dialling it into the lens on the Hasselblad? If so, I have been using the Sekonic incorrectly for quite some time (which might explain why I cannot get on with Velvia!).

TIA

Mark
 
EV isn't a measure of light - it's a measure of exposure defined in terms of shutter speed/aperture combinations. The scale starts at 0 for 1 second at f/1 and works on from there. So, 2 seconds at f/1.4 is also EV0 and so on. That makes the Sekonic correct, in that EV is independent of ISO (and the light, for that matter insofar as it's just a shorthand way of expressing a set of combinations). It's only intended to help with cameras where you can interlock aperture and shutter speed so that, having dialed in the EV, you can change either and the camera will adjust the other variable.
 
Last edited:
There is a useful EV table at the bottom of this page http://www.scantips.com/lights/fstop.html

The "EV" reading on your spot meter has been probably been calculated at 100asa (at least the soligor spot meter [not type ii] has according to the manual). So, provided your film is 100asa you can use the meter EV reading, an asa other than 100 will accordingly give an incorrect exposure.
 
Last edited:
Thanks both. I always thought I had a reasonable grasp of EV - particulalry with the ability to use it on the Hasselblad - but the arrival of the spot meter and the inability to change the ISO made me doubt that. A little googling produced further doubts but David's point about it being a readout for 100 asa makes a lot more sense - the meter didnt come with a manual!

So now of course I just have to recognise that I cannot get it right with Velvia!

Mark
 
Threeracers said:
So now of course I just have to recognise that I cannot get it right with Velvia!

Mark
Click to expand...

The first roll of Velvia I ever took came out beautifully. Every roll since has been pretty poor. I can't seem to get it right either
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top