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:nuts:
What a load of old tosh. You just point it press a button, match the needle and set the readings on the camera, takes about 10 seconds.....foot candles WTF surely thats just dangerous.
Ignore that video, it's as simple as Andy puts it, pick an area to meter for, point the meter at it, press the button and transfer settings
If it was any harder people like me and Andy wouldnt be able to do it
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foot candles WTF surely thats just dangerous.
Errmmm "foot candles" is the scale that is used at the top of the meter. Having watched that video she does seem to make it a lot more complex than it needs to be.
Andy if you are using a meter for landscapes then ignore the video and just take a reading and transfer the information to the camera. When you get one post up what it is and we willconfusehelp you out
A link to the instruction manual for the Sekonic L 308 Studio that she was using. It is a very nice and easy meter to use I had one on loan a few years ago.
http://www.sekonic.com/Portals/0/Products/LF_L-398A_E.pdf
Note meter scale is Foot Candles
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. Tempted though I was by the 'old school' ways of the Sekonic L-398a, I subsequently read that (with its selenium cell) it was not a great performer in 'low light' :| and a high percentage of the 'landscape' stuff that I plan to do involves shady, secluded side streets and possibly extreme sunrise/sets too. Linky ...), I realised that this meter would be a lot simpler and (perhaps importantly) faster in my hands than the old analogue type. Accuracy is the most important thing though and the 308 looked as though it would give better results in low light (as well as actually being easily visible in said low light, courtesy of the backlit LCD display ). ...!.
HMMMM! Yes the 308s does have the added advantage of Flash metering but in some respect it might be easier to use as all the info is digitally displayed to the user for example you hit the button and it will tell you say 5.6 @ 125, clicking the button on the side simply moves the values up or down depending on what you want to do (I did have one of these but traded it for a Minolta IV F meter).
The L398a III is good but as it is not battery powered once the light starts to fade, so twilight, early evening then it may struggle to get an accurate reading. Mind you if your shooting during the day then it does not matter.
But no it is not hard to use a light meter, just takes a little getting used to thats all
OOOOOHHHHH Cobblers and damn my slow typing skills
.. I made some test exposures with the flash once, but they came out looking terrible. If I connected the Sekonic meter and fired the 'test' flash button on the SB-15, I could at least see if I had the 'correct' speed/aperture set on the camera :shrug:.!
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You'll just be needing a torch anyway to read the reciprocity tables
.. Usually, when people post very vague questions (like the one in my OP) in other parts of this forum, the response is less than helpful :|. In this dusty little corner of the photographic community , the people seem to have more time for each other - I like that!
In this dusty little corner of the photographic community
So, after only a couple of days of deliberation, I have chosen my first ever light meter
Consequently, I went back and looked again at the first meter which caught my eye - the Sekonic L-308s. After watching a YouTube vid (by this very pleasant chap
So, I found one at a fair price and decided to take advantage of the current range of funky '60th anniversary' colours and get myself a metallic blue one
Link ...
As I said before, it hurts to get such a fantastic camera (Mamiya C330f) and lens for so little money (£150) and then have to go and spend nearly the same money again, just to get a Chinese(?) plastic tool to work out the exposure values, but that's MF photography for you I suppose :shrug:!?
Ultimately though, it's still all cheap comapred to what I was spending on DSLR (and even SLR) kit just a year ago, so I'm not really complaining ... honest
Once again, I thank everyone who helped me to answer my own questions and nudge me in the right direction. I really look forward to the day that I can post my first MF neg scans here - taking my first steps into a (truly) 'bigger' world
WTF £125 for a light meter for use on an old camera that might have inaccurate shutter speeds or the iris on lenses may not be accurate.
I thought that made more sense than 35 quid for a 40 yr old selenium cell meter that had been left out in some camera shop window, for use on an old camera that might have inaccurate shutter speeds or the iris on lenses may not be accurate ... but then that's the sort of crazy, impulsive fool that I am :bonk:.
)..
.I've thoroughly loved reading every post in this thread, very informative
!? Lots of insight from those in the know and a great deal of politeness and patience from all concerned 
...but Andy has two digital cameras, at least use them initially to check any camera out........and all separate exposure meters are theoretical in that how does it know what amount of light is going through the lens and camera to the film, when the lens is stopped down. Olympus OM owners will now stand up and say "yeah their cameras measure the final exposure on the film plane with a film loaded"
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Well Andy the important thing is you are doing what you want...and I'm a bit of a cheap skate and try to do things the cheapest way
Nothing wrong with that, Brian!. It always starts with me buying something because it's much cheaper than the thing that I really want, but somehow I always end up buying the thing that I wanted in the first place . So for me, being a cheap skate is very, very expensive .
I have been using my D40 as the Yashica Mat doesn't have a light meter.
.......unfortunately had to come home early last night as the "light meter" battery was flat!
Heather
?
Doh!
Have you already had film developed from the Yashica/D40 combo and how were the exposures, Heather
