How to use a hand light-meter?
 

As obtaining correct film exposure is of fundamental importance to provide good negatives, would a hand meter be a worth while investment instead of relying on the TTL metering of my 35mm SLR Camera that I use at the moment?
I also use this to transfer readings across to my Mamiya RB67 medium format camera.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of incident versus reflected measurements?
I would like to know more about using a hand meter before parting with my money.
I saw a Kenko KFM-2100 on-line, but it can be any other models and brands you can think of, as I am not sure what to buy.

How to use a hand light-meter?
 

"Darkroom User" wrote


As obtaining correct film exposure is of fundamental importance to
provide good negatives, would a hand meter be a worth while investment
instead of relying on the TTL metering of my 35mm SLR Camera that I use
at the moment?
I also use this to transfer readings across to my Mamiya RB67 medium
format camera.

You're probably posting this to the wrong newsgroup, and I think I can
answer your question. When I first started shooting in large format I used
my Nikon F3 as my meter. It worked fine. But once I got my little Sekonic
L-318 (I think offhand that's what it is) incident/reflected meter, most of
my exposures were assisted by the incident metering. Incident measures all
the light falling on the subject regardless of the subject's tonality,
shadows and highlights, and its general reflectivity. That helps give you
the best overall average reading for the scene. It's very easy to use. You
just walk to the subject and point the meter's white dome at the camera and
take a reading. Where the reflected meter is best used is on a landscape
where you can't walk to it, as in a distant scene. Then I will attach the
reflected meter "dome" and take a reading that way, especially if I don't
want a lot of sky emphasis. Even so, I may then corroborate that reading
with the incident dome. If they match, good. If not, then I have to re-think
how and what I'm measuring.

Another advantage of these incident meters is that mine, at least, can read
to the accuracy(?) of tenths of a stop.

Oh, by the way, you still have to think.

How to use a hand light-meter?
 

On 2010-09-03 16:21:38 -0400, Darkroom User said:

As obtaining correct film exposure is of fundamental importance to
provide good negatives, would a hand meter be a worth while investment
instead of relying on the TTL metering of my 35mm SLR Camera that I use
at the moment?
I also use this to transfer readings across to my Mamiya RB67 medium
format camera.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of incident versus reflected
measurements?
I would like to know more about using a hand meter before parting with
my money.
I saw a Kenko KFM-2100 on-line, but it can be any other models and
brands you can think of, as I am not sure what to buy.

Darkroom is not the ideal newgroup because your question is not about
darkroom work. I'd suggest rec.photo.equipment.35mm or alt.photography
--
Michael

How to use a hand light-meter?
 

"Darkroom User" wrote in message
...

As obtaining correct film exposure is of fundamental importance to
provide good negatives, would a hand meter be a worth while investment
instead of relying on the TTL metering of my 35mm SLR Camera that I use
at the moment?
I also use this to transfer readings across to my Mamiya RB67 medium
format camera.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of incident versus reflected
measurements?
I would like to know more about using a hand meter before parting with
my money.
I saw a Kenko KFM-2100 on-line, but it can be any other models and
brands you can think of, as I am not sure what to buy.


Grab hold of Ansel Adam's *The Negative*, Chapters 3 and 4.

How to use a hand light-meter?
 

"Lawrence Akutagawa" wrote

Grab hold of Ansel Adam's *The Negative*, Chapters 3 and 4.

And don't ever let it go.

How to use a hand light-meter?
 

On 9/3/2010 6:18 PM, Howard Lester wrote:
You
just walk to the subject and point the meter's white dome at the camera and
take a reading. Where the reflected meter is best used is on a landscape
where you can't walk to it, as in a distant scene.

Even for landscapes they work fine, just hold the meter in the same
light that is in the distant scene. Which generally in landscapes is the
same light falling on the area the camera is in too. IMHO it's much more
accurate than trying to judge readings from a reflected light reading
given the variables in subject color, reflectivity etc. Incident
readings avoid all that subjectivity.

Stephe

Kodak have a publication about light-meters and how to use them on their website which you might find useful.
http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/...f9/index.shtml

How to use a hand light-meter?
 

On 2010-09-05 02:46:37 -0400, said:

On 9/3/2010 6:18 PM, Howard Lester wrote:
You
just walk to the subject and point the meter's white dome at the camera and
take a reading. Where the reflected meter is best used is on a landscape
where you can't walk to it, as in a distant scene.

Even for landscapes they work fine, just hold the meter in the same
light that is in the distant scene. Which generally in landscapes is
the same light falling on the area the camera is in too. IMHO it's much
more accurate than trying to judge readings from a reflected light
reading given the variables in subject color, reflectivity etc.
Incident readings avoid all that subjectivity.

Stephe

I agree. My Seconic handheld meter works in both reflected and incident
modes and I use it with my otherwise unmetered Nikon F and Pentax 6x7
and get good results on landscapes. Especially good results on
seascapes and beach scenes and snow scenes where the reflected meter
reading is likely to make the snow or the beach neutral gray instead of
nearly-blown-out bright. Still have to bracket though.
--
Michael

How to use a hand light-meter?
 

On 9/7/2010 4:24 PM Lew spake thus:

An old photographer's trick to simulate an incident light meter (if
you have a reflective one, that is) is to tilt your hand up into the
light and take a meter reading of your hand. After some trial & error
you'll know what adjustment to make to simulate middle grey. My hand
is about 1.5 stops too much, so a stop or two in the opposite
direction works just about right. The nice thing about this method is
that, more likely than not, you'll always have one of your hands with
you whereas it's easy to forget your grey card.

I assume you are referring to white skin. I suppose black skin would be,
what, maybe about a stop darker, if that?

I also assume you use the palm of your hand?


--
The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring,
with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags.

- Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)

How to use a hand light-meter?
 

"Michael" wrote
On 2010-09-05 02:46:37 -0400, said:

On 9/3/2010 6:18 PM, Howard Lester wrote:
You
just walk to the subject and point the meter's white dome at the camera
and
take a reading. Where the reflected meter is best used is on a landscape
where you can't walk to it, as in a distant scene.

Even for landscapes they work fine, just hold the meter in the same light
that is in the distant scene. Which generally in landscapes is the same
light falling on the area the camera is in too. IMHO it's much more
accurate than trying to judge readings from a reflected light reading
given the variables in subject color, reflectivity etc. Incident readings
avoid all that subjectivity.

Stephe

I agree. My Seconic handheld meter works in both reflected and incident
modes and I use it with my otherwise unmetered Nikon F and Pentax 6x7 and
get good results on landscapes. Especially good results on seascapes and
beach scenes and snow scenes where the reflected meter reading is likely
to make the snow or the beach neutral gray instead of nearly-blown-out
bright. Still have to bracket though.
--
Michael

Sorry for having to retain all of the above; I did so for clarity....

To follow up (or summarize): you still have to think, whether you have
incident, reflected, gray card, palm-of-your-hand -- whatever.

Howard