Conventional Wisdom on Color Meters

[john_hennessy]

What does everyone think of color meters? I went to a workshop over the weekend and using a Gossen ($1000!) color meter and a dozen or so warming filters was highly recommended. I dread carrying around an additional gadget even if I had an extra $1000.

 

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Do most of this forum's users skip it? Just guess at which filter to use? Or what. Can't most or all of an off color film positives be fixed in Photoshop anyway?

 

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I am not talking about using Velvia under mercury-vapor lamp type of correction. Just using Velvia on a rainy day or close to sunset.

 

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Thanks.

[pete_andrews]

While there's something to be said for warming up a picture taken in

open shade; do you really want a sunset to come out neutral

grey?<br>Some of the best pictures I've seen, and taken, have had a

far from 'correct' colour rendering. And do those photographers who

stuff graduated tobacco filters over their lenses care what colour

balance they're getting?<br>Only you can decide how much you

need a colour temperature meter, but imagine the number of times that

you'd<br>A) Actually bother or remember to use the meter, and <br>B)

Have the correct mired shift filters with you.<br>That'll give you

some idea of whether it's $1000 well spent.

[scott_walton1]

Color meters are great for technical work but not really needed for

landscapes. With the meter comes the need for all the correction

filters so if you have $1500-$2000 extra disposable money laying

around... They are very useful when doing copy and shooting available

light in factories and other location stuff but it sounds like your not

doing any of that at all...The chromes can be duped and corrected or

done in PS very easily!

[larry_huppert4]

As previously mentioned, warming open shade is a good idea, but a

color temp meter still can't tell you the specific filter needed for

this given how different films will render a scene. Spending a bit

of money on experimentation using different filters would probably be

better than buying a color temp meter. I agree with the previous

post that some of the best pictures use exagerated color temp to

their benefit.

 

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For color critical work (e.g. expensive clothing catalogs for mail

order), a color temp meter would probably be useful. I haven't tried

it, but it's my understanding that color temp meters don't really

give proper filtration information for non-continuous spectrum light

sources such as the mercury-vapor on Velvia example you mentioned.

To solve this problem a device like a spectrophotometer is needed.

[ellis_vener_photography]

What difference does it make how many or how few people use

it? The question is do you think this is a necessary tool for you

and for what you do?<P>As a professional photographer, I own

the Minolta Color Meter IIIF and use it... but only for situations

where the color balance is critical as in architectural interiors,

copying artwork, or for commercial studio photography of

products (and some people) where the color rendering is critical

or where I want to make sure my lights are all balanced to one

another, or for those times when I want to make them

imbalanced to each other for a more emotionally dramatic effect.

In the latter two situations I gel my lights.<P> For landscape work

and most architetural exteriors I don't think it is necessary. A

good set of 81 series filters is necessary and I carry an 81,81A,

81B,81C, & 81EF. And then I gauge which one to use by looking

at the scene with the naked eye and then quickly looking through

the filter. It also helps to know your film.<P>

While you can balance off color transparencies in photoshop,

that isn't always a solution. It depends on how much time you

want to invest, how much money you want to spend on getting

images scanned, how much time you have invested in

calibrating your color space to the output device and then, and

most importantly how good your eye is and how good your

Photoshop skills are.

[wayne_crider3]

I use a Sixticolor that can be found for $50. I find it useful to

gauge filter shifts, or in circumstances that I question. It doesn't

gauge green tho.