Sekonic L-308s for portraits... but landscape?

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KayJay

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Thinking about getting a good lightmeter for my film work. I've noticed the L-308s gets a lot of great reviews but I wonder how many people use it for landscape and with how much success?
 
Thanks Mark. Yeah I noticed that it doesnt have the 1 degree spot metering functionality but it seems that the meters that do that come at a premium.
 
I have one of these, what's a spot attachment ? The device does come with a "flat" attachment that replaces the dome ?
 
The flat attachment takes readings from a greater angle. With a spot meter you can get a more accurate light measurement from a specific point in the scene, within a 1 degree angle.
 
I have one and seem to get reasonable results. I tend to point it at the sky and then the ground to take reflective readings, and then work out what shutter speed would be best. Sometimes I take an incident reading (using the dome) from something in the foreground that I want to be properly exposed, and just hope for the best with the sky (or use a grad filter if I think it's going to be too bright). For example in this picture I took an incident reading from the bridge:


Bridge to the Glyderau by osh80, on Flickr
 
The L308 will work very well in all situations. People in here are only referring to spot metering because that's a common practice in landscape to take control of the tones more fully. If you just want a good average exposure, it will work well. In all honesty though, it can get a bit tricky using an incident meter when shooting into the light, and unless you fully understand what you are doing, your camera may well give you more reliable exposure in those conditions until you are confident with exposure theory.
 
Incident readings work very well . They are used the same way as in the studio.
Pointed from the subject to the camera.
Providing both the lightmeter and subject is getting the same light The tones will be as seen. (there is no need to move up to the subject unless the meter is in a shadow)
You can check to see the brightness of the sky by taking a reflection mode reading.

Incident meters were the preferred option with slide film, as they give very consistent tones.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
Incident meters were the preferred option with slide film, as they give very consistent tones.
Click to expand...

Agreed.. but there is a learning curve. Understanding contrast in back lighting, and understanding how to interpret the ratios of incident and reflective in such circumstances.
 
Thanks everyone. Some really useful information here as always.
 
Pookeyhead said:
Agreed.. but there is a learning curve. Understanding contrast in back lighting, and understanding how to interpret the ratios of incident and reflective in such circumstances.
Click to expand...

In a majority of back lit situations there is no need to make any adjustment if the meter is pointed at the camera. The tones will be as seen.
However if you want to make it into semi sillouette you will have to make some adjustment. usually in the range of 1/2 to 1 1/2 stops. (to taste)

Wedding couples with their back to the sun usually need no adjustment.
However a boost will a fill flash usually helps.
 
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