Chris Durham Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 (edited) So I think I'm gonna buy a light meter. I'm doing video right now and I know a lot of folks don't use meters for digital; but it seems like a more sensible way of doing things. And I know I'll be moving towards film so it'll be good to have a meter. What do I need to look for. The meters I've seen anything on are Spectra and Sekonic. Is one better than the other? Is it better to buy one new or is there no performance degradation on used units? Anything I should know? Thanks Edited February 5, 2007 by Chris Durham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 Search the forums before asking: Here's a somewhat current discussion on the topic: http://www.cinematography.com/forum2004/in...showtopic=20490 There are many more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member janusz sikora Posted February 9, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted February 9, 2007 Here is about application of light meter in video... http://lightextreme.com/wst_page5.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Durham Posted February 9, 2007 Author Share Posted February 9, 2007 Thanks. I went ahead and bought a Spectra IV-A. Just came in last night. Very cool. Now here's another question. I've generally read that the ASA rating for my XL2 should be 320; but is there a way for formulating that accurately? I've read bits alluding to the use of a waveform monitor for that, but I'm not sure I completely understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 I've generally read that the ASA rating for my XL2 should be 320; but is there a way for formulating that accurately? Just set your ASA on set, in comparison with what f/stop the camera is reading at the time and see if they correlate well. DV cameras use their own reflective readings, so they're gonna be a bit different, but I use a meter on set when shooting DV as well, that way I'm not running back and forth between the camera and the lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Brereton Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 I've generally read that the ASA rating for my XL2 should be 320; but is there a way for formulating that accurately? I've read bits alluding to the use of a waveform monitor for that, but I'm not sure I completely understand. Get yourself an 18% grey card. Light it flat and even, then put your camera on sticks in front of it. Zoom in so the card fills the frame, and turn on the auto exposure. Hopefully, your camera's built in Reflected light meter is calibrated to 18% grey. Take a note of what stop the auto exposure sets. Then take an incident reading with your meter from the cards' position. Then adjust the ASA setting up or down so that the meter matches the stop on the camera. This is your camera's 'ASA' It's only an approximation, but it will be close enough for broad judgements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Durham Posted February 9, 2007 Author Share Posted February 9, 2007 Thanks Stuart. That makes a lot of sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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