Knowing how to determine how powerful of a light you need

[morgan_moore]

I think there may have been a little miscommunication/misunderstanding. I wasn't defending the Canon's. I own a set and know their background and shortcomings. I was just pointing out that getting a 14mm or 15mm high-speed(T1.5 or better) wide in a matched set with other fast primes isn't that easy outside of "Master Prime" echelon lenses. And the MP's really aren't that old, either. They were introduced in ~ 2005 with the 14mm added in '07.

Good we are not mis-communicating

My original point.. ref' this thread "speccing light packages" (esp for wide/large areas) was that the T-stop of the widest lens can often be an issue and one should be aware. Nearly every time I buy into a new camera format I have to spend on a fast wide eg 12/2 for MFT

A wide T2 (maybe a 24/2.8 or 20/2.8 FF lens on a booster = about 16/2 S35) can get one out of some holes.

 

[markfpv]

^ To Sam's point...That's why I dropped the coin for my Tokina 16-28 T3 a few years back .. it has been paid for already on real estate videos... shooting with speed booster gives me approx 11 - 20mm and about 1.8 (though I usually would rather be at 5.6 or higher for deeper focus).

Thanks Charles and Mitch.

Seems like gaffer and grip on recces - thats a much bigger scale than I work at.. where Im lucky to get a couple of iphone snaps of a location

Yes, same for me. I'm happy if I can get budget just for myself scouting in advance.

 

[markfpv]

And to get back on topic just a bit - I just watched this latest post from Mr. Seerveld today:
https://youtu.be/tIW9mfbtjr0

I've done similar, simple tests like his of my own with my lighting instruments to give me an idea on what to bring for certain jobs.... which can be quite helpful - extremely helpful in situations like he's referring to in the video about using battery power. I was surprised a bit by his findings (don't own any of the exact lights he was measuring).

 

[DDirector]

Would a lightmeter without lux/fc readings be any useful?
I have the Sekonic 758D, but after reading everything here, sounds like having a lux reading is necessary.

For the lights that I own/will own/rent, it probably is best to do tests as per the one mentioned above.
But, I personally wouldn't always be able to do those tests with all the lights.
Perhaps you want to rent a different lighting system and haven't had your hands on it yet to test it.
The Arri photometrics is great, and I have used it, but it is a bit limiting.

There was some good info here.

 

[Mitch Gross]

A light meter without lux/fc is fine, as long as you know how to convert the photometrics in your head. The math is really straightforward and I used to have to do it all the time because I would be working with crew who did not have footcandle meters.