Light Meters

dj_myk

dj_myk

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Mike Guthrie
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Hi there

I am looking to purchase a light meter to aid me when setting up lighting conditions when shooting portrait work

I am fairly interested in this one

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.aspx?sku=1006844

what are people views or alternativly is there other ones out there people recomend. I am just starting out and looking for another support aid for portrait shooting.

Mike
 
I know a couple of studios that use these, but you can get the much cheaper from the Hong Kong suppliers such as DigitalRev or OneStopDigital

Or you could get the L358 for about the same price as that.
 
I've got the L-358, the bigger brother of the one you've linked to, mainly because it can trigger the flashes to take a reading.

There was a thread on this a few days ago...
 
Yep great little meters will cover nearly all your needs. They use them in studio at college.

I used to have an earlier version of the meter, was really reliable and easy to use.
 
Sekonic make great meters with lots of functions, clear readouts and most importantly, accurate results.

The real question is whether you need one? I've never used my meter when shooting digital as it doesn't seem worth the time it takes. Rather than set up, measure, adjust, re-measure and so on. I find it far quicker to set up, shoot, view and adjust from the image.

With film, the meter is an absolute must of course. :)
 
got one of them the other day, not had too much play with it yet, but it is quite big(bigger than the picture portrays i think), fits my hand well and very plasticy.

got mine for approx £80 inc del from urgalaxy with guaranteed no tax.

the screen DOES NOT light up if that is a big thing(urgalaxys writeup said it did). the l358 does have a light up screen though and a few more options.

mine does have setting for wireless flash(i think using a sep module) or just whip the connection out of your camera and into the l308s and test that way
 
I have this model. It is very simple to operate and used to use it all the time in the studio. Now though, I must admit I tend to use it the once to set up and then as the light changes, just tweak my camera settings.
 
well that is kinda what i was wanting it for, just to aid me for setting up the camera settings etc for the lighting conditions, rather than rattling off 3-4 shots and then adjusting.

I might have a look on ebay for the other alternatives mentioned above, if not i will try URGalaxay

I have a studio flash light and a remove flash trigger, as well as the external flash gun.

I have a portrait shoot on the 24th of June and want to get it right first time around, its my first photo shoot and don't want to look to much of an amature

LOL

Mike
 
I have that model (or something near as dammit), and never really use it. It tends to give me the same readings as my camera anyway.
 
What do you need the lightmeter for when you have a histogram? :) Learn how to read it (you need to know it anyway, if you are serious about digital photography) and you'll be fine without any flashmeter :)
 
yourapocalypse said:
I have that model (or something near as dammit), and never really use it. It tends to give me the same readings as my camera anyway.
Click to expand...

But you cant measure incident readings on the camera, only reflective. Its good to see what light is reaching your subject's face.
 
The Sekonic L308S is a great little meter. In my last job, I had access to a fully equipped studio (all Elinchrom light heads and power packs, a 12 ft backdrop etc), and they had a L358, and L308, and I way prefer the 308. If you want to shoot highly reflective / white surfaces then a light meter is unbeatable - if you're shooting with a blown out backgrond (e.g. against a window or a blown out white backdrop), then the histogram is going to show as being blown out, but you can't tell what's causing it to clip, apart from the little flashing highlights.

Really. . . if you're shooting portraits, and have time to set the shot up - e.g. wedding, posed family type shots, etc, then why not get the lighting dead on in camera?

I don't always use my light meter - it's not exactly practical when shooting the kids running around, at which point I do use my histogram, but when I do use it, it's invaluable.

Oh, and even the L308 triggers flash (via PC sync cord).
 
Gosh that's expensive for something which in my experience you won't use much. Buy something like this http://SPAM/4yowzd and then decide whether you need the full digital monte and save the odd £100 for that new lens you want...
 
that looks very natty - not seen one like that before.
 
just like my long lens.
 
brianfarrell said:
Gosh that's expensive for something which in my experience you won't use much. Buy something like this http://SPAM/4yowzd and then decide whether you need the full digital monte and save the odd £100 for that new lens you want...
Click to expand...

Wow, it's a very very long time since I've seen one of them. That's what we had a college and to me, that's what a flash meter was. Top stuff. :D
 
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