stephen_ratzlaff Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 I have a question regarding the L558 and the displayed aperture value. In ALT mode you can set the L558 to display apertures in full stop,1/3 stop or 1/2 stop increments. I also have a Minolta Flash Meter VI which allows for "direct"aperture value display (i.e. something different than the normalaperture values we're so used to seeing). So in the "direct" mode themeter can display non-full-stop apertures like f/6.7 or f/13.2 orsomething similar to make working with cameras which display theirapertures this way a bit easier. Now to my problem and question. Do the L558's ALT aperture displaysettings (i.e. the 1/2 and 1/3 display increments) do pretty much thesame thing as the Minolta Flash Meter VI's "direct" setting? I ask because with the L558 set up in ALT mode to display apertures in1/2 stop increments and while measuring flash I can get the followingtypes of readings just by moving the meter ever so slightly (an inchor so) forward or backward with the same exact lighting setup (or itmay also be slight variances in strobe output within 1/10th or 2/10thsof a stop output between pops): Reading_1:f/16 4 for [f/16 + 4/10ths]. This is how I'd normally expect the meterto display f-numbers. Reading_2:f/19 1 for [f/19 + 1/10th]. This is what I think is strange. I'dexpect the meter to display f/16 5 or f/16 6 or something similar. Butmaybe this is where I'm not understanding the 1/2 stop ALT settingproperly. F/19 is a half stop more than f/16, so maybe this is how themeter works in flash readings. Anyhow, setting the meter's ALT setting to display apertures infull-stop increments solves the problem and the display is then f/164, or f/16 5 or f/16 6 etc. as expected. Anyone have any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_wenzel Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I've been thrilled with the Direct aperture settings and use the 1/3 switch, as I find it much more self-explanatory than f/16 4/10s, which would not be the same as 16.4. I don't understand the half values with tenths either, but if you move switch 3 to direct, you lose the tenths, which is easier to comprehend for either half or third stop settings. Switch 4 controls that choice, and with third of a stop exposures (if your camera offers that - my 10d does), your f stops are 1.0, 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0, 2.2, 2.5, 2.8, 3.2, 3.6, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.6, 6.3, 7.1, 8.0, 9.0, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 25, 29, 32, etc.. Since these are all a lot closer together than full stops, measurement is much more accurate. Shutter values are also more interesting, with 1/200, 1/160, 1/125, 1/100, 1/80, 1/60, 1/50, 1/40, 1/30, 1/25, 1/20, 1/15, 1/13 (!), 1/10, 1/8, 1/6, 1/5, 1/4, etc.. If f16.0 4/10s doesn't make sense, f18 will! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_ratzlaff Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 This 1/2 stop or 1/3 stop increment display is O.K for using modern cameras, however, whe using view cameras or older gear this becomes a problem. At least the workaround is to change the ALT setting to full stop increments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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