Sekonic L-358 - DPChallenge Forums

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 (E-mount)

01/20/2007 05:00:41 PM · #1

I bought this light meter over 2 years ago with the intention of using to meter my strobes and that was it. Today however, we tried to use it to meter ambient light and we were getting wild readings that severely overexposed the images. I started thinking, it also overexposes when I meter the strobes so I always have to adjust the numbers considerably to get a proper exposure. Has anyone had this problem? I couldn't find the box the meter came in so I could read the manual so I looked it up online. Apparently, there was another piece of hardware that came with the meter, a Lumigrid, which is used for reflected light readings. Of couse, I have NO idea where that is either. For those of you who have this meter, have you found that attachment useful?

I'm just trying to figure out if my meter is faulty.

June

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6400

01/20/2007 05:14:39 PM · #2

Does your meter have the little white 'dome' installed on it?

Message edited by author 2007-01-20 17:14:52.

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6400

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 (E-mount)

01/20/2007 05:17:53 PM · #3

//www.sekonic.com/images/files/L-358.pdf

That should get you going...

01/20/2007 05:25:20 PM · #4

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

Does your meter have the little white 'dome' installed on it?

Yes, it does.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

01/20/2007 05:25:57 PM · #5

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

//www.sekonic.com/images/files/L-358.pdf

That should get you going...

Read that already, that's how I found out about the lumigrid thingie.

June

W.R.Miller

Canon EOS-50D

01/20/2007 06:10:17 PM · #6

Do you have the ISO settings set properly on the meter? I have done that before with mine where I had the meter set to 100 but was using ISO 200 or 400 which would grossly overexpose the images. Just a thought. Hope you figure it out!!!

Bill

01/20/2007 06:22:28 PM · #7

Originally posted by W.R.Miller:

Yup, ISO is on the right setting.

June

01/20/2007 06:53:57 PM · #8

You can use the ball to measure ambient light, you simply measure the exposure the same way you do for strobe, by holding the meter in the light falling on the subject, pointing the ball at the camera and taking a reading. Is this how you are using it currently?

The other gizmo is for metering from the camera position, pointed at the subject. It should give about the same setting as the camera meter. I don't use mine, I just rely on the camera meter for reflective readings since it's already there and ready to go.

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 (E-mount)

01/20/2007 07:34:16 PM · #9

Originally posted by Spazmo99:

That's how I've been doing it. Manic has a TLR that doesn't have a meter so we were trying to use the light meter with it. We were metering the landscape from the camera position and we got something like 1/30 at 5.6 We were skeptical so we metered with the 20D and got 1/320 at 5.6 which exposed right. We tried with the ball out and with the ball recessed and got the same. If we need the extra piece of hardware to meter from the camera position, then this may explain the off the wall reading, however, it doesn't explain why it also overexposes for flash from the subject's position.

June

Message edited by author 2007-01-20 19:35:42.

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6400

01/20/2007 08:24:30 PM · #10

The 'ball' is only for ambient light readings... you must be missing the piece for reflected light readings...

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

01/20/2007 09:55:07 PM · #11

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

The 'ball' is only for ambient light readings... you must be missing the piece for reflected light readings...

Either measures ambient light. I think you mean incident light, or, the light falling on the subject.

MikeJ

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

01/20/2007 09:57:36 PM · #12

A camera is going to see the light different than the light meter. Your light meter is seeing all of the light that is falling on it where you are standing and from the direction you have the dome facing. The meter in your camera is going to read the light that is reflecting back from where the lens is pointing at. This could be more or less light than what the meter is seeing. If your camera meter's sensor is on a shadow area and the Sekonic is reading sunlight, the reading is going to be different. If your camera meter sensor is on a bright patch of sun and you are metering under a tree or in a shadow, your readings are going to be different. You have have both the camera and L-358 sensors meter sensors looking at the same light to get the same reading.

For flash readings... most digital cameras are off from the reading of a flash meter when strobes are used. I know this is true with Canon cameras. I read a big long techical writeup about it a number of years ago of why, but forget the details. I know my D30 over exposed by 1 stop, my 10D underexposed by a stop at first and a stop and half after the first firmware upgrade and my 1DMKII is about a half under.

That's why you have to calibrate your camera and flash meter together. What you do is set up a light and meter the light with your meter. Use that setting and take a picture of something that is not real reflective or a person. I use a McBeth chart, WhiBal or Digital Calibration Target. I then look at my histogram. If it is under exposed, I open up a bit and take another shot. I do this until my histogram looks correct. I note how much difference there is between my camera and the meter. I'll do this a few times to make sure it's consistant (which it usually is). You can either adjust your meter (it's in the instructions how to calibrate the meter for flash exposure) or you can just do the mental adjustment when you use your flash. I do the mental thing because when I use my meter in ambiant light mode, it is correct and the actual adjustment to the meter affects both flash and ambiant readings and I don't want to have to mentally compensate when I use it in ambiant light (which is rare so I might forget).

It's no different than how us more "mature" photographers had to calibrate our meters to the film we used back in the good ole days. :D If your flash reading is consistantly off the same amount all the time, just make the adjustment each time and you will be fine. It will be the same for one light or a half dozen.

Mike

01/20/2007 09:58:34 PM · #13

Originally posted by Chiqui:

Originally posted by Spazmo99:
You can use the ball to measure ambient light, you simply measure the exposure the same way you do for strobe, by holding the meter in the light falling on the subject, pointing the ball at the camera and taking a reading. Is this how you are using it currently?

The other gizmo is for metering from the camera position, pointed at the subject. It should give about the same setting as the camera meter. I don't use mine, I just rely on the camera meter for reflective readings since it's already there and ready to go.

That's how I've been doing it. Manic has a TLR that doesn't have a meter so we were trying to use the light meter with it. We were metering the landscape from the camera position and we got something like 1/30 at 5.6 We were skeptical so we metered with the 20D and got 1/320 at 5.6 which exposed right. We tried with the ball out and with the ball recessed and got the same. If we need the extra piece of hardware to meter from the camera position, then this may explain the off the wall reading, however, it doesn't explain why it also overexposes for flash from the subject's position.

June

OK, I think you're not using the ball correctly.

To use the ball:

-Stick the ball out

-Stand where your subject is.

-Point the ball at the camera.

-Take a reading.

Prof_Fate

01/20/2007 10:21:53 PM · #14

THe meter can measure light in 2 ways - by EV or F-stop. They are NOT the same, but look it on the meter readout.

Are you trying to measure strobes or ambient, or both?
I use mine for strobes 99% of the time, so the ambient and 'both' (%) I am not familiar with.

On strobe, set the MODE to strobe (you can set it TRIGGER the strobes via pocket wizard or PC cord when you push the button on the side) or it will wait to see a flash and measure that.
Set the shutter to 1/125 and read the F-stop. hold the meter at the subject, and pointthe meter with the dome out at the camera. don't stand between teh meter and the light :D. The meter can be calibrated if it's off a bit, but it should be pretty darned close.

Shot the camera on MANUAL, 1/125 and match the ISO to the meter setting, set the f-stop to the meter reading. You should be good.

I got my meter used and a)it came set to EV so I too had no clue at first why things were way way off b)had been 'calibrated' by the PO so I reset it.
It's been perfect ever since.

Prof_Fate

01/20/2007 10:25:53 PM · #15

Originally posted by chiqui:

We were metering the landscape from the camera position and we got something like 1/30 at 5.6 We were skeptical so we metered with the 20D and got 1/320 at 5.6 which exposed right. We tried with the ball out and with the ball recessed and got the same. If we need the extra piece of hardware to meter from the camera position, then this may explain the off the wall reading, however, it doesn't explain why it also overexposes for flash from the subject's position.

June

From that description you have confused the two types of readings. A camera's meter is a REFLECTIVE meter - it measures the light REFLECTING form a scene/subject AND assumes everything is 18% gray.
The meter with the ball in or out is an INCIDENT meter - it measure the light falling on the ball and assumes nothing regarding color. What is says for exposure is what should give you the right exposure regardless of the scene/subject (excluding chrome/mirror of course).

You camera's meter will give you the wrong exposure for a snowy scene or a backlit subject. the light meter will not.

Message edited by author 2007-01-20 23:24:10.

01/20/2007 10:28:44 PM · #16

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

Originally posted by Spazmo99:

We were metering the landscape from the camera position and we got something like 1/30 at 5.6 We were skeptical so we metered with the 20D and got 1/320 at 5.6 which exposed right. We tried with the ball out and with the ball recessed and got the same. If we need the extra piece of hardware to meter from the camera position, then this may explain the off the wall reading, however, it doesn't explain why it also overexposes for flash from the subject's position.

June

From that description you have confused the two types of readings. A camera's meter is a REFLECTIVE meter - it measures the light REFLECTING form a scene/subject AND assumes everything is 18% gray.
The meter with the ball in or out is an INCIDENT meter - it measure the light falling on the ball and assumes nothing regarding color. What is says for exposure is what should give you the right exposure regardless of the scene/subject (excluding chrome/mirror of course).

You camera's meter will give you the wrong exposure for a snowy scene or a backlit subject. the light meter will not.

You're quite correct, but you misquoted me, what you have quoted, I didn't post.

Prof_Fate

01/20/2007 11:24:32 PM · #17

Originally posted by Spazmo99:

You're quite correct, but you misquoted me, what you have quoted, I didn't post.

sorry - all fixed.