Hand-held meters

[beetlejuice]

How many of you use hand-held meters? If so, under what conditions and how often?
Or do just go with in camera metering?

Frank

[Arctirus]

Always in the studio, anytime with snow or if I want to make sure a certain specific area of a subject is exposed properly.

[92135011]

you can use it anywhere and everywhere

[Cowgirl]

Always when using Studio Lights - weddings, portraits...

Out in the field (Landscapes), not too often. A grey card works well, or even metering off of the back of my hand, has worked when traveling super light.

Kathy

[racingpinarello]

I carry my Sekonic L558 everywhere and use it for all landscape photos, and then in the studio I use it with a color meter.

For me it's the best way to get accurate exposures. I have tests for my meter with each film and digital camera. Calibration is a must so you have to make sure that neutural means neuteral to the film/digital so you know that you are getting accurate readings.

In camera meters are accurate, but you have to make adjustments to make sure it doesn't overweight any dark or bright areas.

Loren

[Speed]

How many of you use hand-held meters? If so, under what conditions and how often?
Or do just go with in camera metering?

Frank

I've got a Sekonic L508, which I've only recently begun using. It's been sitting in my gun safe, but I recently began pulling it out and using it. What got me to using it was using my friend's Vivitar 500mm f8 reflex lens. It has a Nikon mount, and is totally manual. I don't have a manual Nikon camera, so I used it on my N80 with the sunny f16 rule. After I returned it to him, it occurred to me that my L508 would have been perfect for it. (DOH!)

I usually rely on my in-camera meters (99% of the time). I've learned which conditions I need to dial in compensation, and adjust accordingly. Mainly, I look for unusally high shutter speeds when outdoors. (I shoot in apeture priority the majority of the time.) When I see a high shutter speed like I did Saturday at my girls soccer game, then I apply the sunny f16 rule and figure out where I need to be, and dial in the appropriate conpensation. So far it's worked great.

What you use depends on what you are comfortable with. I'm comfortable with my in-camera meters. I'm just learning to get comfortable with my L508.

[walterick]

Hey Speed!

How'd that Vivitar test out?

[Speed]

Hey Speed!

How'd that Vivitar test out?

Better than I expected. I took some shots of a Great Blue Heron on an overcast day. I bracketted the exposure, and the first two were really dark and grainy looking. The third one wasn't publishable, but it came out all right. I was pleased with it, especially considering that I was guessing at the shutter speed, and hand holding for the shot.

Later, I took some shots of a Cormorant on a sunny day. Bracketted again, and all three of them came out great.

Overall, it's a great lens for the money, and it takes great photo's on bright days. On overcast days, a light meter and a tripod will probably give good results as well.

BTW, my buddy leaves for China tommorrow with that lens in his camera bag.

[MJS]

I use my L358 in the studio and on location alot. When shooting action stuff, I'll usually centerweight or spot the shoot depending on what I'm shooting.

[CaSousa]

I've been shooting so much by feel and compensation based on my own experiences with how my camera meters, that I feel kinda weird asking this question..
but would it be possible for someone to explain the sunny f/16 rule to me?

Thanks,
-Chris (who feels like a neophyte asking this!)

[another view]

would it be possible for someone to explain the sunny f/16 rule to me?

On a sunny summer day, your shutter speed will be the reciprocal of the film speed at f16. Basically, if you're using 100 speed film, it's 1/125 (or 1/100 if your camera has it) at f16. Sounds like you know all of the tricks for compensating but here's a few:

-This is based on mid-day sun, if it's early or late you'll have to add exposure.

-In spring and fall (esp winter) the sun isn't as high in the sky at noon so you'll have to add more exposure

-If it's cloudy you'll have to add exposure.

-If you're at the beach or on snow, you might want to lower your exposure by a stop (but if it's snow, that's during the winter so you'll add some back in)

The Sunny 16 rule is a good way to make sure that your in-camera meter is reading about what you think it should.

[CaSousa]

On a sunny summer day, your shutter speed will be the reciprocal of the film speed at f16. Basically, if you're using 100 speed film, it's 1/125 (or 1/100 if your camera has it) at f16. Sounds like you know all of the tricks for compensating but here's a few:

-This is based on mid-day sun, if it's early or late you'll have to add exposure.

-In spring and fall (esp winter) the sun isn't as high in the sky at noon so you'll have to add more exposure

-If it's cloudy you'll have to add exposure.

-If you're at the beach or on snow, you might want to lower your exposure by a stop (but if it's snow, that's during the winter so you'll add some back in)

The Sunny 16 rule is a good way to make sure that your in-camera meter is reading about what you think it should.

Great! thanks a bunch!

-Chris

[Speed]

On a sunny summer day, your shutter speed will be the reciprocal of the film speed at f16. Basically, if you're using 100 speed film, it's 1/125 (or 1/100 if your camera has it) at f16. Sounds like you know all of the tricks for compensating but here's a few:

-This is based on mid-day sun, if it's early or late you'll have to add exposure.

-In spring and fall (esp winter) the sun isn't as high in the sky at noon so you'll have to add more exposure

-If it's cloudy you'll have to add exposure.

-If you're at the beach or on snow, you might want to lower your exposure by a stop (but if it's snow, that's during the winter so you'll add some back in)

The Sunny 16 rule is a good way to make sure that your in-camera meter is reading about what you think it should.

On Fuji film boxes, either the end flap or the inside of the box, they have some guidelines for shooting in sunny, cloudy, heavy overcast, shade, etc. Check it out for an idea of how much to open up.

[Franglais]

How many of you use hand-held meters? If so, under what conditions and how often?
Or do just go with in camera metering?

Frank

Most of the time I use the meter in my cameras. The 3D Matrix stuff in modern Nikons is pretty hard to beat for most situations.

There is one exception - available light pictures at trade shows. When I'm prowling about with the Leica doing pictures of people on stands, what's important is the faces and with the light coming from above or from spotlights, this is not the sort of situation that a program is likely to recognise. Usually in these cases I use a spotmeter.

Charles