herc182
member
Reged: 26/04/2007
Posts: 191
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Yep I am a film novice. Got this light meter bundled with a camera. No idea how to work it!! Is it even worth keeping when using a FM2 or FA (Since they have built in meters?)?
thanks
Photos
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Nod
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 08/04/2006
Posts: 4162
Loc: Devon, UK.
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Pop into your nearest Jessops and ask the oldest member of staff!
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MATWSIJ.....
To avoid being offended, please insert apropriate smiley.
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herc182
member
Reged: 26/04/2007
Posts: 191
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lol. that would be a 16 year old then...
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Nod
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 08/04/2006
Posts: 4162
Loc: Devon, UK.
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I would do some trial and error against a camera with a built in meter. Set the seperate meter to the appropriate ISO and fiddle until the meters agree. Then change the scene and see what the meter says - check the camera meter says the same (or very close) then check a couple of other scenes. Hopefully, if you get consistent results, you've sussed it!
Happy playing!
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MATWSIJ.....
To avoid being offended, please insert apropriate smiley.
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beejaybee
Marvin
Reged: 18/07/2007
Posts: 4413
Loc: Really Here In Name Only
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Umm, if the meters in your cameras are working reliably I don't see the point in carrying or using one of those. You might get a tenner for it on fleabay.
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LargeFormat
old hand
Reged: 24/10/2006
Posts: 1058
Loc: Buckinghamshire and Cumbria
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I'm not familiar with this particular meter but the settings don't look that different to a Weston Master % for which you can download a manual at:
http://66.49.230.119/flashes_meters/weston_master_v.pdf
Hope this helps.
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herc182
member
Reged: 26/04/2007
Posts: 191
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thanks for your help everyone. I think I am happy to give it to charity shop or ebay.
thanks!
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Tacitus
History
Reged: 17/01/2006
Posts: 871
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If it has a white translucent 'incident metering blind' that can be slid over the metering cell (something I doubt) it is arguably worth keeping. But without some instructions/guidance to get you started incident metering can be tricky.
If it doesn't offer incident metering it will be of marginal value to you for the time being ... (possibly more value later). A meter that gives incident and reflected readings is potentially a worthwhile tool in many applications (but take advice before buying one).
The FA has a few 'tricks up its sleeve' - so it's useful to research these via Mir.com and Ken Rockwell's websites.
.T.
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herc182
member
Reged: 26/04/2007
Posts: 191
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it does have something that slides over what i presume is the light meter. At the top. why is that worth keeping?
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Tacitus
History
Reged: 17/01/2006
Posts: 871
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An incident light meter can be of benefit in certain contrasty lighting conditions, especially for transparency film.
I suggest that you put the meter away for a while until you've had a bit more experience using your cameras (and possibly some different films). Then, if you start exploring difficult lighting conditions, you should do some reading on exposure measurement and how to make the most of film latitude, etc. This is where a meter comes in useful.
Bookmark the following for later (it may not help you to tackle it straight away): Kodak website - this has a great section on exposure meters. Cambridge-in-colour website is better illustrated, but less comprehensive. (NB the rest of the Cambridge site is quite helpful, too).
.T.
The internet, and Google in particular, is your friend.
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PentaxManiac
enthusiast
Reged: 19/06/2006
Posts: 399
Loc: North London
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What people have said so far is correct: there is a white plastic dome that slides over the metering cell for incident metering. Depending on which model it is there may also be two settings, one for low light/indoors and one for oudoors/higher light. Simply set the film speed, point the metering cell at the subject and press in the lever or button on the side of the meter then make a note of the number on the scale the needle settles on. For incident readings, point the meter (with the white dome in place) at the camera and do the same. Having made a note of the number, set that number on the scale on the outside of the revolving wheel. You can now read off all the combinations of shutter speed and aperture that will give correct exposure.
Again depending on which model it is it may require a mercury battery - which you can no longer buy. If it's a more recent model then it takes SR44S. Always use SR44s, not LR44s which are the same size but will give inaccurate readings.
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Martin
The observed defines the observer
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herc182
member
Reged: 26/04/2007
Posts: 191
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thanks everyone. That has been a great help. I might take it off ebay if I learn about it in time :-)
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Mexican_Photographer
newbie
Reged: 06/03/2008
Posts: 1
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Sorry if I’m repeating info posted elsewhere guys…
The manual recommended above by Large Format does a good job of explaining the basic techniques. The question remaining is why? What are the advantages of a handheld meter? I’ll try to summarize it here, especially the advantages of incident and spot readings:
An avid Large Format photographer myself, I use my Sekonic L-508 all the time, even eschewing and pre-empting the readings I get off my 35mm and digitals. For non-B/W film shots, a gray card can be used to good effect as well, but why bother if you have a good meter?
The disadvantage of using built-in meters is that they “interpret” what they are seeing to represent a middle gray. If you use a built in meter to take the proverbial pictures of brides in the snow, or black kittens in a coal bin, you may already have experienced the awful results you get as your camera underexposes and overexposes, respectively.
An incident reading circumvents the “middle gray reading” of the reflected light from the subject, and instead reads the light falling on your subject, giving you a perfect exposure every time, irrespective of the subjects luminescence.
To take an incident reading, get in front of your subject, in the same light, and point the half ping-pong thingie at the position your lens will be in when you shoot, and use that reading. One caviat! The closer your light source is to your subject, the closer to your subject you need to position the meter! Light fall-off is more critical the shorter the distance from light source to subject.
So: If you’re shooting mountains in the distance in a cloudless day, you can use the same reading you’re getting miles away, since the difference in distance from you and the mountains to the Sun is negligible. If you’re using floods inches away from a macro subject, millimetic precision might be needed for a correct reading!
As for spot readings, meters like my Seconic allow you to take measurements as narrow as one degree of arc. Few cameras, even those with built-in spot meters can take readings that precise unless you’re using a 1200mm lens and extension tubes. This is especially useful in B/W photography (to adjust dynamic range to be used in shooting and developing to get the best possible print), and in digital photography to check that highlights will not be blown out beyond your sensor’s dynamic range.
Of course, light meters not having to focus, they don’t care how close you get to the subject; so assuming proximity is no issue, you can approximate a spot meter with a conventional one …to a point.
The rule for taking reflected light readings (even with built-in meters) is to try to find an area of your subject that approximates a middle gray tone, and try to meter that. If your subject doesn’t have one, experience will tell you how many stops up or down from middle gray your subject is, and you can adjust the exposure accordingly.
Hope that helps.
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beejaybee
Marvin
Reged: 18/07/2007
Posts: 4413
Loc: Really Here In Name Only
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With reference to incident light:
Quote:
So: If you’re shooting mountains in the distance in a cloudless day, you can use the same reading you’re getting miles away, since the difference in distance from you and the mountains to the Sun is negligible.
True, but the intervening haze can make a huge difference, you will almost always get overexposure, possibly serious, if you use incident metering in this way.
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Tacitus
History
Reged: 17/01/2006
Posts: 871
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Quote:
... you will almost always get overexposure, possibly serious, if you use incident metering in this way.
I've never had that.
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