Flash meter help

stumac

stumac

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stuart
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I Know there have been many threads on here on using a meter with many many different opinions as to what's the right way but none of them seem to help me with my problem
I bought a 308 meter and I've been having a play .... So I put my son on a chair set up a speed lite slightly off to one side 1/8 power, I had a fiddle with the apature and got a pleasing result with f 11... Now when I get my meter and hold it in front of his face and point it at the light or back to camera I get a reading if f8???? At f8 the image is totally over exposed???
What am I doing wrong please help
 
Questions you will need to answer:
Have you calibrated the meter to the camera?
Are the ISO settings the same for both?
Are you judging the over-exposure from the image on the screen on the back of the camera or opened properly in software?
Are your blinkies flashing? Often what looks over exposed on the screen is actually not overexposed in reality.

That'll do to start.
 
A meter measures light and, used correctly, will give a theoretically correct reading - which may or may not be what you personally want.

The correct use in nearly all situations is to place the meter at the subject position and to point the meter towards the camera.
set up a speed lite slightly off to one side
Click to expand...
if it's somewhere near the camera then you'll probably get pretty much the same reading whether you point the meter at the subject or at the light, which a few people think is the right way of doing it:( because the dome on the meter receptor accepts light from 180 degrees, so tends to compensate for that kind of error.

My guess here is that either your meter isn't calibrated correctly or you just like images that are a bit underexposed.
 
thanks for the reply guys with f11 no blinkies with f8 meter reading yes blinkies
it really is over exposed
so now the silly question how do you calibrate your meter to the camera
and yes iso is the same
 
i think i may have have found my problem hopefully someone can tell me weather this seems right or not
the flash heads zoom was to max at 105mm ive tried a few shots pulling it back to 24mm and things seem better......should this make sense??
 
stumac said:
i think i may have have found my problem hopefully someone can tell me weather this seems right or not
the flash heads zoom was to max at 105mm ive tried a few shots pulling it back to 24mm and things seem better......should this make sense??
Click to expand...

What was it set at when you compared the metered exposure to actual exposure? Obviously the zoom setting has got to be the same or you're not comparing like with like.

That aside, it's not unusual to get a difference between a hand meter reading and an true exposure. The meter reading is theoretical, based on a number of assumptions, and what you get on the sensor is actual, and may also vary according to your definition of correct exposure.

I only ever use a meter to set the lights up, adjust ratios etc. The LCD/histogram/blinkies is a far more reliable way of setting the final exposure. It can hardly be wrong!

What lens were you using? Some consumer grade zooms can be a bit off in their f/number vs T/stop, and aperture settings often go a bit astray at higher f/numbers due to mechanical tolerances.
 
It was set to 105mm when I wAs getting the problem and I was using a 70-200. 2.8 l lens now that I have set the zoom to 24mm it seems to be more accurate
 
Doesn't sound right.. You ARE shooting in full manual and not Av/A mode?

Can't really see your focal length having an effect unless the camera is changing settings based on metering.
 
vaizki said:
Doesn't sound right.. You ARE shooting in full manual and not Av/A mode?

Can't really see your focal length having an effect unless the camera is changing settings based on metering.
Click to expand...

erm, zoom head on flash...
 
Argh... That's what you get for reading forums with the phone...
 
From the Sekonic Site:

To calibrate your flash meter, perform the following steps:


1. Choose a subject that contains highlights, shadows and mid tones.
2. Position the meter so it faces the camera from the subject's position. Mount it on a light stand or tripod so it remains in a fixed location.
3. Set the camera to its highest possible synch speed so any ambient light will not affect the meter's reading. (Sekonic meters will “see” any ambient light that is present and able to affect exposure-even in flash mode).
4. Test-fire and adjust your lights so the meter displays an even-numbered aperture (no tenths)
5. Take your first test image by setting the camera to agree with what the meter shows.
6. Take additional test images by adjusting your camera's aperture over and under by using the smallest aperture possible (usually 1/3 or ? stops). Do not move or adjust the lights.
7. With a digital camera, you can evaluate the exposures immediately. If you are lucky, the “perfect” exposure will be the one that exactly matched the meter. No adjustment will be needed. If you feel that an over or under adjustment is needed, use the meter's calibration or compensation function to make your changes. Shoot another test with the adjusted meter.
8. With a film camera, shoot transparencies, and make sure that when the roll is processed it is not cut and mounted. (It is easier to view a strip of film than it is a box of slides) Evaluate the images on a light box, and adjust the meter if necessary. A second roll will confirm your adjustments.

Because the performance of electronic and mechanical devices can drift over time, it is advisable to perform this test every six months. Repeat this test if you are going to use a different camera. You may also check the ambient mode the same way with a constant light source. (Modeling lights work well.) If you wish match the incident readings to a particular gray card, mount the meter in a fixed location and take your readings, taking care not to permit any stray light through the back of the meter. Shoot some test images and evaluate them as before. The Sekonic L-558 and L-608 meters have the ability to calibrate incident and reflected readings independently.
 
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