Sekonic L-358 meter...

[cordek]

<p>I am using a manual lens on my 5dii, and hasselblad film for a special shoot. I shot a sample image using the l-358 at f/8, sphere out, iso 100, ambient, and was severely overexposed at 8.5 sec - the correct setting by L358. (see images in my workspace under sekonic).<br>

Then, I shot the same image using the 5d correction and it showed 100 sec as the correct exposure. I haven't used the sekonic for quite a while so I went to sekonic's site video for ambient and followed it to a T.<br>

1/ I'm doing something horribly wrong, or 2/ the meter manfunctions.<br>

If there is someone who has more extensive experience using this meter, I would greatly appreciate your advice.<br>

Thanks, Ron Cordek</p>

<p> </p>

[michaelmowery]

<p>The meter works or it doesn't. You should check it against another meter. If it is off send it in. In the meantime if you hold down both the iso1 and iso2 buttons you can do an adjustment plus or minus 9.9 stops.</p>

[parv]

Is it 8.5 s or 1/8.5 s (same for number of "100")?

[hjoseph7]

<p>Have you tried changing the battery ?</p>

[cc_cc7]

<p>You say you used the Sekonic "sphere out". That would suggest that you are using the retractable lumisphere (white dome) attachment which is for incident metering, it is for measuring the light falling on your subject, point the lumisphere at your light source for an accurate reading. For this scene if you're measuring from where the picture was taken you would need to use the lumigrid attachment, which is for reflective metering, point the lumigrid at your subject for an accurate reading.<br>

Your pictures show that you are shooting from indoors or under cover and I see no foot prints in the snow. My guess is that you metered for the yard from inside or under cover with the lumisphere attachment, this would explain the over exposure. If this was the case to get an accurate reading either walk into the yard with the lumisphere and get a direct reading from the sky (your lightsource), or switch to the lumigrid attachment and point it at the snow covered yard (your subject) and see if the exposure settings change.</p>

[BrianS1664879711]

<p>ccx2 is right, you used incident metering when you probably should have used reflective metering with correction for white scene. Unless, as mentioned, you walk out into the scene and destroy that clean carpet of snow.</p>

<p>One minor point that seems controversial, though - most people, when incident metering, point the dome at the CAMERA rather than the light source. There are good reasons for pointing at the light source in multi-light situations but in general the lumisphere integrates the light properly for the best meter reading if pointed at the camera.</p>

<p>Suggestion: watch the Sekonic video again, but this time remember that lumigridis for reflective and lumisphere is for incident.</p>

[cc_cc7]

<p>Point it at the camera, point it at the light source... what ever works for you. I prefer aiming towards the light source because the light is what I am measuring. A lot of situations either will work, but not always.</p>

[leicaglow]

Point it at the light source if you want the light at the scene to be neutral grey. Point

it at the camera if you want to average all the light sources falling on the scene.

 

There is a big difference. I never point it at the light source unless looking for light

ratios. If you are shooting in sunlight and pointing the meter at the sun, for example,

you are placing the sun at neutral grey, which is about 3 to 4 stops under exposed,

depending on the film.

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>The reason for the retractable dome is so that the meter can be used for taking ratio readings (dome down) by pointing at light sources, or 'normal' incident readings with the dome out.</p>

<p>Even using the meter with the dome retracted will <em>not</em> give an accurate ratio reading unless all the other lights in the studio or on the set are turned off. The lights need to be measured individually for total accuracy.</p>

<p>For normal incident readings the dome should be out and pointed toward the camera from the subject position. Just read <a href="http://www.sekonic.com/downloads/l-358_english.pdf">the manual</a>!<br>

Pp 9 and 23 clearly explain how to take normal and brightness ratio readings.</p>

[cc_cc7]

<p>The manual states (pg 9) "more precisely, in the direction of the light axis of the lens".<br>

What is meant by that, how does that differ from pointing it at the camera?</p>

<p>The vast majority of the time I am using a light meter is in a studio environment with strobes in front of and behind the subject, pointing the meter towards the camera in these circumstances does not take into account all of the lights. So yeah, I am looking for ratios and this is why I am accustom to pointing the meter at the light source. That said I am completely open to the idea that I'm not doing things right and could benefit from not do this in all circumstances.<br>

</p>

[BrianS1664879711]

<p>The term used on pg 9 is a slightly more precise way of saying "point at the camera".</p>

<p>Yes, a "regular" incident light reading cannot integrate the light from behind the subject. :)</p>

<p>When you do light readings in studio to determine ratios, the lumisphere should be down (of use a flat disk diffuser if your meter has one) for best accuracy. This was extensively discussed by Dunn in his landmark tome, Exposure Manual, way back in the early 1950s.</p>

<p>But the bottom line, cc cc, is that whatever metering method is working for you is probably good enough... whether it is technically correct or not.</p>

[cordek]

<p>Thanks to all for your thoughts. The shot was taken facing out towards a recent snowbank, or a "landscape" shot. I received two notes from Sekonic and both indicated I should have used a lumigrid instead of a lumisphere, which I lost some time ago as a reflective image shot. So, one is coming from B&H. More to come later</p>

[cordek]

I just received my lumigrid and did a few checks. The response was dead-on! So, the answer was using a lumigrid and not the sphere.

Thanks to all for you kind feedback......