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Light Meters


Cris Moris

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Hey there,

 

So I'm going to get a light meter. My father offered me his Spectra, however after considering how sensitive a light meter it is ( it needs calibration so often) I decided to get a digital one.

 

Don't get me wrong I'm still going to take the old man's meter.

I learned with and have always used the Minolta IV F. Its a great meter and I've never had any problems with it. Now with the new V F, I have decided for that one.

 

Does anyone have a preference? Is there anything unsual about the new VF that I should be concerned about?

 

What are people's favorite meters?

 

Thank you.

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Cris,

 

If you look in one of the previous post, you will see a collection of meters that people own, recommend.

 

I own a Sekonic 608c Super Zoom. I have been happy with it. My occasional gaffer has a Minolta. We trade ribs with each other at to which one is best. I can't comment on the Minolta because I don't own one nor have I played enough to give my advice. Both get the job done.

 

I have been happy with the Seconic.

 

C.-

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I got sick of having a big heavy lightmeter dangling around my neck or getting misplaced on some grip box or sat on by myself when I left it on the dolly... So when my analogue Sekonic got lost - I decided to go for something small and light. This was just out, so I decided to try it:

 

DigiFlash

 

It weighs only 40g and is super-small: I love it - it's the only meter I've got, believe it or not. They laugh at me on set when I come with a meter the size of a walnut, but it does a brilliant job. Can both take incident and reflected light meterings and it's cheap too. Even has a temperature meter built in which is quite useful.

 

Get one, at least as a backup. You won't regret it.

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It comes in a little neopren pouch (it's not waterproof however, something I learned the

first time I used it - had to have it repaired after dipping it in the ocean..) with a thin neckstrap attached to it. All very sweet. I normally have shirts so I keep the neckstrap around my neck and the meter in my breast pocket, always ready to go. It's very liberating.

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I might add that it is a stills meter, so you do have to understand exposure-times. This is easy for you David, but it might not be a meter for first timers. Nothing complicated, really. The meter reads a value (according to the ASA you've set) that you then spin the dial to get the F-stop to set. There is no marking for 1/50th, only one at 1/30 and 1/60, so I normally read the value at 1/60 which gives me a slight built in overexposure. You could make a little marking yourself at 1/50 if you like.

 

The absolute best thing however, is that the value you get from the display is linear: if you get the value number 8 and check the exposure and find that it's a T2.8, then a new reading at 9 will tell you that that source is 1 stop brighter, or T4. No need to recalculate. This is very handy, because then you can walk around the set and say, that light is 2 stops brighter than key, that one's 2/3 below and so on. It's much faster than having to having to interpret 2.8 and an eight, or 4,2 and a third and so on like you have to do with (most) readout meters. It's almost like an footcandle meter combined with a regular meter.

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Minolta IVF is a great meter, it's pretty cheap and reliable, only a little bit sensitive if you hit them or crash them with something, specially those situations that meter hangs from your neck. Spectra cine is my fav, I ve never seen something so durable and wear-shock proof. I'm still testing my sekonic 558. Still can say it rules the world like spectra, buy by now, so far, very good

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I might add that it is a stills meter, so you do have to understand exposure-times.

Apart from what you've mentioned, Adam. Is there any difference between getting a "Cine" meter and a still meter if both were digital? Are there any advantages and/or disadvantages of the Cine over a Still meter?

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I?ve just started using the SEKONIC L-558 cine. It?s a combo spot and incident meter, I used to carry a spot and an incident but I like the combo. This meter lets you load two separate film speeds and you can toggle between the two. With a roll of the thumb you can change frame rates. It is great for multiple cameras or bizarre changes in camera set ups. ?Lets shoot A-Camera with a 45 degree shutter at 40 FPS and B-Camera at 8 Frames. And lets put the high speed stock on C-Camera and push it three stops?. My head was spinning until I got the Sekonic.

 

Bob

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"Are there any advantages and/or disadvantages of the Cine over a Still meter?"

 

The only real difference in the cine versions of still meters is the addition of exposure times based on motion picture camera shutter speeds, instead of typical still camera shutter speeds. Like Adam said, it's not too big of a deal to just do the conversion in your head, and after a while I'm sure it's just second nature. A movie camera at 24 fps with a 180 degree shutter will have an exposure time of 1/48th of a second. Most still meters only have shutter settings for 1/30th, and 1/60th. So you have to calculate how much over or under you need to set the aperature to compensate for the meter difference. Some meters, like David said will include a 1/50th setting, which is close enough to 1/48th so that you really don't need to make any adjustments.

 

The Sekonic cine meters are really nice in that you don't tell it what shutter speed you are using, but you actually input the shutter angle, and how many fps, and the meter calculates the exposure time from that. Don't know if the Minolta cine meters do the same. It's really not that big of a deal when you are shooting at standard speeds, and shutter angles. It becomes much more helpfull though when you start shooting with odd angles, and speeds.

 

I love my 608c. If you like to use both ambient, and spot meters. Or you just aren't sure which one you prefer yet, they make a good two in one tool. It's also got a few little options like filter compensations, on top of all the other bells and whistles that are kind of useful.

 

No way I'd hang it around my neck though, it's definitely a beast. I'm pretty sure it's the biggest meter made right now. Side knee pocket on a pair of army cargo pants is my favorite place to put it when working.....

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The Sekonic's are very nice. It's just that on the newer ones thjey decided to ditch tried-and-trued AA size batteries and go for some odd Li-Ion type which you can NEVER get at a 7-Eleven at half past midnight when they batteries seize up. Who came up with that idea?

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Hey guys,

 

I appreciate everyone's input on this. So I went with the Sekonic 308 for the following reasons:

1. Unlike the Minolta it included a Reflected Reading disk.

2. The 2 ISO option is just great.

3. It felt like a stronger meter. More sturdy then the Minolta 5.

4. Getting in and out of Cine mode is really easy, where as with the minolta you have to turn it off and turn it back on pressing several buttons, and turn it back off and turn it on...

5. It cost the same. $225. A steal considering the minolta did not include the reflective disk.

 

I look forward to shooting some tests with my still camera.

 

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I've got a minolta F V (as well as other ones) and one thing I don't like with it (compared to some spectra pro IV for instance) is that you have to switch at the back for changing F-stop/ Illumination, cine speeds, 24/25... the switch is so tiny you always need your girlfriend's fingers with you ! Also, it feels like you should first turn off the meter before doing so...

 

Apart from that, it's a brilliant meter, but I like my old F III just as wel, or the spectra too. The fV has a "spotmeter like accessorie" (that I dont use, like the minolta spotmeter much better, or even the old Pentax). It's got plenty of accessories like a tiny wire sensor to put where you can't put the meter...

 

The tiny gossen meter looks great... Is it much cheaper than common meters ? (Gossen is usually a cheap manufacturer, like Sekonic, I mean cheaper than Spectra or minolta)

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