Looking to buy a light meter (photography)

[cwiert]

Hi. I posted here a couple weeks ago about buying my wife a studio in a box (3 strobes, stands, filters, box lights, umbrella thingys, etc). Anyway, I did buy it, and can't wait to give it to her for xmas. she's gonna love it.
But to get to my point... someone recommended that I buy her a light meter to go along with it.
She's a novice with all this. I don't need anything professional. This is just for her to take pics of the kids. The camera is a DSLR (Nikon D40).
On ebay and on online camera stores i see these things going for anywhere between $50 and $400 (most being 150-300).
Since I don't know anything about this, if anyone on here is "in the know" and can point me in the right direction for what i need, and more importantly, what i DON'T need, i'd very much appreciate it. BTW - the $50 range was more of what i was looking to spend... i won't, and can't spend 200-400.
Thanks in advance.

btw - i realize i should post this on some photography board, but you guys are kick arse and haven't let me down yet!

[GH85Carrera]

Unless you buy a light meter that is also a flash meter it will not help a lot with the strobes. In the stone ages of film a light meter was vital. Bad exposure was not discovered until the film was processed. That is not a problem now.

There are several types of meters. I always liked our Pentax Spot meter. It has a little red circle that you could get a reading on a particular spot.

[campbellcj]

IMO you really don't need an external light meter for most 'normal' sorts of photography with modern cameras from the last couple decades. The built-in meters have gotten very, very good in recent years in particular. Also the Nikon strobe/flash units support iTTL metering which makes them almost foolproof to use.

[vash]

if he is using a strobe system for studio type shots...he will need a light meter.

mine is a minolta...i think. it was $240ish new. lemme search.

[vash]

HOLY>>>>> they have gotten costly.

lemme take a pic of mine and give you a model number. mine rocks, and was cheap. it did ambient, flash, and measured reflective light if i attached a peek thru scope thing. great for long range light readings.

[Cdnone1]

I shot with the RED the other week and didn't pull the meters out all day. Just looked at the histograms and scopes.
Kind of scary for an "old school" guy like me. I didn't really realize until after the shoot that I hadn't traditionally metered all day. Of course I've been lighting things for 25 years.
I believe that Sekonic makes a meter that does, spot (reflective) ambient and flash. I don't have one of those as I have half a dozen meters that are all single purpose but I my gaffer loves his.
Don't get one used unless you are prepared to have it calibrated, and I don't know where you can even get that done anymore. If you don't have someone else's meter or a group of other meters to compare it to you could be starting off with a bad base line. That being said there is very little that can go wrong on a digital meter that won't be obvious.
Best advise I can give you is don't work for the meter. That means as she is learning make sure she is using the meter to confirm/enforce what she wants to be doing with her lighting. Keep track of her ratio's (key/fill/rim/BG) until she knows what works for her and see trains her eye.
Steve

[cwiert]

Originally Posted by vash

HOLY>>>>> they have gotten costly.

lemme take a pic of mine and give you a model number. mine rocks, and was cheap. it did ambient, flash, and measured reflective light if i attached a peek thru scope thing. great for long range light readings.

cool. that would be great. thanks.

[RWebb]

get her a an old used Pentax Spotmeter (V?) with an analog needle on it.

buy her some books on the Zone System so she will learn to "see light"

[vash]

Rwebb. those old pentax meters are super nice. very reliable.

but it wont meter a flash..which is the main (i assume) focus of the OP..

[the_webbster]

+1 on the minolta.
I'm an ex-pro photog and lived by it for many years. after a while you get used to the settings and won't need it.

I would probably part with mine as I haven't used it in 7-8 years. it's a full pro digital version. I could get the model info if you're interested.

send me a pm.

[hcariss]

Minolta IV
The easiest LM to use in the world, perfect for a novice with sync point. Get a decent second hand one for $50-75. Look somewhere like BandH or Adorama online.

[911pcars]

For an ambient light meter, use an incident meter; more accurate than reflectance meters for most photography. However, if you want to be like Ansel and shoot B&W film with the zone system, you'll need a reflectance spot meter? Adams used an SEI meter. As for incident meters, Sekonic makes a nice one. Find them used for not much.

For studio strobe lights, you will need a meter, especially if you have multiple lights and care about lighting ratios. Sekonic and Minolta make flash meters that also measure ambient light as well as mixed light sources.

Sherwood

[djmcmath]

I've owned a couple of light meters. It's absolutely essential when you're doing large format stuff. You get one frame, it'll take you 15 minutes to set up, and you won't know until tomorrow whether you got it right or not -- you better at least make sure the exposure is right.

I wasted some money on cheap light meters in my early days -- and "wasted" is not too strong of a word. I finally invested in a good quality Gossen unit and have never looked back.


If I was you, I'd either prepare to spend $200-250 to get a good tool, or don't do anything at all. How would you feel if she knew you wanted that $500 Snap On impact wrench, but she got you the Harbor Freight one instead? You'd think it was neat, and thoughtful, but you'd still want the right tool, right?

Good luck,
Dan

[911pcars]

Originally Posted by djmcmath

I've owned a couple of light meters. It's absolutely essential when you're doing large format stuff. You get one frame, it'll take you 15 minutes to set up, and you won't know until tomorrow whether you got it right or not -- you better at least make sure the exposure is right.

I wasted some money on cheap light meters in my early days -- and "wasted" is not too strong of a word. I finally invested in a good quality Gossen unit and have never looked back.

If I was you, I'd either prepare to spend $200-250 to get a good tool, or don't do anything at all. How would you feel if she knew you wanted that $500 Snap On impact wrench, but she got you the Harbor Freight one instead? You'd think it was neat, and thoughtful, but you'd still want the right tool, right?

Good luck,
Dan

Dan,
I don't think it's as dire as you state it. One can check the accuracy of a light meter by comparing with known sources (other meters, other cameras, exposure tests, etc.). As long as the meter display is consistent and calibrated to a specific camera, it doesn't really matter what the true light level is (e.g. 1/125 sec. @f5.6 with ISO 200). That said, I would purchase a brand name unit (e.g. Sekonic, Pentax, Minolta and Gossen as you suggested). Purchasing the top of the line product is up to you, but not mandatory for good pics - bracketing is a time-honored strategy and no one questioned the brushes that Picasso used. If you wife has an itch to do Zone system, I have a Pentax Spotmeter (and a 4x5 system) if she's interested.

Sherwood

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by vash

Rwebb. those old pentax meters are super nice. very reliable.

but it wont meter a flash..which is the main (i assume) focus of the OP..

yup

I'm trying to get the OP to flash on the realization that flash is not the way to go...

[cwiert]

Originally Posted by RWebb

yup

I'm trying to get the OP to flash on the realization that flash is not the way to go...

ha ha. hey, it's not me!
this is my wife's thing. she's not a pro by any means, but she really enjoys shooting and IMO has a great eye for shots. We love shooting outdoors using natural light, but as i initially said, we have 2 young kids, so my wife likes to shoot their 1yr pics, 2yr pics and so on. lets not forget xmas pics, halloween pics, etc. And up her ein CT, being outside isn't always an option. so a lot of that is indoors and we've been just draping a black sheet over a dresser. now i got her the studio in a box thing and it should up her game a bit. Before, she was spending $500 or $600 to go to Portrait Simple in the mall to have pics taken... now she can, and WANTS TO do it herself. I think its great. So I'm supporting whatever she wants to do.

[cwiert]

Originally Posted by the_webbster

+1 on the minolta.
I'm an ex-pro photog and lived by it for many years. after a while you get used to the settings and won't need it.

I would probably part with mine as I haven't used it in 7-8 years. it's a full pro digital version. I could get the model info if you're interested.

send me a pm.

Yeah, I'll send you a PM in a moment. That sounds good.

I'll also look in to the Minolta IV that "hcariss" suggested. And thanks to everyone else who provided me with a little more info and knowledge about the world of photography. I appreciate it.

[vash]

sorry no picture...dug thru my camera bag. i have a minolta IIIF. the "f" designation means it reads flash.

so make sure the minolta you are looking at has a "F".

i did alot of large format stuff. helped a lady do a book on historic buildings in SF. and helped her do a project for george lucas. interior shots of his office..etc. (he has the willow wand, and grail diary in a locked case!)..sheets of film and development are $$$. we worked multiple light meters like slaves.

good luck. cwiert, tell your wife that some of the best portrait lighting in the world comes from a north facing window. add a reflective light board..and WOW! lovely soft lighting. IMHO, you still need a light meter...only if the camera has a manual setting.

[cwiert]

Originally Posted by vash

sorry no picture...dug thru my camera bag. i have a minolta IIIF. the "f" designation means it reads flash.

so make sure the minolta you are looking at has a "F".

good luck. cwiert, tell your wife that some of the best portrait lighting in the world comes from a north facing window. add a reflective light board..and WOW! lovely soft lighting. IMHO, you still need a light meter...only if the camera has a manual setting.

thanks Vash. I'll make sure I get a "F". The SIAB I bought has a couple reflective boards that came with it. I think those are going to be great. But I think the meter is a must (the camera does have a M setting).

[911pcars]

If per chance your studio strobes are equipped with modeling lights, you can use an ambient meter to determine/adjust the relative light from each unit falling on subject, b.g., foreground, as well as cumulative light. Once the desired lighting ratios are established, it's just a matter of shooting some test brackets to determine the overall camera exposure setting. She'll need to do some homework on lighting ratios and their effect on a subject/scene.

However, measurement is much easier with a flash meter. However, she'll still need to understand lighting ratios for max. control of her images.

Sherwood