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Photo Forum / General Photo Topics / General Topics / June 2008Light meter/dslr
Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? I can't find my old Gossen from my 35mm days, so I generally switch to Automatic on my Nikon D40, look at the setting, and then go Manual and set a combination from that reading. What are others doing?  SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida > I can't find my old Gossen from my 35mm days, so I generally switch to > Automatic on my Nikon D40, look at the setting, and then go Manual and > set a combination from that reading. > > What are others doing? Pretty much the same, but as the shots generally call for an approximate shutter speed or aperture, instead of starting with Automatic (P) mode, I'll adjust one of the settings in S or A mode and see what the camera suggests for the other exposure setting. I've only used cameras that when switched to M mode, revert to the last M settings, a nice feature to add (unless I've not noticed it in the cameras I've used) would be a way to easily transfer P/A/S mode exposure settings to M mode. One way might be to Dial up M mode while the shutter is half pressed. > Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > What are others doing? I sometimes use my Pentax spotmeter with the 5D. The 5D can only display a +/- 2 EV (i.e. 5 stop) range without adjustment, but the Pentax allows me to scan the whole scene quickly for highlight and shadow values. David J. Littleboy Tokyo, Japan > Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? > > I can't find my old Gossen from my 35mm days, so I generally switch to > Automatic on my Nikon D40, look at the setting, and then go Manual and > set a combination from that reading. Generally a test shot with a spot metered manual setting and a look at the histogram confirm the metered setting. Adjust to need and away I go. For consistency, nothing beats leaving it in manual. If there is a good chunk of white in scene, I can usually spot meter for that at 2 or 2.3 stops over middle and that will be confirmed by the histo. Yellow: 1 stop; red: 0; green (-1) and so on. Quick histo check and I'm done. But for studio lighting, using an incident flash meter is better for getting lighting set up, esp. if specific lighting ratios are desired. (And then, like our Polaroid fore bearers, adjust after a test shot in any case...) Cheers, Alan Signature-- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm -- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin -- e-meil: Remove FreeLunch. > Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > What are others doing? On my Nikon D40 I generally (with outdoors lighting, manual) use the bar graph in the view finder to set my initial shot. >> Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > On my Nikon D40 I generally (with outdoors lighting, manual) use the bar > graph in the view finder to set my initial shot. That's how I learned on the Canon AE1. Back then it seemed amazingly super automated and really it is quite easy on a DSLR. Matrix metering is too clever if you are in the frame of mind to go more bare bones than this, it's always making some assumptions and those are often good but when they aren't it's frustrating. Center weighted & spot are consistent. SignaturePaul Furman www.edgehill.net www.baynatives.com all google groups messages filtered due to spam >>> Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? >>> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > this, it's always making some assumptions and those are often good but > when they aren't it's frustrating. Centre weighted & spot are consistent. Have you got a Katzeye screen or similar? I've found on a Pentax *ist-Ds that it over-exposes by 0.7 stops with centre spot metering and is accurate with centre weighted. My K10D seems to be able to spot meter properly even with a Katzeye installed and I don't know why. >>>> Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? >>>> [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > My K10D seems to be able to spot meter properly even with a Katzeye > installed and I don't know why. I have a Katzeye screen but haven't touched the spot meter since I got it. I almost always use matrix aperture priority or manual if it tries to get clever but I've played with it other ways. I have one shift/tilt lens that needs to be metered straight, then tilted or shifted, but still the matrix is normally fine in manual. The OP might appreciate center or spot more than me :-) I'm actually thinking I won't get another split focus screen just because I find myself looking at the 'ground glass' (plastic) more often. SignaturePaul Furman www.edgehill.net www.baynatives.com all google groups messages filtered due to spam In rec.photo.digital tony cooper <tony_cooper213@earthlink.net> wrote: > Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? > I can't find my old Gossen from my 35mm days, so I generally switch to > Automatic on my Nikon D40, look at the setting, and then go Manual and > set a combination from that reading. > What are others doing? I mostly use P mode since what it does is start with the camera's preferred auto settings and adjusts those by whatever adjustments my last use of the P-mode imposed. Within easy reach of my thumb in P-mode are two adjusting wheels. One allows me to change exposure value with the camera choosing how aperture and shutter are adjusted. The other allows me to run through the full range of standard shutter speeds and apertures which give that EV. I say "standard" because it excludes certain extreme adjustments, e.g, those which need a tripod and call into play special noise reduction measures. For those I have to go to manual mode. So unless I'm doing something unusually extreme, P-mode gives me all the control of manual mode with auto adapting to changing light conditions. I find that usually gets me the settings I want much faster than manual mode would. But not all cameras have two such conveniently adjustable wheels in P-mode. SignatureChris Malcolm cam@infirmatics.ed.ac.uk DoD #205 IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK [http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/] > Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > What are others doing? I just use the built-in light meter. These days, the light meter that comes built into dSRLs is fine and more than capable for the needs of most photographers. > Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > What are others doing? I bought a D40 body to use with an inherited collection of fast prime Nikon lens from the late sixties and seventies. They fit the D40 just fine, but the camera's exposure meter won't work with these lens. I thought I would use a hand held meter to get the initial exposure but that turned out the be more trouble than it was worth for me. I start by setting either the aperture or shutter speed I need and guess at its reciprocal. Then I check the histogram and highlight blinkie on the monitor and fine tune the exposure accordingly. It usually doesn't take more than a test shot or two to get it right. If I'm making several exposures in the same light I use the last setting and adjust from it if needed. I shoot in Raw so I get a bit of extra latitude there. The process is surprisingly easy, it's as quick as shooting in manual, I feel engaged in the process, and I very much like the results I get with those fast, sharp, old SLR lens. It is kind of funny though. I occasionally shoot black & white with an SLR and after after making an exposure I frequently catch myself looking at the back of the camera for a histogram that isn't there. >> Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? >> [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >and after after making an exposure I frequently catch myself looking at the >back of the camera for a histogram that isn't there. I don't find much need for a hand-held light meter on routine outdoor shots, but I do quite a bit of table-top photography under external lighting. Because I do several shots of several objects, I want consistent results. So, I set my white balance with a gray card and use the Manual settings. I am thinking of buying a used Gossen Digital Pro F on eBay to measure incident light for this purpose. Usually I'll take a test series with various combinations of speed/f-stop/iso and see which works best for the subject. I thought perhaps a light meter would help guide me. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >>> Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? >>> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >>> >>> What are others doing? . > I don't find much need for a hand-held light meter on routine outdoor > shots, but I do quite a bit of table-top photography under external [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > various combinations of speed/f-stop/iso and see which works best for > the subject. I thought perhaps a light meter would help guide me. I shoot outdoors in natural light so I don't have experience with what you are doing. I'm wondering if you are shooting in RAW and using something like Adobe Camera Raw for post processing. RAW will give you white balance latitude and good bit of latitude for other tweaking. Staying consistent would be easy by using the same Camera Raw settings for all the images from a given session. Once upon a time I had a friend set up some studio lighting for me to shoot family portraits and somehow I got the custom white balance wrong shooting in jpeg. The white balance was so far off even Photoshop couldn't begin to make the color look right. If I had been shooting in RAW it could have been easily fixed. Even so getting it right in the camera is way to go. >>>> Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? >>>> [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >are doing. I'm wondering if you are shooting in RAW and using something >like Adobe Camera Raw for post processing. No, I don't. I hesitate to mention that here because not shooting RAW seems to be as laughable in photography groups as wearing a detachable celluloid collar. I use a Nikon D40 and Adobe Photoshop 7.0, and that is not compatible with RAW or NEF. I'm too cheap to upgrade or to buy the Nikon's RAW converter. Actually, I'm quite comfortable with PS7 and see no need to upgrade. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >>>>> Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? >>>>> [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > the Nikon's RAW converter. Actually, I'm quite comfortable with PS7 > and see no need to upgrade. I was like that for the longest time. I have Photoshop CS. My photographer girlfriend made off with the second license, so when I got a new laptop I bought & installed Photoshop Elements 6 that I bought for $50 on sale at Costco. It has all the tools and features I used in CS and it's easer to use. Plus it also has Adobe Camera Raw. To make a long story short I only shoot in RAW and would never go back to shooting jpgs. I like what I can do in Camera Raw *a lot*. Microsoft has NEF readers for My Pictures available in their download bin. With that said I do realize your needs may be completely met by what you are doing now. I was quite comfortable with CS too, but I rarely use it now. By the way, if you are a PC user and you get a new computer with Vista you won't be able to install the PS7. I found that out when I tried to install CS on a Vista OS. >By the way, if you are a PC user and you get a new computer with Vista you >won't be able to install the PS7. I found that out when I tried to install >CS on a Vista OS. I'm quite aware of that. When I do need a new computer, I'll buy a Dell for this reason. Dell still offers Windows XP at no upcharge, although they do run "specials" on boxes with only Vista. I also have Adobe Elements 5.0, but I seldom use it. I bought it because my daughter started out with it, and I wanted it so I could teach her certain techniques. However, I'm so comfortable with PS7 that I seldom open E5. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >>By the way, if you are a PC user and you get a new computer with Vista you >>won't be able to install the PS7. I found that out when I tried to [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > teach her certain techniques. However, I'm so comfortable with PS7 > that I seldom open E5. Working OK here Vista 64. At least CS3 is. >>>By the way, if you are a PC user and you get a new computer with Vista >>>you [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Working OK here Vista 64. At least CS3 is. I believe Adobe told me CS2 and onward will work with Vista. It's CS (PS8) and earlier versions that won't work with Vista. An upgrade has to be purchased for them to be installed on Vista. >>>> By the way, if you are a PC user and you get a new computer with >>>> Vista you [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > (PS8) and earlier versions that won't work with Vista. An upgrade has > to be purchased for them to be installed on Vista. CS(1) works fine on Vista for me. SignaturePaul Furman www.edgehill.net www.baynatives.com all google groups messages filtered due to spam >>>>> By the way, if you are a PC user and you get a new computer with Vista >>>>> you [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > CS(1) works fine on Vista for me. Interesting. I bought a machine with Vista Home Premium as the OS. When I tried to install PS CS it wouldn't take my product code. I thought it might be a licensing issue as my CS disc had been previously installed on two machines. Customer service, who hadn't a clue, transferred me to the license folks who told me CS and earlier versions of PS weren't compatible with Vista. They said I would have to upgrade to CS2 or CS3. I checked the Adobe web site and confirmed Adobe did not support CS and the earlier versions of PS for Vista and claimed they should not be installed on Vista machines. I took them at their word and figured this was the reason my product code wouldn't take. You think maybe Adobe was doing a little weasel dance with me there? >>>>>> Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? >>>>>> [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > you won't be able to install the PS7. I found that out when I tried > to install CS on a Vista OS. Oh god...Vista... > I am thinking of buying a used Gossen Digital Pro F on eBay to measure > incident light for this purpose. Usually I'll take a test series with > various combinations of speed/f-stop/iso and see which works best for > the subject. I thought perhaps a light meter would help guide me. Once you've set WB; once you've done a couple test shots with the histo, I'm not sure that an incident meter will give you much unless you're shooting strobes and you need specific lighting ratios. Signature-- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm -- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin -- e-meil: Remove FreeLunch. >> Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? >> [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > engaged in the process, and I very much like the results I get with those > fast, sharp, old SLR lens. The exposure on D200 works great with my very old lenses. 200 macro, 75-150 E and 50mm f1.4. I tried the 200 macro on a friend's D100 and that worked fine, too. You might want to consider a used D100 or D200. > It is kind of funny though. I occasionally shoot black & white with an > SLR and after after making an exposure I frequently catch myself looking > at the back of the camera for a histogram that isn't there. LOL, I've done the very same thing and felt awfully dumb. SignaturePeter >> I bought a D40 body to use with an inherited collection of fast prime >> Nikon lens from the late sixties and seventies. They fit the D40 just [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > I tried the 200 macro on a friend's D100 and that worked fine, too. > You might want to consider a used D100 or D200. Yes the exposure meter on the D200, which I understand to be excellent, is supposed to work with the old lens. I'm thinking maybe someone told me the meter will work only in the center weighted mode on the D200 and the old lens. I was never clear whether this is true or why it would be true. Anyway I'm working my way to a D200 now that the new D300 has made it a totally obsolete block of magnesium (I wish). Last time I checked the local price is $1200 for the body. I need for it to become just a tad more obsolete. By comparison I paid $350 for the D40 body which I find to be a delightful handling little camera. And I really don't need an exposure meter those old lens......wait I'm talking myself out out the D200 again.....got to stop doing that. >>> I bought a D40 body to use with an inherited collection of fast >>> prime Nikon lens from the late sixties and seventies. They fit the [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > lens......wait I'm talking myself out out the D200 again.....got to > stop doing that. Would the D80 power those lenses? >>>> I bought a D40 body to use with an inherited collection of fast >>>> prime Nikon lens from the late sixties and seventies. They fit the [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > > Would the D80 power those lenses? I know for a fact that the D70 does not. Haven't tried it on a D80, but you might want to give it a try. SignaturePeter > > Would the D80 power those lenses? > > I know for a fact that the D70 does not. Haven't tried it on a D80, but you > might want to give it a try. there's a matrix here which makes some sense of lens issues ... <http://www.bythom.com/lensacronyms.htm> Signaturehttp://www.intercuts.com/weblog/ >>>> I bought a D40 body to use with an inherited collection of fast >>>> prime Nikon lens from the late sixties and seventies. They fit the [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > > Would the D80 power those lenses? The D40's and the D60 will couple with virtually all Nikkor lens, but without TTL light metering. That's it. Pretty simple. The rest is something of a jumble. Other Nikon camera bodies may require older lens to be modified before they can be mounted. There are two types of modifications that older lens may need to mount properly. Here's a link to a compatibility chart to help sort it out from John White, who has the machinery to modify Nikon lens. My pre-1977 lens have had his type B conversion which I believe means they will mount to all the Nikon digital bodies (with the TTL metering working on some bodies but not others). I found John White's service to be excellent. http://www.aiconversions.com/compatibilitytable.htm > Wilson wrote >> Peter wrote [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > Would the D80 power those lenses? I'm pretty sure the D80 is the same as a D70 & D50 in that regard. Same as the D100 I believe, manual lenses won't meter but all AF lenses work fully... where they don't AF but do meter on a D40/D60. Manual with no metering isn't bad on digital. SignaturePaul Furman www.edgehill.net www.baynatives.com all google groups messages filtered due to spam Dear No >Would the D80 power those lenses? Please define "power" and "those". For autofocus to work the lens has to be at least AF (surprise, surprise). For metering to work the lens has to be at least AI-P (introduced '88). Most older Non-AI-P lenses can be converted to AI-P mode. Lenses without any aperture index (aka pre-AI lenses, before ~'77) should not be mounted on the D80 without modification because it could damage the body or the lens. A good explanation of the nitty-gritty details is availabe at http://bythom.com/lensacronyms.htm jue >... the D40 body which I find to be a >delightful handling little camera. And I really don't need an exposure >meter those old lens. The method you described (using the histogram and the Highlights LCD display) is far more accurate and quick than any method with any form of "lightmeter". I use D2x and D3 cameras, almost always in manual exposure mode, and almost never with any reference at all to the lightmeter. Your method is best with either to consumer bodies _or_ with the pro bodies. You aren't missing a thing, with the D40, in that regard! I haven't bothered to verify it, but others say that they have tested the Highlights display and found that it starts blinking at 1/3 of an fstop below clipping. That means when adjustments are configured for 1/3 fstop increments, and the camera is set to one exposure increment less than where the screen blinks, the exposure is between 1/3 and 2/3 of an fstop below the absolute maximum dynamic range possible. One increment above that, which will result in at least some blinking areas, is between 0 and 1/3 of fstop less than maximum dynamic range. (Of course in many instances it is also quite reasonable to allow some areas to clip, and that can easily be determined by looking at the Highlights display, and otherwise would require multiple measurements with a spot meter.) The "catch" to the above system is that it does require shooting in RAW mode and doing post processing. SignatureFloyd L. Davidson <http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson> Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) floyd@apaflo.com >Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? >I can't find my old Gossen from my 35mm days, so I generally switch to >Automatic on my Nikon D40, look at the setting, and then go Manual and >set a combination from that reading. >What are others doing? I'll occasionally use an external spotmeter. That's particularly useful with cameras (e.g. my XTi/400D) which do not include a small-angle spotmeter mode internally. Dave > Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > What are others doing? If you have live preview a light meter is not necessary, because the camera becomes the light meter. Just set it to live preview and use the histogram or the clipped highlights/shadows warning system to adjust the exposure. SignatureAlfred Molon ------------------------------ Olympus 50X0, 8080, E3X0, E4X0, E5X0 and E3 forum at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/MyOlympus/ http://myolympus.org/ photo sharing site >> Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? >> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >Just set it to live preview and use the histogram or the clipped >highlights/shadows warning system to adjust the exposure. Note that I have a Nikon D40. No live preview. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >>> Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? >>> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >Note that I have a Nikon D40. No live preview. So click the shutter, and use "dead postview"! I can't see much reason for using a lightmeter other than to set ratios when adjusting lights. (Assuming one is shooting RAW. With JPEG it would be different if there are no truly white areas in the image.) SignatureFloyd L. Davidson <http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson> Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) floyd@apaflo.com tony cooper wrote: > Does anyone use a light meter with their DSLR? > I can't find my old Gossen from my 35mm days, so I generally switch to > Automatic on my Nikon D40, look at the setting, and then go Manual and > set a combination from that reading. > What are others doing? The metering of reflected light is always problematic and the new cameras keep getting it better. For many scenes, the measure of incident light is the most meaningful. To do this just take an 18% Grayscale card with you and take your meter reading with your camera or light meter off the 18% Grayscale Card. For most scenes without sun/shade, this is the most accurate. With sun & shade mixed, then you really need to get creative. I normally use fill flash in the shade for my closeups. SignaturePardon my spam deterrent; send email to rhodyman@earthlink.net Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA - http://rhodyman.net |
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