Ambient light metering 101 with the Sekonic L-398A
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- čas přidán 9. 09. 2024
- #Metering #Ambient #Sekonic #L398A #Nikon #D750 #Guide #101
Ambient light metering 101with the Sekonic L-398A. And how the values are applied to a Nikon D750. Notice that this meter is for ambient light measuring, not for flash photography.
NOTICE! In the video I forget to align the red metering needle and the red tab at the bottom of the Seconic (clear plastic), which is rather important to get the right metering calculated!
This video actually explains it better: • EASY - How To Use Seko...
In the video I show how the meter reading is set on the big dial and afterwards I set the ISO. Some prefer that the ISO is set for starters, but I doubt it makes a big difference.
Great demonstration of a great light meter (I am the happy owner of one)... Especially useful for old film cameras... Modern digital cameras (and newer film cameras) usually do the job themselves... :-)
Hi Eirik, yes, I got the meter more to teach myself about light than to double check the metering of my camera,. Kind of like if you wanted to learn how to do manual calculations with pen and paper, after working with a pocket calculator for years. I'm still on a learning curve, but for landscapes I do notice that my Nikon seems to over-expose just a tiny bit compared to the Sekonic. I know it is very nerd-ish, but I find it to be great fun to try to guess what the meter reading will be before I push the button :-D
Thank you, going to practice
Thank you - practice makes perfect!
very easy thank you
@@ttm4114 👍
Very informative. Thank you
Thank you for your feedback Pedro - very kind of you!
Honestly I think the in camera spot meter mode is a better tool for control than the external incident meter since you can evaluate the dynamic range of the scene and expose for the highlights(White and high reflective areas etc) and reading your histogram provides you with a lot of usefull info if you know how to Interpret it. I do use my seconic flashmate 308 a lot with flash though.
Hi Søren, first and foremost, thank you for the Godox tip the other day. I have now ordered my second Godox flash + an additional trigger and look forward to using these flashed for several cameras (off camera flash that is). Funny how different photographers develop different ways of working. I don't need to look at my histogram - I know it is always "lefty" as I like to shoot in very low light situations. On the other hand, I never use a meter for flash photography, as I struggle with the fill and main light balance, and that involves a lot of trial and error, where I just as might get the exposure right while I am in that loop. So I guess there is no right and wrong - just different paths to the same end.
Very good fit for cinema
Hello I have two questions
1- What are the red numbers on the top most dial for?
2- For motion picture, at 24fps, are we stuck with only the given aperture, or can we use a desired aperture for 24fps, if we want to use an ND filter?
The only thing I can think of is to use the same lens on a digital camera with the ND and then lock it and use it on the film camera, if it works outside of theory, considering, if the picture size is the same on both, like a cropped sensor for 16mm and full frame for 35mm but I wouldn't know for Super 8 and double 8, if that is for micro 4/3rds.
Thank you for your advanced questions. I am not sure I am qualified to answer them as video is not my stronghold! I do think video can be thought of as simply a series of images and hence some of the same logic applies to video as for stills. I would think that several different combinations of aperture and shutter speed is doable as long as the shutter speed does not get so slow that 24 frames can be fitted into a second. Adding an ND filter would let even less light in obviously so I would think this would be most relevant if you reach the max shutter speed of the camera. Not sure my answer is very helpful.
@@frederikboving Thanks. Yes i understand this part.
Id like to know if you know what the Orange numbers on top meter are for. No problem if you don't, ill look up. Thanks 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Hi! I just dug out my manual...The red numbers on the needle display are F-stops, and you need an additional accessory set called Direct Reading Slides to use them.
They're made just like the high slide, but each one is calibrated to pass a specific amount of light. It's a set of slides numbered 1-11 and the High Slide is #12.
You pick your ISO and shutter speed from a table which tells you which slide number to put behind the Lumisphere/Lumidisc...incident light reading only.
Once you do that, there's no need to set or touch the dials at all - you simply take your reading and use the Aperture directly under the needle! It's described at the very end of the Sekonic L398 manual, and they give you the table, too. I want one now lol
The High slide is only good for iso 12 @ 1/60, iso 25 @ 1/125, iso 50 @ 1/250 and iso 100 @1/500 - I'll have to try shooting a roll of 100 in my Yashica-D @ 1/500 next and see what happens!
@@Panicagq2 Thank you
Interresting vlog Frederik...
Great "old" Incident light meter...!
Good for understanding light and exposure.
Idea for New video subject:
How to use it - Demo and compare w Camera metering.
Hold it in front of subject, (so meter is hit by the same light) when you "take" the reading.
If subject is close to 18% grey it is ok...
or else,
"mentally" remember to exposure compensate, for darker or lighter subjects
.
Also, when doing close ups. remember to extend the exposure.
Eks: 1:5 = +½ stop, 1:1 = +2 stops
(The D750 will incorporate and show these factors.)
Thank you Jakob! Very kind of you.
I hated the old Selenium type meter because of the slow response time. Reading from any light meter is easy, because it simply returns an Exposure Value (EV). Then the photographer just chooses an aperture/ss combo. Even with four Incident/Flash meters, I haven't used the incident portion for ambient light that often, since it is much faster to take a camera meter reading off the palm of my hand (~18% gray 😊) or grass. If I really wanted to get a perfect reading back in the good old days with film, then I could bring out my Incident, 1 degree Spot and Color meters.
Hi BFS, your good feedback always reminds me how new I am to photography :-D Yes, the camera metering is probably not that bad and always at hand, but I have decided to give manual metering a go - if nothing else, then to learn a bit more about light. After charging my portfolio of batteries for various cameras over the last few days, I can wholeheartedly say that I am SO glad that the Sekonic has no batteries! Always ready! Btw: Suggestions: Have a look at photographer Lee Acaster (www.leeacaster.com/index) and especially his B&W work and the IR as well. I think I have finally found a photographer that does work that I want to do - not that I think I will ever be anywhere nearly as good as him, but I have found a direction for my ambitions.
@@frederikboving Hi! The two points from my comment are: 1) Get to know/talk about EV instead of aperture, ss & ISO only. For example, I often started out using EV ?? for the xyz type of photo ops, etc. 2) Using the camera meter to meter one's palm is almost the same as taking an Incident meter reading (as long as one know the +/-EV of one's palm from 18% gray card). It is an old timer trick and even mentioned in some Kodak's guides to photography. I'm also happy for you to find a photographer's work that can inspire your future journey into photography. Mine was Freeman Patterson, when I started out; especially his book, the "Photography and the Art of Seeing". Unfortunately, Nature and Landscape are outside my comfort zone. Even I don't shoot B&W now, but that's all I'm looking at on Instagram. Also, I revisited many Masters' works to refresh my memory. Such as how Saul Leiter used red as punctuation.
@@bfs5113 Saul Leiter - I did not know him. I can see that a lot of photographers today are inspired by his work. Will study him more. Thank you!
@@frederikboving That's why the more experience or artistic talent one has, it becomes easier to come up with composition ideas while looking at a scene or photo op. For instance, punctuation doesn't need to be a color. Other Masters I liked are Arnold Newman, Richard Avedon and Robert Doisneau (use of humor). Since you like landscape and nature, then also check out Sebastião Salgado, especially his Genesis book. On Instagram, I also followed bnw.minimalism, alan_schaller (inspired by Fan Ho a lot), sail_chong, etc.
@@bfs5113 Sebastião Salgado - wow! Will study them all :-D
Why emphasize EV values ?
Why write out abbreviations? 🤷♂️
All my photos are over exposed
Sorry to hear that- have you tried to lock the ISO at base ISO on the camera and make sure auto ISO is turned off?
@frederikboving oh yes of course ISO is set to 100 match the light meter.
@@mapsreview1507 Ok, have you tried to study the light meter in the camera if such exists? And see if it agrees to what you calculate on the Sekonic? Remember to set exposure compensation to zero beforehand.
@@frederikboving yes I am using manual in the camera and setting it to whatever the sekonic meter is telling me
@@mapsreview1507and does the camera agree that the exposure is correct or what does the metering system in the camera tell you?