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Sekonic Light meter reading?


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Hello,

 

I have recently purchased a Sekonic L-398 light meter and I am having bit of trouble understanding how to take a reflective reading from it.

 

Does it work the same way as taking an incident (Lumisphere) reading but with the Lumigrid instead?

What is the biggest advantage of taking a reflective reading?

How does one have a better control over highlights and shadows in this instance?

 

Any help would be highly appreciated, thank you

Edited by Simona Analte
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From my understanding, you aim the reflective setting at your subject from the perspective of the camera and when you are taking an incident reading, you stand in the place of the subject being photographed.

 

I personally prefer incident readings as they are more geared toward the subjects rather than reflective which are more generalized. However, when you use incident readings, be aware of the "hot spots" or areas that may become way too overexposed when you are focusing on your subject. If you are using lower end digital, I would think this would become a serious problem. The same could be said for shooting on reversal film, I imagine.

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Usually incident is the quickest method of taking light readings, it's very accurate and is pretty much the standard method used by cinematographers.

 

The zone system ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_System ) would be the method for taking reflected light reading taking highlights and shadow into consideration. This is usually done with a spot meter, but yes, you'd use the Lumigrid.

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