What is a handheld digital photographic light meter?
A light meter provides crucial information to photographers and cinematographers for their work; it provides a measurement of the exposure, tells users exactly what shutter speed/aperture combination to use based on the 18% gray standard, and can even provide detailed charts and graphs on the quality and color of the …
How do you use a handheld light meter for photography?
The simplest technique is to hold the light meter out in front of the camera, making sure that the same light falling across the scene also falls on the lumisphere. Then press the meter button. Read the results on the meter and set your camera’s shutter and aperture to match.
What are light meters used for in photography?
Light Meters can measure the amount of light falling on a subject (incident light), or being reflected by a subject (reflective light). By converting these measurements, it defines what would be the most beneficial shutter speed and f/stop to use for that given subject.
Do you really need a light meter for photography?
Light meters can be an invaluable tool for photographers; especially those who use off-camera flash. Sure, some photographers will be indifferent and fewer will be in favor, but most will be adamant that you don’t need one.
Do I need a spot meter?
A spot meter may be necessary if you require a high degreee of precision for your exposure. I used an averaging meter (both incident and reflective types) for years and with practice was able to predict the outcome with great certainty, but have found that a spotmeter works best for me these days.
When would you use a spot meter?
Spot metering is useful in tricky lighting situations such as high contrast scenes or when the subject is backlit. It’s also useful when a subject is against a very bright or very dark background.
How do you use a light meter in photography?
Hold your meter in front of your subject, pointing towards light that is illuminating them (not towards the camera). Now simply press the metering button to read the light measurement. With multiple lights sources, you can measure them individually by pointing the meter towards each one.
How do I test my light meter?
To see the light meter doing its thing, put your camera in Manual Mode and look for a series of dots or vertical lines at the bottom of your camera’s viewfinder. In Manual Mode, look at the bottom of the screen in your viewfinder. Notice the scale with zero in the middle. That is the light meter at work.
Do professional photographers use light meter?
From years of experience a pro photographer knows what they want. They know they want that light at f8 and a light meter gets them there quickly and accurately. This is why a pro will always say buy a light meter, but they often forget where they started as well.
Are light meters still useful?
But the fundamental task of handheld light meters has remained unchanged for generations: They’re simply a tool for precisely measuring the amount of light falling on (or reflecting off) a subject. And even in a world of instant feedback from camera LCDs, the light meter is still as useful and relevant as ever.
What is the best light meter for photography?
7 Best Light Meters for Photography to Use in 2018 7. Sekonic L-398A Light Meter Studio Deluxe III 6. Dr.Meter DM-LX1330B 5. Sekonic Corporation 401-701 C-700R Spectromaster 4. Kenko KFM-1100 Auto Digi Meter 3. Sekonic L-308X-U Flashmate Light Meter 2. Gossen Digipro F2 1. Sekonic L-478D LiteMaster Pro Summing Up
Why should I use light meters for photography?
A light meter simply measures the amount of light in a scene. This is a very handy value to know in photography, as we can then set the exposure time perfectly. When using a film camera, a light meter becomes far more important due to expensive film and processing costs. Light meters come in two kinds, reflective and incident.
Do you use a light meter for photography?
Light meters started out as handheld stand-alone devices, for film photography . Studio photographers still use them today. It ensures their capture has the correct exposure. It’s also a great way to find out where the ‘hottest’ point of the subject is. Especially in very complex studio lighting situations.
What is the use of light meter in photography?
In photography, a light meter (more correctly an exposure meter) is used to determine the proper exposure for a photograph . The meter will include either a digital or analog calculator which displays the correct shutter speed and f-number for optimum exposure, given a certain lighting situation and film speed.