Sekonic reading vs my dSLR

<p>There are differences between the devices, from how it seems mid tone. 12% vs 18% vs 15% grays that diff manufacturers are calibrated to. I have set the profile so that they are the same under situations of even lighting or indoors. However when there is direct light they are still different. Ie - distant hills or grass with sunlight. This tend to vary between 2/3 of a stop. The Sekonic being a longer shutter speed than my Nikon dSLR. The Sekonic is a 758 Cine. </p>

<p>How do you get around this? Is this just the way it is and we need to accomodate it. Maybe stick to more the Nikon or more the Sekonic and disregard the other?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>IMHO, that is no surprise, but don't take my words on it because i am not a big fan of meters anyway. Instead, you should try to take two shots, one as Mr. Nikon says, the other as Mr. Sekonic says, then judge it yourself which one is better.</p>

<p>Unless one of those is properly calibrated, there will always be a guessing game. That's my take on this.</p>

<p>Les</p>

<p>What exactly are you comparing? Are both devices <strong>spot</strong>metering the same texture? - I'd never set a modern DSLR on spot metering, thats why I am putting that question into the room.<br>

Also: What are you going to expose according to your readout? Film? Slide film? or said DSLR?<br>

Could the difference between F- & T-stops be to blame? - DxOmark might list how much light the DSLR lens you are metering through is eating. If I assume a zoom the 2/3 f-stop could be easily explained that way. - What are you going to use for the film exposure?</p>

Ray, I would pick the Nikon and go with it if your like the end result your getting with the body. Good hunting.

<p>Are you sure that the two meters are drawing their information from exactly the same areas?</p>

<p>For example the sekonic spot meters at 1 degree. Does your Nikon do that if you're using spot readings to compare?</p>

<p>I imagine that pretty much everyone with more than one meter goes through this problem. Even then your problems aren't over. Are both cameras shutter speeds spot on up and down the shutter speed spectrum? Are the apertures dead on? </p>

<p>The only answer to this problem is to use a meter/settings that give you the exposures you want with that film, with that camera. That may not be the same settings that a different camera/medium combination might need for the same scene. And the film choice for your Mamiya? is important. Reality is that if your readings are a little away from absolute perfection with colour neg or b&w film its not going to stop you getting exposures that make good prints or look good on screen. If you're using slide film bracket a few rolls and see whether you like the measured reading or 1/2 stop more or less and set the meter to deliver the one that offers the best compromise between shadow detail and not blowing out highlights. </p>

<p>The person with two clocks never knows the right time.</p>

Well, thinking out loud, one could calibrate the Sekonic to what you find is comparable to the camera meter, or giving the same histogram using a gray card in same lighting. Just tape a plus or minus to the Sekonic and use that adjustment. And also it seems that you are not going to be that far off from the metering differences if you meter off a neutral density subject. I find my Minolta handheld reasonably close to camera when I use a spot adapter as well as an older Gossen. I like handheld for its use in incident reading, which is often the closer to what I like in illumination measurement. Not a major problem as I see it. So yeah, just pick one and calibrate to other based on test. With the image as final arbiter I guess.

<p>All good sugestuins. In my experience, the angles of measurement between any of my in-camera meters and external meters differs, primarily as a function of the area captured by each. That is why I love to use incident metering whenever possible.</p>

<p>Yes, I shoot also Nikon F100 (film camera) and a medium format with Velvia 50. <br /> I noticed the difference between the Sekonic and the F100. Both using the spot meter, metering off the same area. The Nikon F100 is the same to the D600 digital.</p>

<p>I was outside and spot metered to the distant hills where the church was. I used the F100 spot meter and then after I used the Sekonic. I noticed the difference.</p>

<p>I came home the same day. Inside I had my WhiBal card on the carpet. F100 spot meter was the same as the Sekonic. The D600 was the same also. I then took Sekonic and meter off the big tree down the road from our house and took a reading off the D600 spot meter and they were different. I didn't use the F100 cos the D600 was the same and I had film in it and didn't want to accidentally use a frame.</p>

<p>Yes, the F100 had ISO 50 manually set because I had Velvia 50 loaded. The Sekonic has set ISO as 50. The D600 had ISO Lo 1.0 which is ISO 50. Both cameras had 0.0 set in exposure compensation. I pressed the two buttons on the Sekonic and confirmed no compensation was set there also. Both camera and the Sekonic was set to F5.6. F100 and D600 I was in manual mode, I set F5.6 and adjust it so the meter ruler balances out with the required shutter speed. The Sekonic is set at F5.6 at spot mode, and I take a spot meter reading and it gives me a shutter speed. </p>

<p>On the Sekonic I have used the computer software and provided a -0.5 adjustment. Because inside the house with a gray card, it was overexposing versus my Nikons. So without this adjustment with the distant trees with sunlight it would be even more than 2/3 of a stop.</p>

<p>The camera weighs various aspects of its meter reading with respect to the digital medium, which is intolerant of overexposure. Consequently bright objects, such as a cloudy sky or window in a dark building, tends to reduce the exposure. It is in the latter situation which I use the spot meter option in my Nikon when my main subject would be underexposed (e.g., wedding altar shots).</p>

<p>The Sekonic doesn't care what the medium is, only the ISO speed rating. Nor does it care what part of the subject is measured, sky, grass or rocks. Whatever you point it at will be rendered midway on the gray scale. Spot meters take particular care, and their proper use demands you know the expected reflectivity of the measured object, and your photographic intent. Green grass, clear north sky and red barns are typically neutral. Trees and shrubs are typically one stop darker, Caucasian skin, one stop brighter and clean concrete, 2 stops. With experience, you will develop your own frame of reference.</p>

<p>The incident light feature of the Seconic is also very useful for closeups and people in white or black clothing (weddings, classical concerts). It's also the mode I use for studio flash settings.</p>

<p>With a digital camera you have the option of taking test shots, and most cameras have an exposure compensation setting you can used based on test shots or experience. Electronic finders often display the exposure which will be seen in the ultimate image, as well as other real-time aids like Zebra stripes.</p>

<p>Growing up long before digital, I was curious why photo magazines always published exposure data with their pictures. With experience, I learned it was much more important to know HOW the exposure was determined than its exact parameters. The "right" exposure is usually the same, whether measured by hand, the camera or by an educated guess.</p>

<p>Thanks for explanation. Thing is I learnt spot metering with a dSLR and film SLR's spot meter. Jotting notes down as you know and analyse after. </p>

<p>I also use the spot meter option for theater work. A dark background will render subjects under lights grossly overexposed if you use a wide-area setting, or even matrix metering. Matrix metering is getting a lot smarter, though.</p>

<p>I find the spot meter option most useful if I shoot in manual mode. Also, camera metering is continuous unless you use the AE lock option, so "focus and recompose" takes a little planning.</p>

<p>With the possibility of different spot sizes, I would get an 18% gray card, put it under uniform lighting, such as sunlight, and meter both close enough that the card covers the whole possible metering area. That is, as close as you can without a shadow on the card.</p>

<p>In the sun, the meter should agree pretty close to the sunny f/16 rule. </p>

<p>You can try a few other meters, or cameras with built-in meters, to see how close they are. </p>