13% grey or 18% grey with Sekonic L-308??

I read somewhere else that the Sekonic L-308BII measures light at

13% grey and not 18% grey thus underexposing your photos unless you

manualy compensate in the meter for it. Is this true?

Check out this link: Sekonic site - metering techniques

 

There's a wealth of information there that should help to answer your question. Also, Sekonic has a forum that's worth browsing and/or searching.

Sorry about the format. I tried to make a "clickable" link. The site is at:

 

http://www.sekonic.com/IncidentVsReflect.html

Actually it only underexposes your subjects if you are shooting a gray card or copying documents; the average outdoor scene is 13% gray. 18% gray cards were developed for document copying and for the old "keytone" method of metering for movie film.

I have a 308 and the photos look good to me. Just remember to compensate for any filters you are using. For example, I shoot a lot of Provia 100, pushed one stop which I rate at 200 on the camera. However, I always have an 81 series filter on my lens, so I set the meter for 160. I think a lot of people buy "simple" meters like the 308 as a first meter, forget to compensate for filters and then say it underexposes.

 

Remember sunny 16? If you take a meter outside in bright light and it says something totally off the "rule," it needs to be calibrated.

 

I use mine for outside incident, outside fill flash and studio use and it is suffient, but if I replaced the unit I would probably look for something with the capability to remember a couple readings.

 

Outside reflected light the meter seems to overexpose everything by a large amount, probably a stop or two. Conditions have no affect on the outcome.

 

My biggest complaint about the meter is it goes through a battery check every time you turn it on (it shuts off after a couple minutes). It only takes a couple seconds, but sometimes every second counts.

 

Bottom line, I would not worry about underexposure, but you do need to apply some brain power to using the meter. Remember what ever the meter displays is a suggestion, not an absolute,

So tell me if I have this wrong. I took a gray card (18%) and metered it (reflective) approx. six inches away from the card.

 

I then metered my hand the same way, and came up with a 1/3 stop difference, ie my hand reflects 1/3 stop more light than the grey card.

 

Anyone see anything inherently bad in such a method? Other than getting my hands dirty that is...

 

Seems to work for me...

Chris, it is a bad idea. your hand is of a different reflective value than the 18% grey card. that's why we use the meter, to distinguish different tonal values.You should be able to take your grey card, spot meter off of it, and set your camera to that reading and end up with a perfect exposure. In your shady back yard, take a black t-shirt, a white t-shirt and put them on the ground, place your grey card in the middle, and spot meter all three seperately. And you're wondering about your hand being 1/3 stop off?