Does Anyone Use Lightmeters?

Does anyone use lightmeters anymore?

If so, what do you use (brand)?

GE selenium cell meter, circa 1969.

Match needle in Minolta SRT-102, circa 1972.

Then cameras got smart.

:)

Dave

In general... I don't have time for light meters as an event photographer.

However when the camera is tripod mounted and I'm doing office Santa pictures, I love my light meter for consistent exposures on clients with different clothes, hair and skin colour.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/news/new-sekonic-litemaster-pro-l-478d-and-l-478dr-light-meters

Sometimes but built in meters have become so good it's rare.

When I do I use a Sekonic mainly. Or a flash meter at times. Again getting rarer.

When I started in photography I was taught to "guesstimate" and even now can usually pick it to within about 1/4 of a stop.

I did until I retired. As good as in camera meters are today nothing beat my Minolta AutoMeter IVF. A few months ago I got a call to shoot some college basketball here in Las Vegas. I said sure and the first thing I said when I got to the area was "Damn, where is my meter???"....

Does anyone use lightmeters anymore?

 

If so, what do you use (brand)?

Just for the fun of it, I will mount an old non-autofocus Nikon lens on my D 7200, also on manual, experiment with my two ancient meters, a Weston Master V and a Gossen Lunapro. My shots are usually within an f stop or two of what I get shooting totally on auto. I can rescue the bum ones post processing just as I tweaked an under or overexposed negative in the darkroom.

Sekonic 358 user here

There is an app for the iphone -- Pocket Light Meter - which works pretty well.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I have a Sekonic 758DR (Somewhere). I never travel with it however, especially with a mirrorless where the viewfinder is fairly WYSIWYG.

I use a Sekonic 478 more for studio lighting stuff, but I plan to take it on my next Alaska cruise and meter over my shoulder.

I have a Gossen Lunapro F collecting dust. It does get some use but not for cruising snapshots. It's still used as a flash meter when needed, but also when an incident reading is needed. A camera meter can be inaccurate when snow or glaciers are photographed, taking pictures around lots of water on a bright day or with lots of sky showing, an incident reading will show you that's something needs an EV adjustment.

I also have from the old days a Gossen color temperature meter.

framer

I became a 'serious' photographer in 1978 when I got my Leica M3 & a Leica MC meter. Used the meter off & on but then I just started using the f-stop & shutter speed recommendations for various light conditions on those paper instructions in the film boxes.

Then, I got me a Canon A1 and that was the end of using the light meter, the Leica M3 & the boxed instructions.

But I do miss the 6 f-stop exposure latitude of film. :-(

Yes. I use both the in-camera and handheld versions and underexpose sightly.

I had one for my Argus C3, and inherited a Weston with my father's pre-war Leica...EM