Light Meter [Archive] - Talk Photography

dazzajl

01-03-2008, 09:55

Alternately, this sort of thing would do the same as the meter in the prism. :)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Good-Prinzlite-camera-V-light-meter-in-case_W0QQitemZ200202574817QQihZ010QQcategoryZ708QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

sprog

01-03-2008, 12:49

I too find myself in a similar quandary.

£185 seems a lot for a light meter, is there any advantage in having the L-358 over a cheapy jobber?

dazzajl

01-03-2008, 13:14

is there any advantage in having the L-358 over a cheapy jobber?

In a word, no.

I can see the point in splashing out on a spotmeter but a flash meter is pretty much a waste of money in the digital age. Unless you need to balance the light on your subject from multiple heads. In which case the 358 would be a good bet.

If you just need a meter to work with a good old basic camera, there is really little need to spend more than £10.

oreo5000

01-03-2008, 13:32

In a word, no.

I can see the point in splashing out on a spotmeter but a flash meter is pretty much a waste of money in the digital age. Unless you need to balance the light on your subject from multiple heads. In which case the 358 would be a good bet.

If you just need a meter to work with a good old basic camera, there is really little need to spend more than £10.
Any recco's for a cheap one? or will any do the trick in that price range

Sheep

01-03-2008, 13:43

Think I used to have something like the Prinz one when I had my old Zenit E camera that I dont think had metering.

dazzajl

01-03-2008, 13:46

will any do the trick in that price range

Most likely. Whatever you buy is frankly unlikely to be very accurate but it's going to be constantly out by the same amount.

So if you can take ten minutes just to check it against a known quantity, like a digi camera if you have one handy. You'll know that it's 1 stop over, or 1/3 of a stop under and you can either remember to adjust or set the ISO to compensate.

oreo5000

01-03-2008, 13:50

Most likely. Whatever you buy is frankly unlikely to be very accurate but it's going to be constantly out by the same amount.

So if you can take ten minutes just to check it against a known quantity, like a digi camera if you have one handy. You'll know that it's 1 stop over, or 1/3 of a stop under and you can either remember to adjust or set the ISO to compensate.
Thanks Daz.
So why wouldnt it be as accurate as say the meter in a dslr?

What about this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160211662540&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006

dazzajl

01-03-2008, 14:01

So why wouldnt it be as accurate as say the meter in a dslr?

I don't really know but I've picked up various little old meters from boot sales and the like and they've all been out.

Perhaps it's been age or design or just that I keep buying poor ones.

I like that one you've found though. Never had one that posh.

.....unless you count my fancy sekonic spot/flash meter. http://onions.hondaevolutions.com/images/smiles/icon_redface.gifhttp://onions.hondaevolutions.com/images/smiles/icon_redface.gif:lol:

oreo5000

01-03-2008, 14:03

I don't really know but I've picked up various little old meters from boot sales and the like and they've all been out.

Perhaps it's been age or design or just that I keep buying poor ones.

I like that one you've found though. Never had one that posh.

.....unless you count my fancy sekonic spot/flash meter. http://onions.hondaevolutions.com/images/smiles/icon_redface.gifhttp://onions.hondaevolutions.com/images/smiles/icon_redface.gif:lol:

So whats the difference between that and yours? I dont have any experience of seperate meters

dazzajl

01-03-2008, 14:12

Mine is like the one cherryrig suggested, only with a spotmeter and hence even more costly.

It's a great bit of kit and there are no metering situations that it can't deal with. It's digital, can be set up in millions of configurations, can memorise loads of different readings and work out the averages for me, lights up in the dark, works out when it's dark for itself, is stupidly sensitive, is weather proofed, looks really fancy, can work in multiple ISO's simultaneously, ....... anyway you get the idea. ;)

I also almost never use the thing anymore as you don't need one with a digi camera and even with film I tend to guess anyway, as I mostly bracket exposures even if I was to use a meter.

The meter in a mamiya prism is like the one you've found on ebay, which I think would be just perfect.

zeroeseight

01-03-2008, 14:23

Thanks Daz.
So why wouldnt it be as accurate as say the meter in a dslr?

What about this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160211662540&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006

That's the predecessor to the one I got. You need to take into account that it takes mercury batteries which are no longer available. So you need to buy an adapter or alternative equivalent batteries like Weincells.

dazzajl

01-03-2008, 14:28

it takes mercury batteries which are no longer available

hmm, that's a bit poo.

oreo5000

01-03-2008, 15:20

That's the predecessor to the one I got. You need to take into account that it takes mercury batteries which are no longer available. So you need to buy an adapter or alternative equivalent batteries like Weincells.
There is a link in the description to an alternative battery for £5

joxby

01-03-2008, 16:20

Is there any mileage in buying an AE prism.
I know there gonna be more expensive than a £5 meter, but at £25 you look half way there.
Old meters have selenium sensors, it appears they were designed to last 10 years, so my western is 30 years off its sell by date:lol:
It does still work fine though, but like dazza says, they are mostly likely inaccurate due to age, but it doesn't vary, one stop off is easy to remember.

edit, actually selenium lightmeters dont need a battery:bonk:

oreo5000

01-03-2008, 21:30

01-03-2008, 21:43

Thanks Daz.
So why wouldnt it be as accurate as say the meter in a dslr?

What about this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160211662540&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006

Don't forget that one of the wonders modern cameras give us is TTL metering, so your DSLR meter is reading the light coming through the lens which will actually make the exposure, so they're pretty accurate for most subjects. Your inexpensive old meter will do the same job but it will just need more interpretation from you

I think I have the same meter as Daz. It's the dogs dangly bits but it's got so many modes I've disabled some of them, I usually use it as a 1 degree spot meter or to take incident readings, but it's total overkill really.

oreo5000

01-03-2008, 21:49

Don't forget that one of the wonders modern cameras give us is TTL metering, so your DSLR meter is reading the light coming through the lens.....
So with my 645 being the Pro TL. If I got the AE Prism for it would this work just the same was as say the meter in my dslr and be more accurate for than a seperate one?

01-03-2008, 22:04

It would be accurate for sure for most situations. All camera meters can be fooled under certain circumstances.

joxby

01-03-2008, 22:09

[QUOTE=joxby;557220]Is there any mileage in buying an AE prism.
I know there gonna be more expensive than a £5 meter, but at £25 you look half way there....QUOTE]

Would you go for the ae prism then if given the choice? Another ebay purchase? Or can you still pick them up elsewhere?

Well, if I had the money I would.
I mean, I wouldn't pay a lot for it.
But a stand alone meter would always be more usefull in the long run.
Unfortunately all the likely bargains are on fleabay:(

I'll just fly something in here cos you two just posted while I was.
A meter will tell you what settings you need to make for correct exposure, you will do this manually with your hands.
An AE prism, when used in apperture priority will set the shutter speed automatically for correct exposure, you dont do anything.

dazzajl

01-03-2008, 22:20

worth keeping an eye on. :)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270216074238&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017

oreo5000

02-03-2008, 00:02

worth keeping an eye on. :)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270216074238&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017
Thanks Daz, but I have a mamiya 645 pro tl. Or is this compatible with it? :S

oreo5000

02-03-2008, 00:04

[QUOTE=oreo5000;557650]

Well, if I had the money I would.
I mean, I wouldn't pay a lot for it.
But a stand alone meter would always be more usefull in the long run.
Unfortunately all the likely bargains are on fleabay:(

I'll just fly something in here cos you two just posted while I was.
A meter will tell you what settings you need to make for correct exposure, you will do this manually with your hands.
An AE prism, when used in apperture priority will set the shutter speed automatically for correct exposure, you dont do anything.
Thanks for pointing that out, I had ignored the actual meaning of AE until now. So if this is the case, is it possible to bias the meter +/- on the pro tl, and if so by how much (it hasnt arrived yet)
When its attached can you bypass it at all?

dazzajl

02-03-2008, 00:05

Or is this compatible with it?

http://vb.hondaevolutions.com/images/smilies/icon_redface.gif umm nope, that was just the wine typing.
Getting my brony and mamiya threads mixed up.

Oh well, I suppose you may have lost a prism opportunity but you do have the better camera. ;)

02-03-2008, 00:08

[quote=joxby;557713]
Thanks for pointing that out, I had ignored the actual meaning of AE until now. So if this is the case, is it possible to bias the meter +/- on the pro tl, and if so by how much

Any camera which has an auto mode, AV, TV, etc, also has to have the ability to dial in exposure compensation - usually + or - two or three stops.

oreo5000

02-03-2008, 00:22

http://vb.hondaevolutions.com/images/smilies/icon_redface.gif umm nope, that was just the wine typing.
Getting my brony and mamiya threads mixed up.

Oh well, I suppose you may have lost a prism opportunity but you do have the better camera. ;)

haha, no worries.
Well that's good to know ;)
The bad thing is I cant fine any AE Prisms for it on ebay, not even in the US. Ive been mailing people who are selling complete kits begging for the prism seperately ;)
Are there any compatibilty issues with the prisms, ie is there a specific prism for the pro tl, and a different one for say the super?

oreo5000

02-03-2008, 00:24

[quote=oreo5000;557888]

Any camera which has an auto mode, AV, TV, etc, also has to have the ability to dial in exposure compensation - usually + or - two or three stops.

Thanks for that. What about if the exposure needs to go to bulb. How does the ae prism deal with that?

dazzajl

02-03-2008, 00:29

What about if the exposure needs to go to bulb. How does the ae prism deal with that?

It wont but then neither will any other camera I've ever come across. A metered prism will come up somewhere soon enough, don't fret.

If it was my camera though, I'd much rather be getting a waist level finder for it. Have I picked up somewhere that you already have a digi SLR type thing?

If so, perhaps you could take the opportunity to go fully manual with this one and really SLOW down your photography. You'll learn the most this way and possibly get the most enjoyment too. :D

oreo5000

02-03-2008, 00:35

It wont but then neither will any other camera I've ever come across. A metered prism will come up somewhere soon enough, don't fret.

If it was my camera though, I'd much rather be getting a waist level finder for it. Have I picked up somewhere that you already have a digi SLR type thing?

If so, perhaps you could take the opportunity to go fully manual with this one and really SLOW down your photography. You'll learn the most this way and possibly get the most enjoyment too. :D

Hey Daz, yeah I have a D200, I only ever shoot manual with it. Unless im snapping people on the move then I usually use AP.

Or did you mean go fully manual with the Mamiya? If so, would you suggest the waist finder (which I also cant find on ebay) along with an external meter?

I didnt actually want the AE Prism so I could automate my Mamiya, I purely wanted in camera metering for ease of use.
Do you know if its possible to bypass this when its attached. ie say it did need to go to bulb could you then break back into fully manual and dial in your own settings?