light meters

marky.b

marky.b

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was wondering what you think of using handheld meters for landscape photography.
reading books by the pros ,like charlie waite. peter watson and others, they all seem to recommend using one
they say even though modern camera light meters are very good, you cant beat an hand-held one.
i guess it makes sense. with the camera on a tripod and the composition set. it would be easy to use a meter to take readings from various parts of the scene rather than moving the camera around the scene.
one other idea i had was using one of my spare camera bodys with a short tele zoom on and use it like you would a hand held lightmeter .
but it would be easier just to carry a small spot meter
 
I depends on what you are doing. With a light meter, for example, you can check the exposure of the sky and decide on the correct ND grad etc but you can do this with spot metering in camera. Personally I CAN see the point but I only use one for studio photography.
 
with landscape. when you have the camera set up and on the tripod ready. you may be waiting for the light to become right. and as the light is changing all the time , it would be handy to takee readings without disturbing the set up.
, last night for example i was set up in the peak district , when it started raining. so there i was big brolly over me and the tripod, by the time the rain had stopped the light was different to the reading i had previously locked in. just thought light meter would make it easier, in ever changing light conditions.
 
I have a meter with me all the time, I find it useful in many places I have found it good if indoor like NT and not use flash you get a better reading taking ambient light, outside it can help in some lighting depending on the light and what in the shot..
 
Chaz Photos said:
I have a meter with me all the time, I find it useful in many places I have found it good if indoor like NT and not use flash you get a better reading taking ambient light, outside it can help in some lighting depending on the light and what in the shot..
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so can be useful for landscape then
what meter you got,
ive seen them starting at £100 up to sever hundreds of pounds
what do you think about using a spare body with short zoom to do the same job
 
I use a Sekonic LS308s it does everything I need and very popular. They come up at about £130 new or £90-100 2nd hand.
 
Honestly, a hand meter is a complete waste of time. I have one - only use it for studio flash.

There is nothing you can do with a hand meter than you cannot do with the built-in meter (including incident readings) especially when used in conjunction with the LCD/histogram/blinkies.

On the other hand, there is a great deal that you cannot do with a hand meter.

The reason that the likes of Waite and Watson etc use a hand meter is because the cameras they sometimes use don't actually have a built-in meter, plus they often shoot film.

With digital, there is really no point - rather the reverse. However, if you like to use one becaue it's a different or more convenient way of working, then fine. Just make sure you check the histogram before you depend on it ;)
 
HoppyUK said:
Honestly, a hand meter is a complete waste of time. I have one - only use it for studio flash.
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I agree. It's pretty pointless now with digital when you can see the histogram immediately on the screen.
You can also set up lights without it using the histogram but a meter makes it so much easier.
 
Have to disagree with both HoppUK & ksapwaff.

If you are into landscape photogrpahy then as previously stated if the camera is set up for the "perfect" picture, then you would not want to disturb the position.

A separate meter is the only answer, especially if the light is changing rapidly.

I believe it is also more useful if using the Zone system for B&W photography, as I do.

I currently use a 26 yr old Soligor Spot meter. This give me a 1 degree spot which is a great deal more accurate then the 2 or more degrees using the camera's spot.
 
can someone please elaborate how exactly you would meter using a lightmeter for a landscape, i.e. similar to the peak district setting the OP is referring to? Would it not provide a similar result to an evaluative reading from the camera?
 
Depends upon how you wish to evaluate the difference between the earth and sky.

Evaluative will only give its best attempt at producing the best exposure for the scene it can see.

However if you wish to bring the sky down, then you will need to measure both the land/shadow detail and the sky.

If you are only using the camera and the light continually changes, then there will be alot of camera rotation before finaly repositioning the camera to take the final shot.

Its just a thought
 
weardalered said:
Depends upon how you wish to evaluate the difference between the earth and sky.

Evaluative will only give its best attempt at producing the best exposure for the scene it can see.

However if you wish to bring the sky down, then you will need to measure both the land/shadow detail and the sky.

If you are only using the camera and the light continually changes, then there will be alot of camera rotation before finaly repositioning the camera to take the final shot.

Its just a thought
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Forgive my ignorance, but how will you meter the sky and distant ground?
 
hsuffyan said:
Forgive my ignorance, but how will you meter the sky and distant ground?
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Probably with a very narrow-angle spot meter.

hsuffyan said:
can someone please elaborate how exactly you would meter using a lightmeter for a landscape, i.e. similar to the peak district setting the OP is referring to? Would it not provide a similar result to an evaluative reading from the camera?
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Yes, it probably would.

Two things about using a hand meter.

One, if you are shooting film with no possiblility to preview the result before processing, then you need all the help you can get. With a hand meter it is very easy to take an incident reading (using the invercone) which is very good for slide film. You can do the same with the camera's meter (with an invercone-type attachment, or 18% grey card) but it's not as easy.

Plus, if you are shooting black and white negative film and following the Zone System method, then a very narrow-angle spot meter is pretty much essential. The camera's so-called spot facility is really no substitute - too wide. The Zone System is a two-stage operation and really requires individual images to be processed one at a time, obviously something you can't do with a roll of multiple images, but adjusting the exposure very particularly gets you at least half way there.

Two, it is important to distingush between the measurement itself and the process of taking it. That is an operational thing and is at least partly personal preference. Some people just like to use a hand meter for various good reasons, even if you can do the same thing in other ways.

However, digital is very different to film, most obviously because you can see the actual exposure the instant it's taken, on the LCD. No guesswork involved there, which is all any exposure meter is doing - guessing, and working on the basis of a number of assumptions and variables that might apply. Plus you have a histogram (that Ansel Adams would have given a limb for) and that wonderful device known as blinkies - the highlight over exposure warning that flashes on the LCD.

With film you have none of these luxuries, plus it's also relevant to note that - if you want to be accurate and optimise the exposure as best you can - then film and digital need different treatment and often a completely opposite way of shifting the exposure level.

There is no guesswork with the digital LCD image. It is subject to the JPEG parameters that you have preset in Picture Styles, white balance, noise reduction etc, but you (should) know all about the implications of those, not that there's much to worry about, because you selected them, or de-selected them as the case may be.

On the operational differences between the various options, a relatively new one with recent cameras is live view, including a live histogram and exposure settings displayed. Seems perfect for landscaping on a tripod. No need to touch the camera, just look at it :)
 
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