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P25+ doesnt match my lightmeter...

steflaurent974

Active member
I found this detail by shooting. Its not a big deal because i use the lcd histogram to fine tune the exposition.
But anyone has noticed this ?
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Curious how far off is it do you think. Maybe take the meter out in full sun at ISO 100 you should be close to 1/125th at F16. The meter could very well need adjustment. Lets not forget scene reflectance as well. White wall/ Black background can toss the histo in different directions. Need to remember your handheld meter is light falling onto subject ( incident) and does not account for any reflecting light from scene which may affect your histo.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Yea and try to shoot a neutral scene. Grass is good since it renders pretty close to 18 percent grey and should not throw histo around compared to meter. Maybe fresh battery is need as well.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Good point Terry . It can certainly be off for sure. Repair shop here Phoenix can actually test the shutter speeds. When I shot Hassy V lenses they where always off the shutters.
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
Keep in mind that although the old gray card standard was 18% gray, current meters use 12% reflectance as their reference per ISO
-bob
 

ggriswold

New member
12% not 18%.. I would like to know more about that. Do you know when that change was made? How would you know which reference your meter is set to? I use the incident bubble so doesn't directly influence my work, but am curious. So they should sell 12% gray cards.. don't think I have ever seen one.

Most of the time when I shoot outside I can wing it and get within a stop and then adjust according to the histogram... pretty much what a meter would do. One of the few advantages of getting older (old).
 
S

Shelby Lewis

Guest
ISO isn't adhered to very consistently from camera to camera... manufacturer to manufacturer these days. I'd just calibrate your meter to your back and move on.

My old canon 5D matched my sekonic 358 very nicely... my 5dii? Not so nicely.
 

mvirtue

New member
In the studio my RZ w/ ZD back matches up to my 758DR. My 1DsIII and 1DIII are both off by 2 stops from the meter. The 758 supports having two different configurations for camera oddness. But I think I'm just going to use the RZ in the studio and leave the 1Ds in it's bag.

--Mark
http://gallery.virtuousphotography.com/
 
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jlm

Workshop Member
can of worms here. variables are: actual shutter speed, settable iso (usually increments are pre-selected) is metering incident or reflected, and if reflected, off of what zone value (very important)?

what i do:

get shutter speeds measured, usually very simple at camera shop. use these values for setting exposure, rather than what the shutter dial says

place 18% grey card in scene, meter that using reflective metering. shoot that using same iso setting for meter and camera, bracketing by 1/2 stops, about two stops both ways

pick best exposure in raw files so grey card registers 18%. compensate meter iso to match the selected exposure bracket and use this for all future shots.

if you use the incident dome on your meter, it should give you the same reading as reflecting off the 18% card.

or, and this is what i really do:

look at a few shots that you have shot by metering and had to correct exposure setting in raw. compensate meter iso accordingly.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
In the studio my RZ w/ ZD back matches up to my 758DR. My 1DsIII and 1DIII are both off by 2 stops from the meter. The 758 supports having two different configurations for camera oddness. But I think I'm just going to use the RZ in the studio and leave the 1Ds in it's bag.

--Mark
http://gallery.virtuousphotography.com/
Did you calibrate both of the Canons & ZD with the L-785DR using the calibration target and software?
 

mvirtue

New member
Did you calibrate both of the Canons & ZD with the L-785DR using the calibration target and software?
No I haven't. I've been meaning to, but actually doing work gets in the way :) Once I figured I was two stops off I just dropped the ISO on the meter two stops. When I used the RZ for the first time in the studio I did not think about it and just went with the reading.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
No I haven't. I've been meaning to, but actually doing work gets in the way :) Once I figured I was two stops off I just dropped the ISO on the meter two stops. When I used the RZ for the first time in the studio I did not think about it and just went with the reading.
I hear you about work getting in the way - real work is overrated IMHO. :p

Certainly the approach you're taking with the 785DR is a practical one but you're also using only a small portion of the meter's capabilities that you've paid for. As you no doubt know, if you calibrate it you'll have matching exposure base across all cameras and also dynamic range hints too based on your own actual camera bodies. I initially found the instructions pretty confusing but the video over at Sekonic's web site cleared things up significantly. I used the advanced target which only required bracketing 3 shots vs 11 - not a big deal in the overall scheme of things though.

http://www.sekonic.com/land/dynamic-range.asp

Btw, I do think that at the price of this meter you shouldn't then have to buy a target to calibrate it. That kind of annoyed me, especially as it's not the type of thing your local dealer has in stock at time of purchase either so I had to wait another few days after buying mine before I could set it up.
 

mvirtue

New member
I hear you about work getting in the way - real work is overrated IMHO. :p

Certainly the approach you're taking with the 785DR is a practical one but you're also using only a small portion of the meter's capabilities that you've paid for. As you no doubt know, if you calibrate it you'll have matching exposure base across all cameras and also dynamic range hints too based on your own actual camera bodies. I initially found the instructions pretty confusing but the video over at Sekonic's web site cleared things up significantly. I used the advanced target which only required bracketing 3 shots vs 11 - not a big deal in the overall scheme of things though.

http://www.sekonic.com/land/dynamic-range.asp

Btw, I do think that at the price of this meter you shouldn't then have to buy a target to calibrate it. That kind of annoyed me, especially as it's not the type of thing your local dealer has in stock at time of purchase either so I had to wait another few days after buying mine before I could set it up.
Sounds like a thing for me to explore during the downtime of Christmas.
 
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