Light Meter

[Henessy]

Hi, as the name suggest, it measures light. But how do people actually use it given that your camera also has a build in light meter. Just curious to know more about it.

Thanks

[catchlights]

hand held light meter able to read light in incident light mode and reflective light mode.

in camera light meter is only able to read reflective light.

[Henessy]

may I know the purpose of measuring incident light?

[catchlights]

in simple words,
it does measure how much lights fall on the subject,
not how much light being reflected from the subject,

so irregardless what subject you are photographing,
just use the recommended exposure reading,
the subject will be exposed at it is,

white will be white, black will be black.

[denniskee]

eg, last night was at funan food court, boring nothing to do, so measured the light falling onto the table with light meter and also with camera, reading from light meter was 2 stop brighter.

[catchlights]

Originally Posted by denniskee eg, last night was at funan food court, boring nothing to do, so measured the light falling onto the table with light meter and also with camera, reading from light meter was 2 stop brighter.

so do you take some shots to make comparison?

[catchlights]

anyway, have a hand held light meter, also need to know how to, and where to take the reading from.

just like in camera meter, thou have matrix, center weighted, spot, average meter mode, don't know how does it works, also won't able to get accurate reading.

[denniskee]

Originally Posted by catchlights so do you take some shots to make comparison?

yup, but deleted liao, light meter more accurate. using the camera's meter, table comes out dull.

had been carrying the meter with me when out for shoot since 5mths back.

[Henessy]

Is light meter applicable in landscape?

[catchlights]

Originally Posted by denniskee yup, but deleted liao, light meter more accurate. using the camera's meter, table comes out dull. had been carrying the meter with me when out for shoot since 5mths back.

so the table is very light in color.

if you measuring reflected light metering from a lighter subject, remember open up, for a darker subject, you need to close down, else just find a mid tone subject to take reading from.

[catchlights]

Originally Posted by Henessy Is light meter applicable in landscape?

the hand held meter?
why not and it depends...

if you the light falls on subject and where you shooting from is the same, hand held meter will work.

and if you shoot a distant scene which is under direct sun light, where you shooting from is cover by cloud, (judging by the shadows cast by sunlight), both light are difference, and you can't use the recommended reading at your side to use on a scene has difference lighting.

[jfoo]

it's an indispensable tool to me for indoor and outdoor work. what exposure the meter reads is what the exposure should be as it will not be fooled by reflective materials or colours.

[heckcare.der]

so when do you use incident light meter?

[jfoo]

indoor: studio, still life/products, properties

outdoor: portraiture, events, properties

[heckcare.der]

Sorry. I meant reflective light meter. That spot meter thingy.

[catchlights]

Originally Posted by heckcare.der Sorry. I meant reflective light meter. That spot meter thingy.

spot meter is a bit redundant nowadays, since most camera have spot metering feature.

but most people using spot meter for zone system.

[heckcare.der]

I see. So right, if I wanna take landscape, which meter should I use? Spot?

Btw, spot = reflective right? (just in case we are on the wrong track. :P)

[catchlights]

Originally Posted by heckcare.der I see. So right, if I wanna take landscape, which meter should I use? Spot? Btw, spot = reflective right? (just in case we are on the wrong track. :P)

it is not about what metering mode to use, it is how you understand about metering.

please read post #6.

[jfoo]

Originally Posted by heckcare.der Btw, spot = reflective right? (just in case we are on the wrong track. :P)

yes you are right. spot is reflective. and so is every other metering mode built into your camera's metering system.

any metering mode you use with your built-in camera meter is reflective whether you used spot, center, evaluative or matrix. your camera meter is reading light reflected from the scene, subject or object hence the term reflective light. this is also true for those light meters with spot metering attachment.

incident is just the opposite. it refers to light hitting your scene, subject or object. as it meters the amount of light hitting the scene, there is no influence from the colour or reflectivity of the scene on the metered result.

[writing with light]

Hi,
I know this thread is kinda old, but I need some advice on which meter to buy. I am using rangefinders to take photos, and I have a tough time guessing the exposure as I started out using digital.
If I am looking for a relatively simple one to use, which one should I get? And since I am using film, do these light meters have different ISO settings as well? And what are the price range of light meters?
Thanks