Light meter??

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Brendan
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Hi,
I'm about to buy a 3 head kit for a home studio, just asking I have read that a light meter is a good idea but then some people don't use them and go by trail and error on digital camera's. If I do need one what is the best to get??:thinking:

thanks for any info.
 
Meters measure the amount of light reaching the subject, and that info makes it very quick and easy to set the correct aperture on your camera (although, like all other info, you still need to interpret it and treat it as advice rather than an order). Trial and error can work too, but personally I prefer to avoid error:)

Any flash meter will work just as well as any other, all that you get if you spend more money is more features and, hopefully, better build quality.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Meters measure the amount of light reaching the subject, and that info makes it very quick and easy to set the correct aperture on your camera (although, like all other info, you still need to interpret it and treat it as advice rather than an order). Trial and error can work too, but personally I prefer to avoid error:)

Any flash meter will work just as well as any other, all that you get if you spend more money is more features and, hopefully, better build quality.
Click to expand...

Hi,
Thanks for the reply, what one do you use in your video's? as I might be buying the Lencarta kit :) as been looking around for a long time now.
 
Ah, that's the Minolta...

You don't need to spend that kind of money - I do because it gets pro use and can get dropped and trodden on:)
 
Sorry to hijack this thread but I have a birthday coming up and thought I might like a flash meter and have been looking at the,
Sekonic L-308S Flashmate Light Meter.
What are your thoughts or should I spend a bit more?
 
The 308 is a perfectly capable meter - as I said above, a meter is a meter is a meter...
 
I think Gary would say they all do the same job it just go's to ease of use and budget. I did the first lighting cousre with Gary and soon after picked up some lighting gear and a Sekonic L-358 and found it very easy to use.
 
You can get by without a meter with one or even two lights, but not for three. You'll be faffing about for ever.

I use a Sekonic 308 like so many people - £125. It's a really good meter. But if I was buying again, I think I might go a bit further and get the 358. Same meter inside, does the same job, but has a swivelling head and a kind of analogue scale along the bottom of the display. Also does wireless and a few other things I can't think of a use for.

Use it for setting up, but always check the final exposure of the histogram and tweak the f/number to suit. The meter reading is hardly ever exactly what I want but it always balances the lights exactly and just a tweak of f/number gets it perfect :thumbs:
 
I picked up an "as new" boxed LS308s for £90 odd on here. It really does everything you need.

I prefer using the meter to avoid the 'error' bit as Garry said above but when I was demonstrating to John (CGeezer) how you shoot in a studio my light meter was elsewhere and within a few shots we had the correct exposure. With experience you can roughly guess what the right level is and set the camera up. Then adjust the aperture to correct the exposure if it was wrong.

I would certainly say buy one though!
 
I have a Sekonic 308s myself as well and it's great for the price indeed. Only "setting" I had to make was to change the display from .1 apertures to 1/3 ones, then off we go.

The only feature missing for me is firing the flashes wirelessly, and I know that pocketwizards can be fired by the more expensive sekonic + a module.. but I just have my Elinchroms and the Skyport trigger that came with it.

Also the 308s is small, light and apparently runs forever on a single battery. Important for me because I like to take it along on my belt.
 
whitevanman said:
Talking of firing flashes remotely, how does this work with the 308s.
Click to expand...

I just pop the radio remote off the top of the camera, hold the meter in place, press the button on the meter and then press the button on the radio trigger. Then stick it back on the camera. If you use FITP stuff he can sell you an extra trigger which you could keep in your pocket. I have 2 triggers and 2 receivers then with a combination of leads I can use them for triggering the camera or lights.
 
The 308s has a sync-port so you could basically cable up a wireless trigger to it (and maybe velcro it into a single package).

However it also has another flash mode where the 308s waits for a flash and meters it. This works very well and I do just as Darren, popping the Skyport transmitter off the camera hotshoe and use the test button to meter. Also the Sekonic will then wait for a new flash without having to press the metering button, so you can just move around, adjust settings and keep popping the flashes and the readings will change on the 308s.

Not ideal but not bad.
 
vaizki said:
The 308s has a sync-port so you could basically cable up a wireless trigger to it (and maybe velcro it into a single package).

However it also has another flash mode where the 308s waits for a flash and meters it. This works very well and I do just as Darren, popping the Skyport transmitter off the camera hotshoe and use the test button to meter. Also the Sekonic will then wait for a new flash without having to press the metering button, so you can just move around, adjust settings and keep popping the flashes and the readings will change on the 308s.

Not ideal but not bad.
Click to expand...

That mode is the only thing I use on the meter AT ALL !
 
cowasaki said:
I just pop the radio remote off the top of the camera, hold the meter in place, press the button on the meter and then press the button on the radio trigger. Then stick it back on the camera. If you use FITP stuff he can sell you an extra trigger which you could keep in your pocket. I have 2 triggers and 2 receivers then with a combination of leads I can use them for triggering the camera or lights.
Click to expand...

Me too. Simples :thumbs:
 
I did look at the more expensive meters but basically the cheaper 308s does absolutely everything that I wanted from a light meter and I got it at the right price. I do have an old vintage light meter that came with a camera my dad gave me. It is not ideal but I'm giving it to CGeezer when he buys my Stable Imaging kit off me in the next few weeks as I get some more Lencarta stuff. Still need to read the instructions though as I don't actually know what to do with it for incidental light measurements etc.
 
Thanks for all the info, I had my eye on the 308s for £90, worth it??
 
I use the radio trigger off the camera too. Another good buy is a remote for your lights if your manufacturer supports it. You can then set up all the lights without running backwards and forwards to adjust the dials, reaching around softboxes etc
 
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