Sekonic problem

[ivan_vilches]

Guys im worried about i buyed in adorama a sekonic 758dr , the

thing is in low light i meter on incident or spot where my nikon

can meter without problem but the sekonic blink e.u

underexposed the scale i see blinking too is from -3 to 3 stops ,

never i calibrated the meter , maybe i need expand dinamyc

range profiling it? Or my meter bad? example in f mode never it

passed to the 20 seconds, including i tested with iso 8000 , i only

tested on ambient mode.

thanks very much .

pd: sorry for my bad english

[frode]

<p>I don't think the profiling has anything to do with it.<br /> There is a limit to how low light it will measure. I have the 758cine (almost the same meter), and its spec says it will measure ambient light down to an exposure of -2 EV for incident measurement and +1 EV for the spot measurement , both at ISO 100. Despite the spec, my meter will pass that limit (but not by much) before it blinks Eu.</p>

<p>I do not know your Nikon camera, but my Pentax will outperform the low light limits of my Sekonic. No wonder, since the camera has a rather big light collecting device with very low light loss (aka the lens) compared to the Sekonic. Look at the dome. It is not made for low light loss (it is white, it reflects much of the light). It is design for even distribution in a hemisphere.</p>

<p>To compare the Nikon and Sekonic meters, you can measure a gray card with the Nikon and use the incident meter on the Sekonic and then vary the light. You can also measure the gray card with the spot on the Sekonic. The Nikon and Sekonic will probably not read exactly the same, but the Sekonic should not be way out compared to your Nikon. That would indicate a fault in one of them.</p>

<p>Hope this was of any help.<br /> Cheers</p>

[ivan_vilches]

I tested with a meter of a friend and a few cameras and all give

me results in sekonic i tested on 30m , fast speed, iso 8000 iso 3

and all fail. I think the meter is wrong.

[c_watson1]

<p>If you don't have it, download the 758 manual online from Sekonic. Check if your meter has been adjusted/calibrated to settings other than the factory default settings.</p>

[frode]

<p>Don't test it in low light. If it gives Eu in daylight it is obviously wrong. If it gave correct values in daylight, but Eu in low light it is most probably working OK. I remember that I was a bit surprised how much light it needed to show an exposure. You cannot for example use it to measure exposure times for night photography, but most cameras will. Even a landscape lit by a full moon might have too little light.</p>

<p>To verify whether you are inside or outside its measuring range, you can set it to measure EV at ISO 100. Then, if it still says Eu, add light, if it do not, lower the light. Notice the reading when it switches between a value and Eu. It should measure at least down to -2 EV. Be sure your ISO is set to 100.</p>

<p>Btw: Turning ISO, exposure time and f-number will not change the measurement itself. It is only used for computing exposure from a given light level. Underexposure (Eu) comes as a result of the sensor not having enough light, i.e. before any of the settings are used. So if you think the Eu is a sign of the meter not working, it should not work in daylight either, or at least give a wrong measurement in daylight (and therefore a wrong exposure).</p>

[ivan_vilches]

<p>i think you are right , is working good in daylight and just changed to ev mode, in incident i go up to -2 ev and spot up to 1 , i am very disapointed about it becouse is very expensive light meter, and i wish like meter very dark shadows , so for work in night it doesnt work (for me) !!! , the other thing worry me is example my nikon d800 in spot mode can read http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d800/spec.htm from 2 to 20 ev, last night when i tested, my camera in spot mode can read all that low lights places where the sekonic just cannot, its weird.<br>

thanks Frode.</p>

[david_henderson]

<p>I'm sorry that the meter doesn't meet your needs, but I am sure that the specification for the meter was available to read online before you bought it. Sadly it doesn't seem to be Sekonic's fault. I can only suggest that if the meter works to specification that you sell it ( there seems to be pretty good demand for these meters from people who can work within its capability) and buy a meter that will measure in darker conditions. But this sekonic is not the only spot meter that doesn't meter in very low light, especially in spot mode.</p>

[bebu_lamar]

<p>Your Sekonic meter actually has better specs than your Nikon camera although not much in spot mode only 1EV. However the meter quit trying to give you a reading that may not be accurate while the Nikon would give you a reading but the LCD flashes warning you that the light level is out of range. </p>