Sekonic 608 and general spot meter question

[dave_oconnor3]

I am actually a 35mm guy, but many of the posts I saw when trying to find an

answer to this were in this forum so I figured it would be the best place to

ask. I think you guys are probably the biggest users of external meters.

 

My EF mount film body has a spot meter which allows me to take spot readings,

hit a memory button, and have the spot reading displayed on the exposure scale.

I can take multiple spot readings and see them all displayed along the scale,

which enables me to easily meter highlights, midtones, and shadows, and then

slide the exposure up and down based on my spot readings and where I am looking

for detail if there is too much dynamic range for the film. I am looking for a

hand held meter that duplicates this functionality so that I can use it with my

FD mount camera and possibly with a medium or large format camera down the road.

 

I have a sekonic 608 which I bought off ebay and which is, unfortunately, the

cine version which eliminates the shutter speed scale in aperture priority mode.

This meter has to go since I mostly like to shoot in aperture priority, but it

seems to have another flaw as well. The memory function only seems to work in

incident mode, not in spot mode. So, I can essentially do what I want with the

incident meter, but not with the spot meter which makes no sense to me.

 

I did go through the manual but I am not seeing what I am doing wrong. Is this

really a limitation of the meter? Maybe just of the cine version? Is there

another spot meter which might be better for me? I do like the combination

incident/spot/flash of the 608, but most of what I shoot is high dynamic range

stuff in available light...so I am willing to sacrifice pretty much everything

else for a meter that works like my EF mount film body's.

 

Thanks for your help!

[thirteenthumbs]

Gossen Ultra Spot allows for up to 10 measurements in any of the modes, T, F, EV, Zone. Readings are sotred until the meter is reset for the next set of readings. The Ultra Spot II should be simular.

[henrik_tived]

hmmm. maybe I am getting it wrong...but i'll have a crack at it anyway :-) I have a 608 as well, but the non-cine version, so here is my take on it

 

You can meter and store your readings on the 608 (upto ten readings) and then you can average them out. to give you a "good exposure", on the display there is also a scale that indicates where these readings are compared to each other, given a fixed apperture or time.

 

If you are going through the effort of metering, then you could also make the effort and switch to M - for manual exposure and enter the settings you have from your 608. And/or you can manipulate that information to capture the scene as you like to imagine it.

 

The choice is your - I have been very please with my 608 - didn't think I would need it in this digital world we are now in :-)

 

best of luck and enjoy making images

 

Just my $.02

 

Henrik

[User_503771]

I have an earlier Sekonic, also the non-cine version. But as far as I know, the cine versions of these meters only add functions to the meter, not substitute them.

 

One thing that occurs to me is: Have you checked out the DIP switch settings? I don't have my manual here with me, but I do know that you can set up various features of the meter using the DIP switches. With each setting, you add and take away some functions from the meter.

 

In any event, I can't imagine that the meter won't do what you want it to do, unless Sekonic made some major changes in the way they put their meters together in the last few years.

 

One thing that's been helpful for me whenever I use this meter is to use a Zone System dial that I found on the 'Net, and printed out and assembled. (I'm sorry, I don't recall the exact URL, but it was part of a PDF document and its author has specifically stated that whoever wants to can print it out and use it -- no copyright issues.) It's formulated to be used with meters like the Sekonic, which change EV numbers depending on film speed; thus, you spin that dial to how you want to assign the Zones, and get the shutter speed and aperture combinations. This makes for an easier time for me, as I still prefer my old Soligor 1-degree analog spot meter, to which I also attached a Zone System indicator sticker.

 

Anyway, I hope the DIP switches hold the answer for you!

 

Hope this helps.

[dave_oconnor3]

Thanks for your responses.

 

I guess the most important thing to me is to be able to see the readings on a scale. I can live without the sliding exposure thing shooting manual, but the scale is really what Im looking for. It just allows me to visually see how many stops apart the various pieces of the image are. The sliding exposure thing is a convenience, but I can live without that. What I don't like is relying on the meter's averaging function.

 

Basically, I just need a spot meter with multiple spot memory that displays the readings on a scale. The Sekonic does sort of do this, but it won't do it in spot mode for me.

 

I need to recheck the dip switches...thats a good suggestion Michael...

[henrik_tived]

there is a scale at the bottom of the display

with indications of how your readings are spread out

 

Henrik

[kjgriffin]

I have the L-558 which gives me dots on a scale of either time or f/ stop whether I'm

using incident or spot metering. I use it that way routinely and have been very happy

with this meter.

 

--Kurt

[dave_oconnor3]

Okay! I figured out the problem. It was, unfortunately, user error. I still could think of some ways that the 608 could work better, but I think it will do the job. I may need to get a non cine one so I can use aperture priority mode, but overall I think this will do what I need it to.

 

Thanks much to everyone for their input...you guys made me go back and take another look and I see what I was doing wrong.