Buying a Light Meter, get sekonic?

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ptmcdevitt

New member
I need to buy a light meter later tonight, but don't know 100% what I should get. I need a spot, and incident combined. At the moment I'm going towards the Sekonic L-758. Am I wasting money for something I could get half the price?
 
Get the L-758. You won't be disappointed.

Just be sure to buy it on ebay from Hong Kong. It's brand new and it's so much cheaper than ordering it from anywhere else.
 
A light meter really? Are you really shooting that much film work? I mean for video you don't even need a light meter. Or are you getting it for pre-production when you are scouting locations?
 
Brooksy said:
A light meter really? Are you really shooting that much film work? I mean for video you don't even need a light meter. Or are you getting it for pre-production when you are scouting locations?
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Why would you not need a lightmeter for video or photography? It's useful in any kind of situations..
 
EDP said:
Why would you not need a lightmeter for video or photography? It's useful in any kind of situations..
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Tis true.

Light is light is light is light no matter what you capture / record. Thus a presicion light measuring device can come in quite handy for knowing what you are up against.
 
I'm also looking for a light meter but I'm waiting to grab a cheap used one. I don't need the big Sekonic, I won't pay 300$ for one.. I just need one that does the basics, spot reading and ambient.
 
EDP said:
Why would you not need a lightmeter for video or photography? It's useful in any kind of situations..
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Photography I can see but when shooting video all you need to do is look at a monitor. It's not like film where you have to worry about film reading a color weird or a light level being hotter then it looks. With film what you see is what you get.

"Light meters are used all the time by professional videographers."


I know it. I am a professional. This is what I do for a living and unless you are going to be shooting film or pre-scouting a location they are useless. Put the camera up, plug in the monitor, and light. Maybe they are expected to be used for major motion pictures, but for commercial/corporate work they are pointless.

Although maybe you are planning on doing a bunch of film work. I have seen nothing but video work since the almighty RED made an appearance.
 
Man.. I'ts sad to hear that. That's one of the major problem with rising cinematographers / videographers or DPs. They work or light FOR the monitor and not for the essence of the scene.

I've been on a few full length pictures as a tech / assistant director and every old-school DPs were lighting for the camera and not for the monitor.

How can you rely on a monitor that is often badly calibrated by the camera crew because they have other stuff to do?
 
Man...do we have to do this all over again?

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=169208

All of the major DP's I've worked with don't use light meters when shooting digital. I was working on an NBC TV show for a while and started talking to the DIT about how he made sure he was getting proper exposure. He never once pulled out a light meter, but instead, all he did was rolled around his cart with a 17" panasonic monitor and hooked them up to each of the F35's. For a while he said he pulled around scopes, but just that monitor and his eyes were doing a fine enough job.
 
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phudsontx said:
No, absolutly no, monitor is a precise as a good light meter.
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You are absolutely right. I will never claim they are. Even if I am shooting film I will still use a light meter. However, since the introduction of the RED film has started to fall by the wayside. And when you are shooting video WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET.

Light meters are a great thing and should be learned at some point but for video they are pretty useless. Use your monitor.
 
Even if you are shooting film you will use a light meter? Even if?

Hmm.

So anyway, you don't use a light meter with video as you do with film. The co-relation isn't there across the range of latitude with video as with film stock.

However when it comes to contrast ratios, a monitor will not tell you weeks from wrap when you have to return to set or location for pickups, what your contrast ratio was for a particular scene. And especially for various elements within that scene.

Not to mention how important precise control of exposure/contrast is during the shoot itself. Eyeballing is just half-ass.
 
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Just being an old-school type person I guess I'll always have a light meter handy whereas most new school people won't. **** some new-school people don't even know what a lightmeter is much less have one or know how to use it.
 
FWIW:
I usually scout a location before I drag a bunch of gear out to shoot. I use a light meter then to see how much light I have to work with. That may influence me on how much lighting equipment I take to the shoot. This applies whether it is adding light or reducing it.

I do the same thing with sound by measuring ambient and getting a feel for how sound reacts in the location.

Grant
 
I have never worked on a set (with lighting) where the DP (and often the gaffer) does not carry and use a light meter. It is simply the quickest and easiest way to rough-in the set lighting.

You almost never have the camera and camera crew where your electricians and grips are pre-rigging a scene. Even if they are on location, they aren't following the pre-rig crew around to check their work. They're busy shooting elsewhere.

If you do have a monitor and camera, it is absolutely the most clunky way to light. How does this work? You drop in a half-double and run all the way back to the camera to check if it's "right"? Ask the DIT what he thinks?

DITs sit in tents or around a corner from the actual set in front of scopes and smallish monitors. Sometimes they are right there in video village, but they shouldn't be doing the lighting cameraman's job. DITs are good, though they are more akin to an engineer than a DP.

Obviously, many talented DPs, operators, gaffers and grips can (and do) light "by eye" with good results. That said, you can be sure a true DP will usually have a meter on his belt or in his AC's bag for when he needs to be sure.

e
 
jimpatro said:
Even if you are shooting film you will use a light meter? Even if?

Hmm.

So anyway, you don't use a light meter with video as you do with film. The co-relation isn't there across the range of latitude with video as with film stock.

However when it comes to contrast ratios, a monitor will not tell you weeks from wrap when you have to return to set or location for pickups, what your contrast ratio was for a particular scene. And especially for various elements within that scene.

Not to mention how important precise control of exposure/contrast is during the shoot itself. Eyeballing is just half-ass.
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I'd just add to this good post that deciding to wing it is almost akin to not taking down your lens, filter and exposure information in a camera report. It makes it really tough to go back and match. Unless you just don't care. In which case...you wing it.
 
Erik Olson said:
I have never worked on a set (with lighting) where the DP (and often the gaffer) does not carry and use a light meter. It is simply the quickest and easiest way to rough-in the set lighting.

You almost never have the camera and camera crew where your electricians and grips are pre-rigging a scene. Even if they are on location, they aren't following the pre-rig crew around to check their work. They're busy shooting elsewhere.

If you do have a monitor and camera, it is absolutely the most clunky way to light. How does this work? You drop in a half-double and run all the way back to the camera to check if it's "right"? Ask the DIT what he thinks?

DITs sit in tents or around a corner from the actual set in front of scopes and smallish monitors. Sometimes they are right there in video village, but they shouldn't be doing the lighting cameraman's job. DITs are good, though they are more akin to an engineer than a DP.

Obviously, many talented DPs, operators, gaffers and grips can (and do) light "by eye" with good results. That said, you can be sure a true DP will usually have a meter on his belt or in his AC's bag for when he needs to be sure.

e
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This resumes exactly my point as briefly stated before. I mean, YES you can light for your monitor because it's a "almost" WYSIWYG tool, but, seriously, good DPs carry their lightmeter everywhere even if it's video, because they are simply used to it.
 
I would never DREAM of scouting or lighting a set without a meter.. how the hell do you set contrast ratio with scopes? This is like saying we won't put focus marks on the camera, we'll just eyeball it since we're watching it in the monitor.

Are there times I don't use meters? Yes. Shot an interview in a room today and didn't use my meter. But I've shot in that room a dozen times, with the same lights. And yes, I could eyeball it.

But on a paid shoot, with live actors.... no chance.

As I've said before, I shot an entire film (last fall) and there wasn't a scope anywhere near the set. I calibrated in the camera (Canon 5D) with my meter, and I was done. Four weeks of shooting, outside day, inside day, inside night, outside sunset, outside night. On the money every time.
 
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