Light Metring - In the studio with a digital camrera?

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mrk123

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Do most people take this method? Is it as good as using a traditional light meter? Or do you use a combination of both? Given the price of developing these days!

What methods do you use? Have you developed anything?
 
If you're talking about working with both film and digital, then yes, I routinely use a digital camera to get the lighting right before switching to film (and keeping the same settings). I've had excellent results.

A lightmeter is good, but being able to actually see the image and how it will look is far more helpful (to me). It's worth the hassle of switching the trigger from camera to camera, although two triggers quickly resolved that niggle. The last downside is lens swapping if I need to (I use Canon EOS film and digital, and I'm not buying two lenses!).
 
Harlequin565 said:
If you're talking about working with both film and digital, then yes, I routinely use a digital camera to get the lighting right before switching to film (and keeping the same settings). I've had excellent results.

A lightmeter is good, but being able to actually see the image and how it will look is far more helpful (to me). It's worth the hassle of switching the trigger from camera to camera, although two triggers quickly resolved that niggle. The last downside is lens swapping if I need to (I use Canon EOS film and digital, and I'm not buying two lenses!).
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Ah yes as ideally you'd need to hav a similar or same lens to use the light readings from digital to film? Unless / untill you got used to the discrepancy between the two?
 
Lens doesn't really matter, I just keep the aperture the same. In my case I've used ISO 25 & 50 film in the past and as the digital bottoms out at 100, so I also need to make an adjustment for that. Typically, I'll get the lighting right for (for example) ISO 100, f/11, 1/125 sec on digital which I then translate to f/8, 1/125sec on ISO 50 film, and f/5.6 1/125sec on ISO 25.

I shot colour slide film once and everything was under-exposed by a stop, so if shooting colour slide again, I'd give it another stop of light to be sure. That's unlikely to happen though (and it's worth doing research on the film to see if box speed is accurate for that film)
 
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mrk123 said:
Ah yes as ideally you'd need to hav a similar or same lens to use the light readings from digital to film? Unless / untill you got used to the discrepancy between the two?
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If we're talking about light transmission (ie using settings for a flash lit subject taken by a digital camera to set a film camera) then differences between specific lenses are purely academic.

If we're talking about using a 24mm lens measuring an ambient scene that's then shot at 135mm, then the difference between those images could be significant, as what you're measuring is 2 different scenes..

But importantly, if the light reflecting off your subject is 'correct' at ISO 200 1/125 and f4 on one camera - it ought to be right on a different camera (the ISO variance is likely to be more of an issue than 2 different lenses f stop accuracy).
 
Phil V said:
If we're talking about light transmission (ie using settings for a flash lit subject taken by a digital camera to set a film camera) then differences between specific lenses are purely academic.

If we're talking about using a 24mm lens measuring an ambient scene that's then shot at 135mm, then the difference between those images could be significant, as what you're measuring is 2 different scenes..

But importantly, if the light reflecting off your subject is 'correct' at ISO 200 1/125 and f4 on one camera - it ought to be right on a different camera (the ISO variance is likely to be more of an issue than 2 different lenses f stop accuracy).
Click to expand...

Good shout on the 2 different scenes, as i think that's the most crucial part, more / or less light entering the camera.
 
mrk123 said:
Good shout on the 2 different scenes, as i think that's the most crucial part, more / or less light entering the camera.
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Let’s break it down logically.
I’m assuming we are talking about flash lit studio?

If you take your metering shot from your actual shooting position with the wider lens. You can zoom in to your subject to assess the exposure, when you’re happy, then a longer lens from the same place will mirror that exposure.

If you’re shooting continuous lighting, you’re gonna have to shoot fully manual, overriding the meter, or use exp comp to negate the BG exposure, but you can achieve exactly the same thing.

None of this is particularly difficult if you grasp the basic principles, and don’t get drawn down the rabbit hole of minute differences in apertures, ISO ratings etc.

Edit… and it’d help everyone if you could explain what you mean by ‘studio’, is it flash or continuous?

If it’s continuous, what’s the light source(s)
 
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Phil V said:
If we're talking about using a 24mm lens measuring an ambient scene that's then shot at 135mm, then the difference between those images could be significant, as what you're measuring is 2 different scenes..
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Spot metering, center weighted metering, average metering, highlight weighted metering; even incident metering is possible. And even with a handheld meter knowing what you're metering, how you're metering it, and how you use that information, is the critical part.

But since digital is the new "polaroid" for film work, I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't use it.
 
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