Do you use a lightmeter when shooting wedding in film?

[haring]

Do you use a light meter when shooting wedding in film? I mostly shoot with digital (it is easy to check the exposure in digital) and I am just worried that the camera light meter in the film camera won't be accurate. I would use the film cameras for the posed photos so I think I would have time to measure the time with the light meter... what do you think? What do you usually do?
Or do you think it is possible to meter with the digital camera? Take a digital shoot at the same ISO speed? Then I would adjust aperture, shutter in the film camera according to the results based on the exposure on the digital photos?

What do you think?

[ronocnikral]

not sure why one would want to shoot a wedding in film....especially if you are used to shooting digital, 36 exposures is not a lot and it will add up fast (film cost+process cost+scanning cost+editing time). curious, what is to be gained by doing this combo digital + film shooting?

but...since you asked. regardless of what you do--use in camera meter, handheld or meter from a digital camera--you should do a test of the entire system to account for the meter being off, the shutter being off so and so forth. essentially, you need to burn a roll of film. change lenses? another test. change film, another test. then remember your EI for each meter, lens, camera and film combination. not mention variances in processing, printing, scanning. it's a very rigid workflow...

or shoot a film which is forgiving in the area of exposure.

[BenE]

Originally Posted by haring

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Or do you think it is possible to meter with the digital camera? Take a digital shoot at the same ISO speed? Then I would adjust aperture, shutter in the film camera according to the results based on the exposure on the digital photos?

What do you think?

Not really 100% accurate.

[KdLaneJr]

Film camera?

What kind of film camera, kodak brownie or hasselblad/mamiya/pentax medium format?

Until you ask a question with adequate information, there really isn't any accurate way to answer you.

[haring]

Originally Posted by KdLaneJr

Film camera?

What kind of film camera, kodak brownie or hasselblad/mamiya/pentax medium format?

Until you ask a question with adequate information, there really isn't any accurate way to answer you.

I would like to shoot medium format. Mamiya 645Af or Contax 645.
Thanks a lot!

[ronocnikral]

Originally Posted by KdLaneJr

Film camera?

What kind of film camera, kodak brownie or hasselblad/mamiya/pentax medium format?

Until you ask a question with adequate information, there really isn't any accurate way to answer you.

if one does as i said above, it doesn't matter what camera and light meter they use and the info provided in the op is appropriate.

now that you know what kind of camera the op wants to use, what will you tell them? how will you account for a shutter that is off? or a light meter that isn't reading correctly?

[KdLaneJr]

My question to the OP was to confirm he wasn't planning on using a 35mm film body in conjuntion with a dslr.
I don't disagree with what you've brought up being a viable method. I do, however, think it's overkill. I wouldn't shoot with a film body that I didn't trust the metering or shutter speed to be accurate on. Same goes for using my light meter instead of an in camera light meter.
The light meter I currently use is capable of carrying three different camera profiles in it and has the ability to set +/- EC also. If I thought it was off, I'd either adjust EC or send it in for a factory calibration.
If I thought one of my film bodies shutter speed was off, 35mm or medium format, I'd do the same thing, send it in to be calibrated.

To the OP, I'd recommend picking up a sekonic L358 or comparable light meter and to start out by simply trusting the camera shutter speed is actually what it is supposed to be. If there is any initial doubt, have it calibrated.

But in reality, I'd never take a film body to shoot a wedding unless all my digital equipment had failed. So from my position, the whole thing is moot.