GH2 what lightmeter setting do you need on Sekonic L-308DC when shooting with GH2???

N

Nicholas Natteau

Veteran
I'm shooting in manual movie mode 1080p24 with my Panasonic GH2 and because I don't find the GH2's histogram to be that reliable, I just got the Sekonic L-308DC lightmeter. I'm just not sure what mode I need to be in "HD Cine" or "Cine"?

Has anyone used this lightmeter with the GH2??? And if so, what is the correct setting to be in?

Thanks very much in advance.
 
I use HD Cine for my GH2. The Cine setting is for the AF100 and provides a 180 degree shutter setting.
 
Nicholas Natteau said:
I'm shooting in manual movie mode 1080p24 with my Panasonic GH2 and because I don't find the GH2's histogram to be that reliable, I just got the Sekonic L-308DC lightmeter. I'm just not sure what mode I need to be in "HD Cine" or "Cine"?

Has anyone used this lightmeter with the GH2??? And if so, what is the correct setting to be in?

Thanks very much in advance.
Click to expand...

Since you asked this in two dept... I'll be brief... the GH1/2, as is the case with most DSLR's, has shutterspeeds for 1/50 or 1/60, the usual 'near 180 deg' shutter speeds for operating at 24 fps. The selection of 1/60 is recommend in situations where the standard power frequency is 60 Hz, and 1/50 for places that 50 Hz power. For 'sunlight', 1/50 is close to 1/48 of the 180 deg. 'standard' shutter speed of 24 fps.

Ok, that wasn't so brief...

Briefly, set you meter to either 1/50 or 1/60, and set the ISO, and read out the f-stop... You will have to 'calibrate' your meter to what you really like... but those will get close...

Ok... that wasn't so brief either...
 
OK thanks very much. But here's what I don't understand.

In HD-Cine mode, there's 24, 25, 30 fps but no 60 fps option, how come? Secondly, if I select 24fps on the Sekonic L-308DC, I can only choose 1/45 and 1/60 as shutter speeds. There's no 1/48 or 1/50 shutter speeds as options in HD-Cine mode. Is this normal? Thanks again for your help.
 
Nicholas Natteau said:
OK thanks very much. But here's what I don't understand.

In HD-Cine mode, there's 24, 25, 30 fps but no 60 fps option, how come? Secondly, if I select 24fps on the Sekonic L-308DC, I can only choose 1/45 and 1/60 as shutter speeds. There's no 1/48 or 1/50 shutter speeds as options in HD-Cine mode. Is this normal? Thanks again for your help.
Click to expand...

I don't own the L-308DC, but according to the manual on p.13 it says:
"Available frame rates include 8, 12, 16, 18, 24, 25, 30, 32, 48, 50, 60, 64, 96,
100, 120 and 128 f/s."
Are you sure you're in the correct mode?

If you can't get the right shutter speeds or frame rates to read in HD Cine Mode. the alternative would be to use the meter as you would for still photography. Just dial in your ISO, your shutter speed and let it provide you with the appropriate aperture. Be aware, however, that the SMOOTH film mode tends to be about 2/3 stop brighter than the CINEMA mode, as it brings up the shadows and midtones. If you have a photographic gray card, you could shoot the gray card and calibrate the GH2's built-in meter with your Sekonic so that they match.
 
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Hi All,
As this thread was started at the same time as the other L-308DC conversation, members might see this one before the other.
So I will post here as well.
The L-308DC is basically my design. I have serial number 100001 in my bag. Wish I could say I will use it as much as you will. I am the Marketing Manager for Sekonic in the USA. Way too much business stuff connected with this.
That said. The L-308DC has three separate "personalities." One for use by HDSLR photographers who use shutter speeds (instead of fps and shutter angles) to determine the timed amount of light that reaches the imaging sensor.
Why does it have fps? Most of today's HDSLR cameras have a few fixed shutter speed-frame rate combinations for shooting. This will change as cameras develop. The meter is ready for this. fps in HDCINE is a sort of fence. One cannot set a slower shutter speed than the frame rate in use. That is, if you are shooting at 30fps, you can't set a shutter speed slower than 1/30th. Higher, yes. If you can put up with the "Saving Private Ryan" look. The true determiner for "exposure" is shutter speed settings for these cameras.
We reproduced the normal range one finds in a 5DMKII and other still-video cameras to make the meter not look "strange" to photographers who are making moving images and picked the L-308DC up for the first time. If one advances the shutter speeds above 8000, one will see a special grouping of shutter speeds based around 24fps and 25fps. This is where the meter will finally end up being used when cameras catch up to it. This is where you will find 1/48 sec which corresponds to 24fps and is just now starting to find its way into cameras. Things to note: you can calibrate the meter to your camera +/- one stop in .10 stops. Adjustment is made in the custom functions area (see the manual or quick guide). Shutter angle is not a conversation to have in HDCINE. It is shutter speed that determines the exposure.

Next. Turn OFF the meter Press MODE, hold it in and turn the meter back on. See HDCINE. Press MODE to see CINE and turn OFF the meter and back ON to lock in CINE mode.
Now you are dealing with fps and shutter angle which work together to control the amount of "timed" light reaching image sensor. This is where 180 shutter sector has meaning and is important. This where setting 24fps at 180 = a shutter speed of 1/48 second.

The last "personality" is PHOTO which has all the still camera stuff including flash measurement. This is original personality of the meter.

Best to use the flat diffuser to read for green screens. Also for reading lights separately to determine the brightness for each to determine a ratio. More importantly, it is used when metering a light set up (which you record in your records with light and subject position) for the moment you have to reproduce the lighting and situation for a reshoot or to accurately reproduce a particular look. Saves all kinds of time and guess work. Makes clients happy too.

The dome is for final exposure. Put under the chin or in front of the face (or where the face will be for the really expensive faces) to set your camera aperture.

The reflected light mode, see this when the dome is slid aside, reads very broadly. I don't recommend simply pointing it at the subject. Averages too much. Bright lights will affect it and bias it. Good for gray card readings when held properly (proper angle and distance for the cell).

Going to stop here.

Best,
Phil
 
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