Handheld light meter

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

Jeeze how hard is it to look it up!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Meter
http://www.photoethnography.com/Clas...html~mainFrame
http://www.uglx.org/expmeters
http://www.subclub.org/field/expose1e.htm
http://www.vintagephoto.tv/weston617.shtml 1932/33 were the first selenium meters!

This took me all of 15 minutes to find along with reading the links.

If you don't want to use a handheld lightmeter then don't.

As to the comment about PJ's not using them I hate to tell you you're wrong, they may take a reading for the scene and then if the clouds don't chenge they will then know that they are getting X results for that scene and their incamera meter is giving them X results and if it differs they may under or overexpose to compensate for the difference. Now this would be the old school shooters and not the young bucks who are relying totally on the incamera meter but they still may have the camera meter set on a 2 degree spot or tighter and they will scan the scene looking for the variance between the darkest and hottest zones in their frame and figure from there.

[The Loft Studios]

Originally Posted by Stephen H

"The very first hand held meter was a flash meter.....
How do you think In-Studio shots were done for magazine advertisements, sure a lot of images were still Line Art and Illustrations, but a lot was photographic images (Playboy 1953, Marilyn Monroe) The reason that the first hand held meter was a flash meter was due to most cameras already having a Built-In metering system."

There doesn't seem to be a good general history of meters out on the web. I do find that Weston's first meter specifically for photography (as opposed to measuring foot-candles of light) came out in 1932-33, the Model 617. I assume this was one of the earlier electric meters, or perhaps the first, even. As best I can tell, Weston never even made a flash meter. See here:
http://www.vintagephoto.tv/weston617.shtml
I'm fairly certain that most 1932-era cameras did not have built-in meters, either. I'm fairly sure that quality studio photography was around a half-century or more before flash meters came along.

I've got a couple of versions of the "Amateur Photographer's Handbook" here. A quote from one of them gives you an idea of the thinking from 1973.
"The trend has been toward the built-in meters....But remember that there may be times when you'll be cussing out that built-in meter, especially after you have put your camera on a tripod and then have to take a closeup reading. That's one of the two reasons why many photograhers carry with them an additional hand-held exposure meter. It enables them to read closeups without disturbing the camera on a tripod. The other reason they carry an extra meter is to avoid being caught without one if the built-in meter goes bad...."

This book discusses some of the meters, including the Weston's, spotmeters, and color meters, but doesn't mention flash meters.

If you are going back that far, then you are DEFINITELY right! I guess I was refering to a little bit more of modern time photography. Remember the camera's with the gun powder flashes. There was a fomula that was used (no meter involved) that they knew approximately how many ounces of gun powder would give them a certain aperture setting. And when outdoors they just simply used what we refer today and the "Sunny 16" rule and used gun powder flashes to fill in the shadows.
And as far as built-in meters go, I only use them if I'm shooting photojournalistic style images or sports. If I shooting models and/or portraits.....Hand held meter for me.

[billbunton]

Originally Posted by shifter48

They are there for only one purpose and that is to read an 18% refective gray, which all meters are calibrated to, hand held or in the camera.

True, except for the ones calibrated to 12% grey. And I think Sekonic or Gossen used 15% for a while.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by shifter48

... The incident meter for studio work
...
I know that the palm of my hand is 1 stop brighter than 18% RG, I know that because I've metered my palm and a 18%RG card...try it!! Now with that info. I can take my hand held or my in camera meter and just meter my palm in the light I want to shoot and open it up 1 f/stop or cut the speed down by half, which is the same as opening the f.stop, and I'll be right on.

So, with that, It doesn't matter which meter you use as long as you know how it works.

I use my Weston & Gossen meters in incident mode all the time. I don't work in a studio.

I'm glad somebody finally mentioned palm reading.

I would add that I find a continuously swinging needle, in the camera viewfinder or the meter, faster and easier to use when scanning a scene than digital readout. Pressing the shutter button halfway to get a meter reading is a Pain in the Kazoo!

Got something almost identical to this combination too. Works like a charm.

[K1000]

12% not 18% http://www.bythom.com/graycards.htm

[shifter48]

So were do we get a 12% refective gray card?????????? We can get 18% GC's but how do we compensate for the meter if it's not right on???? For me I carry something with me all the time that I know I wont loose or forget to take with me...The palm of my hand!!!! Along time ago in the dark ages of film and the 18% RGC I found out that my palm was 1 stop brighter than it, so I would open it up 1 stop and that was my starting point for my exposure, as long as I was in the same light as the subject.

With that, what I'm doing, now that I just got into digital, is metering my palm and seeing what the difference is to my D200 on spot mode. Once I find through trail and error and with my camera/printer I'll use this as a basic start for my exposure

You don't need a Gray card to meter with when you have your body to calibate with. All you need to do is to experiment and set basic exposure guide lines, much more simpler now than waiting for film to come back or being in the darkroom. It's Old School but it worked then and it'll work now.

Gregg

[Tapper]

Interesting. So do Sekonic meters still read 14%? Or ANSI?

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by d2creative

But venchka, an actual photojournalist wouldn't use a handheld light meter out in the field. There's no time. And even a photojournalist style wedding photographer probably wouldn't meter most shots except for the few posed family shots. Otherwise he/she wouldn't get the believable "i didn't even know he was there" type shots.

Get a copy of 'War Photographer' and watch what James Nachtwey does when he arrives at house in Bosina with the retuning family.

He takes an incident light reading with a Sekonic.

[jbrem]

I know I take all my shots using my Sekonic L-558R. John is right, Nachtwey does use a Sekonic. Being as experienced as he is, he can adjust according to changing lights, but he does use a meter at the beginning. But anyways, I certainly trust my handheld much more than my in camera...

[Russell]

I use a light meter all of the time for outdoor and wildlife photography. When shooting scenes with irregular tonalities, the incident meter is always more accurate that the in0camera metering.

[daveb]

Originally Posted by CaptainTom

Sorry Dokk, you've been outbid ,,, but still not enough....

http://www.amazon.com/Gossen-Ambient.../dp/B0000ALKH8

Good Lawd... I haven't even SEEN a Luna in .... forever...

It is about the same price as my L-358