Which basic second-hand light meter to buy?

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Hi,

I'm just starting to spread my wings as a dSLR RAW shooter and am beginning to get the most out of my 1000D. :)

Now I am starting to think about learning to use a light meter so I can capture as much data as possible with the RAW format and then use data from a light meter to correct things like the contrast and saturation on my computer later and thus get as much detail as possible. Is that what other people do?

Can you tell me which types of light meters I should be looking at and what is good to learn on? Which ones are good value second-hand? And where I should look other than LCE and Ebay?

Many Thanks,

Duncan.
 
what you are trying to capture is more dynamic range.

the best way i find to absolutely nail the exposure in difficult conditions is to turn the metering mode to 'spot' and then point the centre point at what i want to meter off (in AV mode) and then dial in this exposure in manually in M.

take a test shot and look at the the histogram on the display.

what the histogram looks like hugely depends on what you are taking a photograph of, but basically, you either have the tones spread across as much of the histogram as possible (using as much of the sensors dynamic range as possible) or pushed as far towards the right of the histogram as possible but without too much clipping (ie touching the right edge). A little clipping is usually fine and sometimes unavoidable. if your histogram is bunched up towards the left, then you are underexposing. whilst this is usually correctable in post, if often introduces noise.

you can then tweak the exposure as needed on the camera if the histogram looks off.

i always go by the histogram rather than the image on the back of the camera, it always shows more clipping than is actual.

the trick to using as much of the sensors dynamic range as possible is just good exposure in the first place. if you under or over expose in inevitably lose shadow or highlight detail.

you can also just use exposure compensation to get the correct exposure in whatever metering mode you're using. i tend to use this method the most often. the trick is learning how to read histograms to making sure you're getting the correct exposure in any situation.
 
BrownWarrior said:
Now I am starting to think about learning to use a light meter so I can capture as much data as possible with the RAW format and then use data from a light meter to correct things like the contrast and saturation on my computer later and thus get as much detail as possible. Is that what other people do?
Click to expand...

I use mine to measure light levels to set the exposure on my cameras. That's what a meter does and not that much more.

Are you perhpas thinking of Expose to the right technique? This doesn't rely on having an external light meter.

A light meter won't help you correct contrast and saturation later. Some of the high end ones (£600+) will take direct readings of the colour temperature of the light but there are much cheaper ways of doing this.
 
There is a little an average light meter can tell you that your in camera meter and histogram can't, so imo unless you plan on doing studio work [to judge flash output, and even then its marginal, given you can still normally do it with a few test shots] or older film cameras with little or no metering, then you may as well save the money and put it towards something more useful. :shrug:
 
To avoid creating another thread, and as the thread title is relevant.

Can anyone recommend a cheap, basic meter to carry when I'm taking my Holga for a walk? I don't want to carry a SLR as well just to meter from. The Sekonics look like overkill.
 
Sekonic L358 is great meter, but for Holga it would be an overkill. So maybe look at lower range Sekonics? Something like Sekonic L-208 (link), never used one but looks like it could do all you are looking for. :)
 
Sekonic L308S at just over £100 will do everything that you need.

I only use one in the studio but much prefer to do so than just shoot and look.
 
cuthbert said:
what you are trying to capture is more dynamic range.

the best way i find to absolutely nail the exposure in difficult conditions is to turn the metering mode to 'spot' and then point the centre point at what i want to meter off (in AV mode) and then dial in this exposure in manually in M.

take a test shot and look at the the histogram on the display.

what the histogram looks like hugely depends on what you are taking a photograph of, but basically, you either have the tones spread across as much of the histogram as possible (using as much of the sensors dynamic range as possible) or pushed as far towards the right of the histogram as possible but without too much clipping (ie touching the right edge). A little clipping is usually fine and sometimes unavoidable. if your histogram is bunched up towards the left, then you are underexposing. whilst this is usually correctable in post, if often introduces noise.

you can then tweak the exposure as needed on the camera if the histogram looks off.

i always go by the histogram rather than the image on the back of the camera, it always shows more clipping than is actual.

the trick to using as much of the sensors dynamic range as possible is just good exposure in the first place. if you under or over expose in inevitably lose shadow or highlight detail.

you can also just use exposure compensation to get the correct exposure in whatever metering mode you're using. i tend to use this method the most often. the trick is learning how to read histograms to making sure you're getting the correct exposure in any situation.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mark for that clarification. I was reading only this morning Bryan Peterson's book "Understanding Exposure" and couldn't quite grasp his explanation on exposure compensation under the chapter "Mr Green Jeans". He omitted to say take a reading in AV mode and then re-compose the shot in manual, unless of course I wasn't reading it properly. :bonk:
________
Livonia engine
 
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cuthbert said:
the best way i find to absolutely nail the exposure in difficult conditions is to turn the metering mode to 'spot' and then point the centre point at what i want to meter off (in AV mode) and then dial in this exposure in manually in M.
Click to expand...

It might be worth noting that the 1000D doesn't do spot metering, though it does have a partial metering mode that measures only 9% of the frame area.
 
Alastair said:
To avoid creating another thread, and as the thread title is relevant.

Can anyone recommend a cheap, basic meter to carry when I'm taking my Holga for a walk? I don't want to carry a SLR as well just to meter from. The Sekonics look like overkill.
Click to expand...
I picked up a Weston Master V (minus the invercone) for a tenner. Checking against my dslr, it's still accurate. I now take the Weston with me when I'm out with my Mamiya tlr's. I also trust it more than I trust the TTL meter in my Zenit 122.
Even my Leningrad 7 is still pretty accurate, no more than 1/2 a stop out. No biggie unless maybe you're shooting transparencies?
Sure, they're both old technology and cheap but it's sort of in keeping with the spirit of Holga?
 
Carter64 said:
I picked up a Weston Master V (minus the invercone) for a tenner. Checking against my dslr, it's still accurate. I now take the Weston with me when I'm out with my Mamiya tlr's. I also trust it more than I trust the TTL meter in my Zenit 122.
Even my Leningrad 7 is still pretty accurate, no more than 1/2 a stop out. No biggie unless maybe you're shooting transparencies?
Sure, they're both old technology and cheap but it's sort of in keeping with the spirit of Holga?
Click to expand...

I gave Cgeezer an immaculate weston master V a few weeks ago (minus the button!) they can be picked up for pennies on ebay/car boots etc !
 
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