Gentlemen, long time lurker, first time poster.
I've been encouraged by a DP friend/mentor/all around great guy to learn the art of using a light meter. Until now, I'd held off, being that I was under the impression that the things cost multi-hundreds of dollars, and now I'm hearing that there are some to be had much, much cheaper, new, that is, with fewer bells and whistles (I'm talking like $40 here).
A few things: I have never worked with film, don't know if I ever will (oh the horror the horror, I know, just listen for now and chastise later).
I've worked almost exclusively with miniDV, and will likely continue to work in the lower video formats (lower, in this sense, meaning DV, DVCAM/DVCPRO, anything "lower' than HD) for some time. However, the material I've done is not limited to corporate video and weddings. I've done some short films, both my own, and for other directors, and I try to use the best lighting/cinematography techniques I can in those situations, given the available gear (lights/grip) and time.
I feel that if I learned to meter, I'd be able to guess things (what wattage of light I need in X situation if it's a wide shot and the light has to be y number of feet away, etc.), and generally be more efficient on set (right now, I basically guess at which fixtures to use, and judge by a calibrated NTSC monitor whether and how to tweak).
So, given all this, and given that I'll probably be working with lower end video, using a small light kits (a few fresnels, a tota light or two, a Chimera, some China balls, nothing over 1000 watts) for quite a while to come, what can a light meter do for me?
Thanks. (I'm not asking how to use one. I'll figure that out when/if I get the thing).
