Questions tagged [light-meter]
Questions about external (handheld) incident/flash light meters.
54 questions
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Difference between testing dynamic range using greyscale charts and a xyla chart?
I am currently planning to calibrate my light meter to a camera by using Sekonics data transfer software. The software also measures/calculates/estimates the dynamic range of the camera, by analyzing ...
- 343
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2
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444
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Why light meter reading is way too high and cause overexposure
I'm learning to use a light meter for a film photography and faced a problem today: when I set exposure to what light meter told me to, image was way overexposed, like 2 stops at least.
Details: Night ...
- 329
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Exposure meter's result EV relative to the film ISO density threshold
Let's take a film with properly measured ISO speed. It means that there is some threshold exposure where it's resulting density (if developed to a specific standard gamma) raises just slightly (there ...
- 111
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Usefulness of a batteryless (selenium etc.) light meter
Considering the recent Why are my film photos coming out so dark, even in bright sunlight? where the problem might have been a degraded light sensor in a classic 35mm SLR or might have been the wrong ...
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Why should we be interested at incident metering?
Everyone says that incident metering is clearly better than reflective metering because the first one measures the real light on the subject, and not that reflected by its (which depends on its ...
- 119
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Why are there Lux - EV conversion tables, and not Lux Seconds - EV conversion table?
As far as I'm concerned, Exposure Value is measured in Lux seconds.
However, I see everywhere the conversion formula:
Lux = 2.5 x 2^EV
So, for instance, EV = 0 means 2.5 Lux.
Where are seconds?
- 514
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3
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Why are dedicated light meters supposed to be independent on the sensor?
As I have understood by this question, an exposure value of a certain scenario cought from a digital sensor (CCD or CMOS) results from:
the scenario luminance
the sensor sensitivity
the ISO, shutter ...
- 514
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How to use L-308 or L-758 in a dark room to get the exposure time of the printed photos?
I have a sekonic L-308B and a L-758C .
Can I get the exposure time ?
How
Thanks
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How would I manually compensate +1 stop on my light meter using the ISO setting?
I am new to film photography and just wanted to double check something I am confused about.
So imagine I am using a fully manual film camera with an older light meter in the cold shoe. No exposure ...
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5
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Can a smartphone light meter app be used for 120 format cameras?
I'm shooting on an old TLR with medium format 120 film.
So far I've been using this app on my phone to calculate the shutter speed I need to use for a given aperture and ISO when using the camera;
...
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601
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Camera suddenly sees much less than usual
I've been out taking pictures all day without any real problems. After getting home I wanted to take one last quick shot, in that moment I realized my camera was struggling to turn on, after a while ...
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How do I meter with a split ND filter?
As a present1 to myself I am renting a Mamiya RB67 kit for 2 weeks. One of the things I want to try is to take some sunsets using a split ND filter.
The kit doesn't come with a metered viewfinder, ...
- 2,098
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2
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858
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Meaning of the value showed at the bottom left of Sekonic L308X screen
I have a Sekonic L308X. At the bottom right, next to aperture value,
there is a number. See below image:
The manual only said it's a 0.1 step display.
What is it? ...
- 341
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4
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262
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Can external light meter replace the need for push/pull?
External light meter allows you to set the ISO speed at your liking.
Does that mean you can replace that for the need of pushing or pulling your film?
- 1,482
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How important is it to have a spot meter on the light meter?
I'm considering getting a Sekonic LX 308 light meter without a spot meter.
That is to use it with my Nikon FM2.
I'm wondering if I will miss something important without having a spot meter.
Is it ...
- 1,482
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3
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647
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How far should I place the camera from the light meter for incident metering
I have my FM2 with me and I want to make a portraiture.
For that I use Sekonic L-308X-U as my light meter
and I use incident metering.
Is the distance of light meter to camera important?
If so what ...
- 1,482
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How do you meter shadow with Nikon FM2 built-in light meter
I tried to follow the old adage "expose for the shadows, develop for the highlights", so that I can capture the shadow detail.
I only have Nikon FM2 light meter. How can I meter the shadow with it?
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839
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What's the meaning of reading light at X degree angle
Often when people talk about using light-meter, they mention that it has the ability of measuring light at X degree angle.
What does it mean?
How can we make use of that information to measure the ...
- 1,482
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3
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517
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How to find the dynamic range of a scene (not camera sensor) from a photograph?
I have an older Sekonic light meter and I've used it before to understand DR of a scene before I've captured an image using the Zone system.
What I'm wondering is if you can take an already captured/...
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103
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Does DSLR (no metering/live preview) + Light Meter recreate the same level of difficulty as working with film?
I'm going to be working with film later this year, for the first time, and would like to prepare beforehand to shoot with it. My question is if I use a Sekonic light meter and a DSLR with only the ...
- 399
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283
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When to use standalone lightmeter when your camera already has it? [duplicate]
I'm using Nikon FM2, it already has it's own internal light-meter.
I'm wondering if it's good enough.
When to use standalone lightmeter (like Sekonic) when your camera already has it?
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767
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Canon 200d/SL2 real time metering
The light meter only updates after pressing the shutter button half way. Is it possible to show it before the shutter is half way pressed.
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Light meter battery compartment won't open. Is there a way to fix this?
I recently found a Gossen Variosix Electronic light meter (also known as the Gossen Polysix) at a thrift store. Unfortunately, the battery compartment won't open. I turn the thing on the bottom but ...
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Canon FT QL Light Meter problem
I recently got my hands on a Canon FT QL and I think the light meter might be broken, but I'm not 100% sure if that's the case and, if it is, exactly what is wrong with it.
Behaviour: so, when I don'...
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539
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DSLR vs SLR Light Meter [duplicate]
I was wondering if the light meter in my Nikon D5200 will be similar with my Ricoh XR500? I took a picture in my D5200 using the light meter on my slr film(ricoh xr500) but it was underexposed by 1 or ...
user80881
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How to test if a light meter is working well?
I will buy a used Sekonic l-358 and I want to know what should I test to check that it's working fine. And how to check that? I heard about the grey card and the camera meter reading but I don't know ...
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2
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1k
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Does crop factor affect light meter readings?
I was reading about crop factors that for example a Polaroid land camera on f/3.2 lens is something around f/1.4 equivalent in <...
- 2,460
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Am I wrong to judge my exposure using my smartphone?
Context:
I recently purchased an Olympus OM-1 film camera. Upon receiving the camera, I realized the battery for the light meter was dead. I'm a (very) amateur photographer so, naturally, this is a ...
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Why is distance absent from the exposure triangle?
With exposure calculations, there are aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Correspondingly, flash and light meters gives you the aperture (as an f-number) and shutter speed for a given ISO.
However, ...
- 241
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671
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Calculating snow exposure with a spot meter
I've been using a Sekonic light meter in spot mode for over a year now with the zone system, and I have consistent issues with snow. Despite putting the snow on zone 8, that area of the negative ends ...
- 1,296
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231
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What to look for in used spot meter
I'm shopping for a used 1 degree spot meter for film photography. There seem to be a lot available with a tremendous price range. Does anyone have suggestions for how to pick one? How much trouble ...
- 313
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951
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Is a light meter the same as an exposure meter?
I want to read the ambient light falling on the subject. What do I need: a light meter or an exposure meter? Or are they the same thing?
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What does the subscript number on the Sekonic L-478D display mean?
This is my first spot meter so please forgive my ignorance.
What is the sub-scripted number value next to the F-Stop value (below, and to the right)?
I've read through the manual over and over, and ...
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How can I translate 1/10th stops from my Sekonic 758Dr light meter reading to camera settings?
Hello I use 758Dr ( newly purchased ). I am stuck with the reading jargon. The aperture is shown always with a fraction and another number. It is stops and the extra number. Light meter is on 1/10 or ...
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Stacking Cactus + PocketWizard?
I'm interested in picking up a Sekonic L-758, and while PocketWizard triggering sounds interesting, I don't want to have to buy the light meter AND two PocketWizards to try it out.
It occurred to me ...
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Mamiya RB67 Pro (Original not pro s or sd) DSLR light metering
So I just bought a Mamiya RB67 Pro (not Pro S or SD) and I have heard you can meter with a DSLR. I have a Nikon D7100 and I thought, "Why buy an expensive light meter when I can just use my DSLR?"
I ...
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365
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Metering without a incident light meter
Consider the metering method I used below:
I meter all color negative film the same. I use a very simple analog
incident light meter (Sekonic L-398 A), nothing fancy or expensive. I
rate my ...
- 239
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4
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319
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Isn't the exposure meter scale shorter than the permissible range of EC?
I have a Nikon D5300. Yesterday, when I was fiddling with the camera, I noticed that the permissible range of exposure compensation is [-5.0,+5.0] while the ...
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1k
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Is using a light meter along with TTL flash meaningless?
I have a Sekonic light meter (478 DR I think) and I use my off-camera flashes in TTL mode. So I was wondering if using a light meter even makes sense in this case?
- 922
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102
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Changing the Flash Ratio as an input variable in Sekonic light meters
I just got a Sekonic light meter ( 478 DR ) and also have some flashes and PocketWizard ...
- 2,460
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How can using an incident light meter improve my outdoor portraits?
Never used one, but from the theories around it that I read on the internet, I was wondering whether a light meter that can measure incident light is useful for outdoor shots? Or is this tool mostly ...
- 922
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How can I set up an off camera flash using the reading from the light meter?
I want to be able to blend ambient light with fill in flash, using off camera flash in manual mode. I don't understand how to translate the information from the light meter into settings to input into ...
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How to verify\calibrate a light meter?
Just as the title says, how do I accurately calibrate\determine the accuracy of a light meter.
I have a Weston Master II and I know I can set the zero point from the back, but how will I know that ...
- 1,758
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3k
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How do I read the shutter speed from my light meter?
I'm very new to photography. I am doing objects in studio light conditions.
I have an Olympus OM-D E-M1.
I was given a Sekonic 478DR light meter.
Trying to play around with it, and I can't figure ...
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1
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How can a Gossen Sixtomat light meter work without electricity?
I owned an old Gossen Sixtomat and I am wondering if there is a battery cell or not in this device.
If there is no battery I am wondering how this could work without energy.
I know some materials ...
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5
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3k
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Why would you have a light meter chose your aperture for you?
The title of my question may seem misleading; I don't intend to ask how a proper exposure is calculated. I know the exposure triangle of ISO, aperture and shutter speed.
But in several articles I'...
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Why do I meter under the chin with a lightmeter?
Every single tutorial or video has advised to meter for a portrait right under the chin. First of all why? If the face is the most important part, wouldn't you meter right at the face?
Secondly, I ...
- 3,308
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Lightmeter not changing values after adjusted flash power?
This is my first time learning to use a light meter.
Measuring ambient seems to be working and straight forward. However measuring the flash seems to be broken. I have it set to wait for a flash. ...
- 3,308
10
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1
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1k
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How to select a light meter?
I'm looking for a light meter to use with an old film camera that doesn't have a working meter, and the bevy of options with prices all over the place is a bit overwhelming. I'm trying to narrow down ...
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What is the device held near the subject's face in this picture?
I have seen this device that is used widely in filmmaking. What is this device and what is it used for?
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