Light Meters

[Kyle Hafford]

I know this is a photoshop board but I have a general photography question. I apologize if it is in the wrong place. I was curious with the advent of DSLR's if light meters are still used. I am a new photographer and would like to know if this would be helpful tool or just a waste of money.

 

[Tom Mann]

As you surmised, and for the reason you gave, conventional light meters are used much less than they formerly were. However, their 1st cousin, flash meters, are still used a lot in the studio. They are *incredibly* useful for setting up lights, particularly, obtaining the exact lighting ratio that you want.

Tom M

 

[Steve]

Ever camera has a built in light meter and they're usually switchable from evaluative, spot, center weighted, and more.
The meters are very good in modern cameras and being digital you can do test shots to confirm your settings.

Most cameras have a view setting when looking at the camera LCD where the image will flash (red in my Canons) any over exposed areas.
Use exposure compensation to fix that.

The short answer is yes, a separate light meter is a waste of money to most photographers when using a DSLR for the reasons mentioned above.

BTW, welcome to PSG.
We have an anemic Photography section here we'd love to build up.
Don't hesitate to post here with Photography questions

 

[Kyle Hafford]

Just discovered exposure metering mode, big help. So much to learn.

 

[MikeMc]

Ever camera has a built in light meter and they're usually switchable from evaluative, spot, center weighted, and more.
The meters are very good in modern cameras and being digital you can do test shots to confirm your settings.

Most cameras have a view setting when looking at the camera LCD where the image will flash (red in my Canons) any over exposed areas.
Use exposure compensation to fix that.

The short answer is yes, a separate light meter is a waste of money to most photographers when using a DSLR for the reasons mentioned above.

BTW, welcome to PSG.

I totally agree with !! one thought though. I love my dslr...that said I miss the good old toyo 4x5 view with sheet film, shot zone style with my trusty luna pro. I just cannot even think of one of the $$$$$ a digital large scale adapted back costs....So I will stick with my DSLR and 4 metering modes, keep trying HDR shots and letting the pixels fight.

 

[Steve]

I totally agree with !! one thought though. I love my dslr...that said I miss the good old toyo 4x5 view with sheet film, shot zone style with my trusty luna pro. I just cannot even think of one of the $$$$$ a digital large scale adapted back costs....So I will stick with my DSLR and 4 metering modes, keep trying HDR shots and letting the pixels fight.

Not to hijack this thread but WOW, you must be older than me.
A view camera and the zone system along with push/pull film processing.

Me and my younger brother Ansel are impressed.

 

[RTContent]

I just cannot even think of one of the $$$$$ a digital large scale adapted back costs....

Medium format digital backs? Depends on the MP you'd like. Looks like they range from $8k to over $30k