Recommend a lightmeter?

[dave_whatever]

Mifsuds have an L508 @ £219, but they don't say what condition it is in. They do send goods on 10 day approval though.

http://www.mifsuds.com/usedpriceindex.htm

Classic photographics in newcastle have got one listed at 135 quid.

http://www.classicphotographics.co.uk/stock.html

[Baxter]

I used an L508 initially - this was an upgrade after my son played 'conkers' with my very elementary Gossen meter.... Was really pleased with it and using a single AA battery makes things easy. I found a disparity of 2/3 stop when I changed to a Pentax Digital Spotmeter. This accounted for having to push a lot of my shots 1/2 to 2/3 stop.....

Although it has the average metering, it isn't clear whether mean, mode or median is used and my basic tests didn't really determine this. Admittedly I didn't bust a gut to get to the bottom of it, but would be nice to know. The paint has rubbed away from the buttons on mine which proves 'interesting' when I get it out of the cupboard for occasional use with other cameras. However this is rare since the Pentax is so elegantly simple, reads in lower light levels by some margin and proved very intuitive when I first used it and dispelled any worries I'd had about the rotating dials.

Let's face it, the lightmeter is a fundamental tool for every exposure and being able to trust it to be consistent is vital. The ergonomics are also important to how you handle it and find logical e.g I much prefer the L508 to the last Minolta one. Other photographers felt the opposite.

I would suggest that investing money in this offers more than obtaining a lens which has marginally more coverage or might be used for less than 10% of your pictures.

[Thingy]

I use the Sekonic L-758D with the wireless flash trigger module (used for DSLR work) which has a readout through the viewfinder, multiple memory function and digital and partial analogue readout. It offers both narrow spot and readings using the cone thing which I don't really use except for portraiture It also has two ISO buttons so you can set it up either to show two different ISO film speeds or, if you use filters, the second button can display the adjusted reading.... which I find very useful when using the circular filter on my 58XL lens. It was expensive but a great improvement of my ancient Weston III & Weston V meters!

[timparkin]

I use the Sekonic L-758D with the wireless flash trigger module (used for DSLR work) which has a readout through the viewfinder, multiple memory function and digital and partial analogue readout. It offers both narrow spot and readings using the cone thing which I don't really use except for portraiture It also has two ISO buttons so you can set it up either to show two different ISO film speeds or, if you use filters, the second button can display the adjusted reading.... which I find very useful when using the circular filter on my 58XL lens. It was expensive but a great improvement of my ancient Weston III & Weston V meters!

Joe Cornish and David Ward use the Kenko meters I beleive. However, I've found the pentax spotmeter's simple EV readings and 'mechanical calculator' to be incredibly more flexible than my previous Sekonic spot meter. I now know to within a couple of EV's what most areas of the picture should be and hence know if I've made a reading mistake. Working out stop differences between an EV value of '6' and '8' is trivial, whereas I could never get used to working out stop differences using apertures/shutters. With a film 'zone meter' pasted to the mechanical calculator, it's trivial to work out a decent range for your picture and to see what values will clip and what will potentially burnout.

Anyway - I know you wanted a meter with a memory function but I wonder if this is because it's hard to hold aperture shutter values in your head whereas simple EV numbers are a lot easier?

Sorry If I'm off-topic..

Tim

p.s. Here is a link to the zone sticker I use on my pentax http://www.timparkin.co.uk/blog/926815673944184070

[dave_whatever]

Tim I totally agree with you that EV values are easier to work with than shutter/aperture combos.....which is exactly why with the kenko meter you can set the viewfinder display to work in EVs

(You can also set the meter to know your dynamic range for your film (infact for 2 films) so it can display a faux-zone sticker equivalent in the main LCD display at the touch of a button.)

Having said all that, from the brief period I used an old Pentax analogue meter I can say that a swinging needle viewfinder display on an EV scale is a much more intuative and easy-to-interpret way of viewing the exposure than any digital LED readout.

[timparkin]

Tim I totally agree with you that EV values are easier to work with than shutter/aperture combos.....which is exactly why with the kenko meter you can set the viewfinder display to work in EVs

(You can also set the meter to know your dynamic range for your film (infact for 2 films) so it can display a faux-zone sticker equivalent in the main LCD display at the touch of a button.)

Having said all that, from the brief period I used an old Pentax analogue meter I can say that a swinging needle viewfinder display on an EV scale is a much more intuative and easy-to-interpret way of viewing the exposure than any digital LED readout.

Sounds like the Kenko is a lot better than the Sekonic I used to use as using EV values on that were a a bit of a pain. Might have to look at a Kenko for a backup (I know David Ward uses apertures to work out exposure, working out 1/3 of a stop differences - that would blow my head).

Tim

[Joanna Carter]

Sounds like the Kenko is a lot better than the Sekonic I used to use as using EV values on that were a a bit of a pain. Might have to look at a Kenko for a backup (I know David Ward uses apertures to work out exposure, working out 1/3 of a stop differences - that would blow my head).

Tim, I have the Kenko (well, I actually have the Konica Minolta Flashmeter VI) and find it so useful, mainly because of its ability to display the exposure range and offset of a given film. e.g. I setup the range for Velvia 100 as -2 to +2, take a shadow reading, select the range function and, presto! it shows me the correct exposure and allows me to test for how much over the correct exposure any highlights might be. When it comes to adjusting for filters, I simply dial back the ISO by the requisite number of 1/3 EV steps.

As Dave mentions, the only thing I would change is to have aperture priority as well as the shutter priority.

[timparkin]

Sounds like the Kenko is a lot better than the Sekonic I used to use as using EV values on that were a a bit of a pain. Might have to look at a Kenko for a backup (I know David Ward uses apertures to work out exposure, working out 1/3 of a stop differences - that would blow my head).

Tim, I have the Kenko (well, I actually have the Konica Minolta Flashmeter VI) and find it so useful, mainly because of its ability to display the exposure range and offset of a given film. e.g. I setup the range for Velvia 100 as -2 to +2, take a shadow reading, select the range function and, presto! it shows me the correct exposure and allows me to test for how much over the correct exposure any highlights might be. When it comes to adjusting for filters, I simply dial back the ISO by the requisite number of 1/3 EV steps.

As Dave mentions, the only thing I would change is to have aperture priority as well as the shutter priority.

How easy is it to take a reading off a part of the scene, decide to place it at -1 and then see how the other exposure readings you've taken fit in? And then realise that your highlight value is at +2.5 and so pull the whole range down by half a stop?

That is the sort of iterative approach that I personally think the Pentax excels at.

I might be working on an iPhone light meter at some point this year which would could make all of the working out a hell of a lot easier... I tested the basic light meter on the iPhone this morning against my pentax and was surprised to find it accurate to half a stop from 3Ev to 15Ev! wow!

Tim

[Joanna Carter]

How easy is it to take a reading off a part of the scene, decide to place it at -1 and then see how the other exposure readings you've taken fit in? And then realise that your highlight value is at +2.5 and so pull the whole range down by half a stop?

The first problem would be that you have to either work in half-stop increments or third-stop increments; switching from one to the other involves switching the meter off, changing the increment in the setup, and restarting the meter; although it will remember your original readings.

Likewise, altering the shadow offset would mean the same switch off, adjust and restart cycle.

I would tend to simply make the adjustment, to the displayed exposure, in my head.

I might be working on an iPhone light meter at some point this year which would could make all of the working out a hell of a lot easier... I tested the basic light meter on the iPhone this morning against my pentax and was surprised to find it accurate to half a stop from 3Ev to 15Ev! wow!

Hmmm, interesting. but, I would assume it wouldn't qualify as a 1° spot meter

[timparkin]

I might be working on an iPhone light meter at some point this year which would could make all of the working out a hell of a lot easier... I tested the basic light meter on the iPhone this morning against my pentax and was surprised to find it accurate to half a stop from 3Ev to 15Ev! wow!

Hmmm, interesting. but, I would assume it wouldn't qualify as a 1° spot meter

Well if the field of view for the iphone of about 53deg and 35deg (long and short axis) and a resolution of 2100 x 1400 pixels, each pixel represents a 0.025 degree spot meter...

I did a few more checks and I think it's giving my pentax a run for it's money - more info later.

Tim

[Thingy]

I must be honest Tim, as I have been using a lightmeter since the age of 14, when I got my first "real" camera (a Practika L2) thinking in both f stop values and speeds (including the old 1,2,5,10,25,50,100,300 system my first TLR had) it is somewhat second nature, and thinking in both half stops (as my L2's 50mm Tessar lens had) and my later Olympus equipment where one can use third stops, this too is second nature.... which came in very handy in Spitsbergen this Summer! As for EV values....

PS: Perhaps you should do one of your blog's excellent videos on the basics of using EV... I found your one on QL film unloading very helpful! On the EV front, I'm willing to learn, and the Sekonic does allow you to work in EV values if you want.

[PAUL O]

I was brought up on f stops and shutter speeds too and so the EV "system" is "alien" to me
However, I have noticed that a great many meters that I've used also had an EV mode - just never got around to investigating it!
As for the Kenko - I did get a Kenko a few months ago (got an excellent deal on one so couldn't say "no") but it went straight back (to Ffordes) as it was faulty; but I was very disappointed at how "fragile/plasticky" it felt? It certainly didn't seem a sturdy a meter as say the Sekonic 508 or the Gossen Starlite?

[dave_whatever]

IAs for EV values....

I was brought up on f stops and shutter speeds too and so the EV "system" is "alien" to me

I know large format attracts some pretty odd types, but shirley you guys were taught to count at school? You know, 1, 2, 3, 4 and so on? Thats all there is to EVs.

[Bip]

The L 508 has readings in 1/10th of a stop. I had a friend who only used ASA 400 b&w film and could tell you the meter reading for any scene just by looking! Not sure he's selling that service though! I was very envious of his skill.

[timparkin]

The L 508 has readings in 1/10th of a stop. I had a friend who only used ASA 400 b&w film and could tell you the meter reading for any scene just by looking! Not sure he's selling that service though! I was very envious of his skill.

I would imagine with a compensating developer you would only need a few exposure settings (sunny, cloudy, shade, inside) - If he could manage the same with Velvia I would be suitably impressed

Tim