Using my minolta flash meter 3

[jake_miller]

I obtained a Minolta Flash Meter 3 not to long ago. And than this past

weekend when I was visiting a friend, we tested the meter out along

with his D50, and my method of metering, which was place the meter

where ever the subject would be, and point towards the camera and

meter using the incident attachement, left the picture a tad

overexposed. Where as my friends method was to hold the meter where

the camera was point it at the subject using the reflective attachment

was a more accurate. My method was only a stop off, his was basically

the correct exposure...How does everyone else go about doing it.

[clarence_l]

Hello,

 

If you're pointing the light meter at the camera, you should be using the incident attachment, and if you're pointing the light meter at the subject, from where the camera would be, you should be using the reflective attachment, because for the latter, you're recording the luminence of the light reflected from the subject and bouncing towards the camera.

 

I use a Minolta Flash Meter III as well, but my exposures are on target, as far as I can tell. Perhaps you should calibrate it with a test shoot, using slide film for maximum accuracy. The calibration knob is on the back of the Minolta.

 

Clarence

[mrstubbs]

Hello Jake. I had a similar problem of over exposure using a D30 and a light meter. The meter was reading f5.6+ but the correct exposure was more like f8. I then used a grey card to shoot a test shot and adjusted the exposure until the spike (in the histogram on the camera) was at centre. This was a far more accurate exposure than using the meter. I still struggle to obtain what I am satisfied is correct but it is a good start. The issue seems to me to be that the white balance and exposure need both be correct. If the shot is not correctly exposed then the white balance will be off when you correct the exposure on your computer. For now I shoot the gray card and adjust to centre the spike, then shoot the card again, using the first shot as a custom white balance, then use the second shot as a custom white balance for that camera position. Hope this helps.

[tom_thumbnail]

<blockquote>If you're pointing the light meter at the camera, you should be using the incident attachment, and if you're pointing the light meter at the subject, from where the camera would be, you should be using the reflective attachment</blockquote>

<p>I know the white dome is the incident attachment. What is the "reflective attachment?" I've been looking at some used Minolta Flash Meter IIIs with an eye toward making a purchase, and I haven't seen any mention of a reflective attachment.</p>