Is it still worth buying a light meter?

D

DDirector

Veteran
I am currenty in my 2nd/3rd year of College taking Film Production. Currently shooting on 16mm, we need lightmeters, but what about when you are on larger shoots with more advanced equipment. Are light meters still required?
There are histograms, waveforms, or whatnot. Should I still invest in one if I want to be a DP?
Especially when shooting digital, is it even reuired to have one? Or is there substitute equipment out there?
 
*If I were to end up buying one, this is the one I had in mind of getting (it seems good and not that expensive):Sekonic L-758DR
 
I'm not a DP, but I've been on bigger sets and the DPs still use light meters.

Kegan
 
To me it all about having a point of reference to make my exposure and lighting decisions. I started out shooting film, and for that an exposure meter is essential. Of course now, with digital capture, there are other tools to use to make the exposure decisions with, but I still relate it back to my film experience, especially when make adjustment to the lights. If I am looking at a WFM, vector scope or histogram, and I don't know the actual amount of light, in footcandles, that is falling on a scene it drives me crazy. If I go to adjust a light, if I take a meter reading before and after the adjustment I now have a quantitative measure of exactly how much I have changed the light. I will note, by looking at the digital tools, what that does to my exposure and I can develop a point of reference that I then continue to use. So, from there, I can go and light a scene, make general adjustments by taking meter readings at the subject and be pretty confident that those adjustments are correct. This saves from having to run back and forth from the digital tools to the subject/lights to make the adjustments. A light meter also lets you set your lighting ratio with a quantitative accuracy, at the subject and lights, without the need to run back and forth. I am now using more natural lighting/available lighting and am scouting locations for a project we are working one. I am taking my light meter with me and taking readings of the available lighting for my notes. Of course I am taking pictures and video with an HD-DSLR, but since I am not going to be shooting with that camera, having the meter readings gives me the confidence of having the quantitative measurement of the lights that are there. So, yeah, I think that if you want to be a DP, getting a light meter, and learning how to use it to build your own lighting reference, is important. You can get the best light meter you can afford and the L758DR is a good one, the L-758Cine, might be better, but more expensive. However, you do not need to spend that much money on a good light meter. I use a L-398A Studio Deluxe that is over 20 years old, and it still works great. Like i said, it really is about having a frame of reference to work from.
 
if you ask (or watch) serious pros, they all use light meters on digital. Post is limited (normally), and you dont want to spend (waste) your time fixing all these small, amateur mistakes you made during prod. Everyone makes mistakes, but thoses who go "nvm, we can cc that in post" aint real pros. . . (unless they are in this VERY tough situation where they have to shoot 10 days in 5 but own the post hard/software PLUS can work as long as THEY want on post, then its a diff. story ^^)
 
The Sekonic L-758-Cine has a few items specifically for 'cinematography', which the DR does not have. Whether these additional features would benefit you in particular with your usage... don't know...

But I iterate that a meter is still useful for setup, location prequalification, lighting changes, etc. I would also recommend buying the highest quality you can afford now... the device should last for years.

I bought the Minolta Spot years ago, and despite a bit of frustration with it now that I'm more interested in footcandle readings, it still works after about 20 or so years...
 
I was never told I had to get one. I started with super8. It taught me a bunch. I like to have it with me.
 
Yes to light meters for so many reasons, think of it as a tool for gauging your lighting between foreground, background, key, fill, evwn lighting your shadows so they don't end up grainy later....

You definitely have to want to use one - that's for sure.
 
Another perspective..

I just dont understand the purpose of a light meter in digital capture

Either I use the onboard facilities of the camera.. or on a larger production would use a Digital DSLR stills camera as a "production tool.."

A dslr with a crappy zoom lens works as light meter, colour meter, and directors finder, continuity aid, BTS blogging tool and every frame you take all of the settings are recorded in Meta data so you can analyse and learn later, or relight the scene at a later date to a high level of consistency

One thing is I think that a lot of cinematographers are just not that confident in using a DSLR for all of these tasks

Best

SamMM
 
Sam,
one of the best uses of light meters is to set the contrast ratio between your lights. This is something you can't do with either histograms or waveforms. Then, you can apply that contrast to all the scenes shot in the same location at any time....this means you keep a high level of consistency between shots.

As a photographer, I use my LM always because I can't loose time in front of a client trying to guess exposure and contrast ratio with my strobes. For video, I admit we use it as much as possible but not always....sometimes we are in a rush and don't have time for it.
Best,
Diego
 
PerroneFord said:
I have 2. A Sekonic 758 and a Spectra-Cine IV. I wouldn't be caught dead lighting a set without one.
Click to expand...

It might sound somewhat heretic, but since I have a monitor with false color (and waveform) my light meter gathers dust.
Personally I found the false color function much faster more efficient and more elegant to work with.

Also the sensor and the whole electronic processing shebang behind it, might see light and color different than a pure light meter.
So for me, false color is more precise. You see what you get, instead of what you should get in theory.

But to each his own.

Disclaimer: Shooting on film is a whole different game and absolutely needs a light meter (or much experience).

Frank
 
diegocervo said:
Sam,
one of the best uses of light meters is to set the contrast ratio between your lights. This is something you can't do with either histograms or waveforms. Then, you can apply that contrast to all the scenes shot in the same location at any time....this means you keep a high level of consistency between shots.
Best,
Diego
Click to expand...

Im not sure why you cant use a DSLR to test a ratio

if you want to use as an incident meter you can slip an expodisc on the lens and use it in that manner

With the 'crappy zoom' you can use it as a 'spot meter' or to evaluate the whole scene

I just adding perspective to the thread in a world where a Used nikon d70 is a lot cheaper than a decent lightmeter and not a lot larger

To me the biggest boon of a DSLR on set as a 'production tool' is the ability to choose a composition and run it past the director before setting the main camera (even if that is another DLSR - with a prime on a rig)

S
 
Sam,
I see your point and I'm not saying that your idea doesn't work.
However, a LM gives you numeric values (which you can eventually write down for future use) with much less work than using a DSLR and a bunch of lenses....if you ever used a LM you know what I mean.

I just don't see me carrying around an expodisc on a 70-200 and my 5D to measure incident light on a model's face....it's bulky, time consuming and not really practical for my job.
Besides, the expodisc has a flat surface while in most instances you will need a lumisphere to have an accurate reading.

Best,
Diego
 
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