Sekonic L-608 Light Meter

S

SethPepper

Member
I am new to cinematography. I jumped right in and bought a Sekonic L-608 for lighting. I would greatly appreciate any instruction. It has so many damn options, I'm lost.

For instance what do I set the ISO setting to if I'm using a DVX100 with mini-dv tapes?

The other settings is: 30 f/s.

Is there a mode I should be in? I really would appreciate being set straight, then I can really get my money's worth out of the damn thing.

The Best,
Seth
 
Light meters are great, However you dont really need them when shooting video. Especially if you can see your image on a good broadcast monitor. If you are going to shoot video all the time and not film I would sell the light meter abd get a monitor, unless you can afford both.
best of luck
 
The lightmeter will only give you an approximation of an accurate result with video. The DVX's ISO rating ranges from 400 to 1000 depending on where in the exposure curve you are. For most purposes it can be set to 640.

You can use 30fps for metering 30p or 60i shoots, and 24fps for metering 24p shoots. But again, a light meter is the wrong tool for measuring exposure with video. It's great for scouting locations or for helping you "light by eye", but a calibrated production monitor and a waveform monitor are the proper tools for judging video exposure.
 
Barry_Green said:
The lightmeter will only give you an approximation of an accurate result with video. The DVX's ISO rating ranges from 400 to 1000 depending on where in the exposure curve you are. For most purposes it can be set to 640.

You can use 30fps for metering 30p or 60i shoots, and 24fps for metering 24p shoots. But again, a light meter is the wrong tool for measuring exposure with video. It's great for scouting locations or for helping you "light by eye", but a calibrated production monitor and a waveform monitor are the proper tools for judging video exposure.
Click to expand...
This is perfect. Thank you for a simple answer. I can see the "light" now.

The Best,
Seth
 
A light meter is an invaluable tool for the beginning cinematographer. Yes, to a trained cinematographer, a field monitor is all one may need to light a scene, but for those getting started, learning how to maintain consistent contrast and depth of field from shot to shot may not be so easy.

Set a contrast ratio (key+fill:fill alone) for your scene and use your meter to maintain that ratio for every shot. Video allows you to light with your eyes, but before you make that jump, learn to discipline yourself to see the light first.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top