do you use analog exposure scale?

[tom_streng]

Which analog scale do you guys use when metering the contrast of a

scene? (lets say with a Sekonic 608,558 or Starlite)

f-stop, zone, exposure-time, EV ?

 

If I shoot a landscape I usually would say I need a certain f-stop

to get the DOF I need. If I set this f-stop to the spotmeter and

then measure the contrast - wouldnt it make sense to use the analog

exp-time-scale? I could see the contrast on this scale and also

directly choose the exposure time I want/need for this particular f-

stop.

 

If I have to use an analog-f-stop scale I would have to do one more

step (lets say I want to shoot at f5.6 and get measure the needed

exposre time):

1) measure the "f-stop range" (tonal range) of the scene for a

certain exposure time

2) shift the exptime and therefore the f-stop-range until

my "wanted" f5.6 are positioned in the f-stop range in such a way,

that I get the tones I want (hope its possible to understand what I

want to say)

3) then read the exposure time

[jim_landecker]

Yes, meters with aperture-only scales require more mental juggling. I now use the "T" mode on a Sekonic L-558 (aperture priority) which works well. In low light levels, though, the shadow reading can be off the analog scale of the 558, which goes to 4s. In these cases some shifting is required, but I don't find it overly onerous.

 

Jim

[daniel_jolicoeur]

This is why I like the Luna-Pro F analog meter. Yes it only goes down to 7 1/2 deg. with attachment. I like the null needle with +/-3 stops also. The only problem is the darn thing calculates in every concievable way; also alowing you to mess up in every concievable way.

Regards,

Dan

[tom_streng]

Thank you for the responses.

The Gossen Starlite does not offer a timescale and I am trying to get the 558 instead.

I thought that I would like the zone scale of the Gossen but it is kind of "difficult" since you have to switch from the zone scale to the f-stop / exp. time after measuring. Once you have f-stop/time on the display, then contrast range is not shown any more on the analog zone scale, but only a sign at the V (to remind you that this f-stop/exp combination is for zone V). Why the heck does it not show the whole range any more?

Like the smaller size and user interface of the starlite though.

Maybe I should get both meters