Looking for a light meter for camera

[ana_nabakowski]

<p>I have a Pentax isdL and I am looking for a light meter. Do light meters have to be compatible with certain cameras like lenses do or can it work with any camera? and which light meter do you suggest? I do a lot of photography so I need a good one. Thanks!</p>

[personalphotos]

<p>Well first I wonder why you need the meter. The internal meter is more than capable for most types of photography. I do own one and it is only used for studio or flash photography. There it has an important place.Most studio setups will be shot manually and a good quality flash meter helps this setup greatly.</p>

<p>Second light/flash meters are not brand specific. All will give you similar readings of any given scene. The only variable is how the particular brand of meter has been calibrated. But the differences are so slight as to not worry about. The type of meter you want for flash use is called an incident-light meter. They have a white dome on the sensor and measure the light that hits the meter. Reflected-light meters (often called spot meters) measure the light reflected by the scene and this is the type all cameras have built in. But for studio strobe/flash work you don't want this type.</p>

<p>A few good choices would be Sekonic L-358 Flash Meter, L-408 or L-758 Plus a few other models from them.</p>

<p>There are other brands as well which could do the job.</p>

[bueh]

<p>I second the reliable and accurate Sekonic meters. I have an L-508 incident/spot/flash meter and it's probably the best photographic tool you'll ever buy.</p>

[jemal.yarbrough]

<p>I got a used Vivitar 43 incident and reflective meter. I think it cost me less than $10. Either that or it was a included in a shopatgoodwill auction with a camera and lens kit. It works. I'd rather get a cheapo to learn and spend that mony on a flash or lens at this point. Just tested it. It's reflective meter is about as accurate as the one in the k10d.</p>

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[mountainvisions]

<p>I'm wondering why you need a light meter to.</p>

<p>The meter in your camera is perfectly adequate as others have said for anything but studio flash. And even then with digital you could always chimp to get the correct ratio.</p>

<p> </p>

[mc2imaging]

<p>For night photography, a hand held meter can be handy. If I need to measure an exposure over 30 seconds, it is a requirement.</p>

<p>I've used Gossen Super Pilots forever. Small, reliable, easy to use. I have a Luna Pro too, and it has a greater range, but it isn't as simple to use as the Super Pilot.</p>

<p>Otherwise, the camera's own histogram is probably more valuable than what a meter will tell you.</p>

<p>Both Gossen's have a movable bubble to measure both reflected and incident. I also have a Shepherd flash meter that I haven't used once since going digital.</p>

<p>What ever meter you get, make sure you get one that takes a battery. Selenium cell light meters are basically solar cells hooked up to a volt meter. They only work well in fairly well lit situations like outdoors during the day, and after a few years the cell degrades and you get false readings. A CdS cell requires the input from a battery and is much more sensitive, accurate, and reliable.</p>

[janne_moren]

<p>I have a light meter for film use (a Sekonic L308S). But I must admit that I sometimes use it for digital shots as well. I prefer incident metering over reflected; you meter a scene once, then you can set the camera and forget about exposure. And the exposure will be "right" (for some value of "right"), and more or less reflect the overall look of the scene. But that's just me; an in-camera meter works fine too, and I still mostly use that with my K10.</p>

 

[thermionicist]

<p>My two cents worth: I'm still using my Pentax "1-degree/20-degree" spot meter and digital Pentax spot meter with splendid results with my Pentax SLRs, Graflex RB, Speed Graphic, 4x5 view camera, and even the Minox B. It's hard to beat a spot meter. An incident meter is good for portraiture but requires you to be next to the subject, which is impractical with subjects like distant mountains, dramatic thunder clouds or Komodo Dragons. </p>

[mountainvisions]

<blockquote>

<p ><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=3826483">Matthew McManamey</a> , Apr 18, 2009; 06:44 p.m. (<a href="../bboard/admin-edit-msg?msg_id=00T6iI">edit</a> | <a href="../bboard/admin-delete-msg?msg_id=00T6iI">delete</a> )<br>

For night photography, a hand held meter can be handy. If I need to measure an exposure over 30 seconds, it is a requirement.</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Actually, I'm going to disagree. You can extrapolate the correct exposure with simple EV charts, or by bumping ISO and opening aperture.</p>

<p>I use the spot meter all the time on Pentax DSLRs, it's actually my prefered method to meter. Works like a dream. Pentax SLR have always had a respectable spot meter circle.</p>

<p> </p>

[ken_yee]

<p>I found this educational because I thought chimping was enough as well:<br>

http://www.sekonic.com/images/files/HistogramsLightmetersWorkTogether.pdf<br>

I currently use a light meter for portraits and products. It helps to set lighting ratios.</p>

[mountainvisions]

<p>The histogram works just like metering.</p>

<p>For instance if you have a mid tone model, zoom in to just a patch of skin, fire shot, and histogram should be dead center for a proper exposure.</p>

 

[personalphotos]

<p>Exactly Justin. I use it all the time and even with strobes, rely on the histogram more than fooling around with a meter very much.</p>

<p>Seems our OP has asked a ?? and disappeared.....</p>