How do you use your light meter for DSLR vido shoots?

O

OldCorpse

Rockin the Boat
I was looking for a good light meter to use with a DSLR (the GH2) for a feature, and I came across the Sekonic DigiCineMate L-308DC. There are so many choices and so many pricepoints that it's really confusing. So, I'd like to hear about use scenarios, perhaps something I may not have thought of, which will allow me to decide which features are important in a light meter when using it with a DSLR. For example, I read that the L-308DC is useless if you're using ND filters on your cam, which concerns me, as I intend to use them.

So I thought I'd ask: how do YOU use a light meter when you're doing narrative work with a DSLR? TIA!
 
Not sure how any meter could be "useless" if you're using ND's. If you're reading a 2.8 and you want to use an ND .3, you'd open up to a 2. If you want to shoot at a 5.6 but you're reading at a 16, you'd throw in a ND .9. Etc, etc.
 
OldCorpse said:
I was looking for a good light meter to use with a DSLR (the GH2) for a feature, and I came across the Sekonic DigiCineMate L-308DC. There are so many choices and so many pricepoints that it's really confusing. So, I'd like to hear about use scenarios, perhaps something I may not have thought of, which will allow me to decide which features are important in a light meter when using it with a DSLR. For example, I read that the L-308DC is useless if you're using ND filters on your cam, which concerns me, as I intend to use them.

So I thought I'd ask: how do YOU use a light meter when you're doing narrative work with a DSLR? TIA!
Click to expand...

I'm going to get the L-308DC, despite the fact that I have a Minolta spotmeter. The spotmeter does not read out in footcandles, which most lights, if they have photometric data, use.

But in general, a meter spot or incident, will allow you to independently determine the light, check ratios, and check when one varies the lighting to get effects.

The 'in camera' meter may be able to do this, but if you are setting up for a shoot, the camera may be fixed on the tripod, etc. and you will not be able to easily check lighting ratios across the face
of the talent, or check between talent and background/foreground elements.

Part of my problem with using the DVX100 was the fact that it was set up for 'video' and in that environment, using wave form displays was the usual way to check various things about the exposure, and 'gain' setting, rather than ISO, which is the standard for DSLR's.

In any case, the spot meter would allow one to check ratios quickly, while the incident meter would allow one to check the footcandles, and record what the lights were 'exactly' (well more exactly), were producing.

All 'Neutral Density' does is allow one to adjust the f-stop to a desired value, if given various other settings, the f-stop is 'too small' for a desired, effect, or not optimal for the lens. For example, most lenses are 'best' a couple of stops down from wide open, and being to have other artifacts when stopped down beyond f/16. So using ND filters to get the f-stop in the 2 stops down from wide open, is often used.

Another more subtle reason for fixing the f-stop is to maintain visual consistency of Depth of Field across various shots in what is a 'single' scene.
 
I respectfully suggest ...you dont need one if you dont know what you are needing it for.

Narrative work and DSLR do not even come into it.
 
Thanks, Shooter - for nothing. Your post took up space but delivered zero value. I know what light meters are used for, thank you very much. I was looking for different perspectives, practices and non-obvious uses with which I might not be familiar. And in the future, if you have nothing to add, please don't, at least to my threads, because I have no tolerance for that kind of BS. And btw., making a useless and patronizing post does not make it any better when you insincerely affix to it "I respectfully suggest", the "respect" being immediately belied by your subsequent non-contribution. Bye.
 
OldCorpse said:
I was looking for a good light meter to use with a DSLR (the GH2) for a feature, and I came across the Sekonic DigiCineMate L-308DC. There are so many choices and so many pricepoints that it's really confusing. So, I'd like to hear about use scenarios, perhaps something I may not have thought of, which will allow me to decide which features are important in a light meter when using it with a DSLR. For example, I read that the L-308DC is useless if you're using ND filters on your cam, which concerns me, as I intend to use them.

So I thought I'd ask: how do YOU use a light meter when you're doing narrative work with a DSLR? TIA!
Click to expand...

I'm not a DSLR shooter, but one thing I don't use the meter for is setting the overall exposure. The zebra patterns and waveform monitors on my cameras are better for getting a detailed picture of the distribution of tones in the image. With a DSLR (and depending on what, if any, external monitor you use) it may make more sense for general exposure control.

I use my L-308DC (and very, very old L-28C2) primarily for measuring lighting ratios, checking the overall level of light on the set, and scouting locations to help determine what supplemental light will be necessary. I don't suppose any of these are exceedingly "creative" applications, but they certainly justified buying the meter. I use the flat Lumidisc in incident mode for measuring the effect of individual lights in setting up ratios. The Lumisphere is more useful when looking at overall exposure levels. I never use the reflected mode, and 90% of the time, leave the meter set to measure in footcandles rather than ISO/shutter/aperture combinations.

I don't understand why there would be any problem compensating for ND filters, with the L-308DC or any other meter. If you know how many stops the filter absorbs, you can either mentally adjust the readings from the meter by a stop or three, or you can dial in an "adjusted" ISO value on the meter to compensate for the filter factor. It takes seconds to do and is standard practice using any external meter with either film or video. Back in the film days, I knew the factors for a couple of dozen common filters by heart ... probably took up lots of precious brain cells I could be using for other purposes!

I have mixed feelings about the mechanical construction of the L-308DC. It is very lightweight and delicate by the standards of older Sekonic meters. On the one hand, I appreciate that it is small and light and fits easily in my run bag so I can keep it handy. On the other hand, I worry that it won't survive long. My old selenium cell meter has been with me since I was a student back in 1976, and I doubt this one will last that long. Heck, neither will I!

- Greg
 
Greg Smith said:
I'm not a DSLR shooter, but one thing I don't use the meter for is setting the overall exposure. The zebra patterns and waveform monitors on my cameras are better for getting a detailed picture of the distribution of tones in the image. With a DSLR (and depending on what, if any, external monitor you use) it may make more sense for general exposure control.
Click to expand...

I've gotten use to using the histogram function on my DSLR's, stills or now moving pictures, to 'confirm' a setting. At the moment, my biggest issue is with my GH-1 and the non-real LCD display... basically I need to ignore the display for 'exposure', and only use it for composition... because I've goofed on a couple of occasions where the lcd 'looked good' but the exposure was about 1 stop under... it was saveable... but I don't particularly care to 'save' shots...

However, I think metering is a necessity, and if the various 'clips' that people put on this site as well as others reflect their 'metering'(or reading scopes/zebras...).. well, some improvement is in order...
 
If you choose a more full featured meter such as the Sekonic L758 Cine you wil have the facilities to dial in any exposure factors you want instead of having to calculate them in your head. ie factors - ND, Shutter angle, fps, ISO.

(My 608 will hold these in memory and I can access them at a single button push)

If you chose a spot meter...get one with IRE scales. This directly relates to IRE on a wfm.

No incident or spot meter has any direct relation ship to histogram data which tends to be the way DSLRs provide as an exposure guide.

I respectfully suggest from experience that for any digital video shooting...an external monitor with a wfm is of more practical value to a DP, than a light meter
 
I use the Sekonic 758Cine Light Meter - $600 Ebay
Whats great about the more expensive models is that you can customize the buttons. One of my buttons read out ND3, ND6, ND9.
So, if your shooting at f/16, you can press the custom button to ND6 and see what the reading would be without any calculations or anything.

Besides. If you are using a cheaper light meter that cant do that, youd just have to know how many stops of light you are loosing through the ND you have, and calculate the stops yourself.

I haven't gotten around to use my light meter with my DSLR, because Ive been constantly shooting on film.
But, when I will be shooting on my DSLR, or any digital camera, the histogram will definitely be very helpful and it may be more useful than the light meter on set.

But to keep lighting continuity for more than a day, the light meter will come in handy. Its also good for location scouts to know what your getting into before pulling out your DSLR.
 
Thank you everybody, including Shooter, this is very helpful. I was debating what light meter to get, and I couldn't decide, so I figured that maybe people use them in ways I haven't thought of, and so use features which are useful on one but not another meter. All this is very helpful, so thank you again!
 
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