light meter used?

[cardmaverick]

FreshDV did a tutorial video on this (for the HVX, actually)
http://www.freshdv.com/2007/07/calibrating-a-light-meter-for-digital-video.html

Nice quick tutorial, but I think this topic needs more light shed on it.... pun intended rogar-BigGrin(DBG)

I noticed that they are putting 18 percent gray at 50 IRE. The big trick here has a lot to do with the signals post processing. 18 percent gray can change in a snap depending on your cameras gamma settings. Personally, I rate based off of highlights, NOT 18 percent gray. If you ever get a chance to work with unprocessed linear video, you'll learn why pretty quick. I gotta find some to time to type that tutorial up, I'm getting emails about it....

 

[shiny4]

hey cardmaverick ,
what do you think about the "data tranfer software" by sekonic for calibrate your light meter to your digital camera sensor dinamic range considering the clipping point(according to sekonic in RGB 8 bit are: black clipping point 12 and white clipping point 242 that is near your suggestion to set the white point at about 90 ire).
here is a link for a better understanding:
http://www.sekonic.com/news/reviews2.asp
i wait your suggestion.
best
ivan

p.s.:about your discussion here:http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=93238
how do you decide wich curve apply to your grayscale to know your final dinamic range??
do you test it first on a real life image and then save and applly on your greyscale??

 

[cardmaverick]

hey cardmaverick ,
what do you think about the "data tranfer software" by sekonic for calibrate your light meter to your digital camera sensor dinamic range considering the clipping point(according to sekonic in RGB 8 bit are: black clipping point 12 and white clipping point 242 that is near your suggestion to set the white point at about 90 ire).
here is a link for a better understanding:
http://www.sekonic.com/news/reviews2.asp
i wait your suggestion.
best
ivan

p.s.:about your discussion here:http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=93238
how do you decide wich curve apply to your grayscale to know your final dinamic range??
do you test it first on a real life image and then save and applly on your greyscale??

I actually don't use the Sekonic software. It's pretty cool though.

I currently just set my meter up for highlight metering. In other words, I've modified my approach so that I now meter the brightest area in a scene, and the reading I get gives me an exposure that puts that object just high enough up in the exposure before blow out. I actually meter from the highlights down.

As for the older tutorial, I just figure out how much contrast I want, note the range, and move on from there. It does help a bunch to use a real world image though, and see skin tones, etc...

Since I'm now working with Andromeda, my focus has changed quite a bit, and I've had to take on some new approaches to my work, its a bit more exotic now, but its so powerful.... :thumbsup:

As for the website, gee man, I don't know! That has totally slid by me, I was all excited about making it, then I got snatched up by several shows and there went the time! Maybe in the winter I'll get it going. An interesting thing to consider are all the cameras out there, I'll need some local help obtaining cameras to run tests on, etc...