Do I REALLY need a light meter for Film Photography?

🎥 About This Video....
Do you need a light meter for your film photography?
Maybe yes, maybe no! It all depends on your camera and what you shoot.
But they are very useful to have even if you think you don’t need one.
In this video I go over how I use Incident and Reflective metering with examples.

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😊 ABOUT MY VIDEOS

If my videos inspire, create ideas and help others in film photography and darkroom work then it's worth making them.
I always welcome comments that are useful towards the video subject that will help others understand the process within.
Keep shooting and thanks for watching.

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[stevenmccaughan]

Me and my photography friends have a drinking game one person will point at a subject and another person has to give the exposure if you miss you have to take a drink

[hoggif]

I used to train estimating light by making my estimate first and checking with light meter after that. After a while I noticed I got pretty good for estimating for B&W but not for something like slides. It was a life saver once when my battery run out and I had a mechanical camera to shoot but with no meter.
That being said, for tricky shots, low light, or slides nothing beats a 1 degree spot meter for my subjects like landscapes and architecture. With that you can nail it just right. Especially with expensive film like say 4x5" slides I want to nail it spot on. Sometimes the slides are something like Velvia that is not made any more and I'd hate to bracket. Being on a tripod with slow camera anyway it makes no difference. For pretty constant light quick street snap it is totally another matter.

[nealk]

I shoot most all my pictures outdoors and use Sunny 16 and scale focus for the vast majority. It makes it quick, easy and more fun for me.

[RussellEaling]

Hi Roger, I should have waited a week for this video instead of pestering you after last weeks video about how you metered to get the lightbox exposed correctly. This video explains it all and helps makes sense of metering in a clear and precise way, thank you for this video and the advice you gave last week. Saying that I am going to watch this video about 5 times and take notes and then go and put it into practice.

[odukar]

For creative photography I use a Spotmeter from Pentax, for Portraits and flashes an incident meter from Sekonic and with my cameras w/o a meter system a TTArtisan Meter. But often the Sunny 16 rules are sufficient.

[JDCarnin]

I use a Kodalux L (the old and large version) mounted on my Kodak Retina 1a, which, despite its age of about 65 years and the fact that it’s powered by a selenium cell, is absolute spot on. And it is unbelievable comfortable and quick to work with. Just turn the wheel until the mark lines up and you have the chart with the values. Since it displays it like a spreadsheet in two columns instead of round like conventional analog lightmeters it’s super quick to glance at and read the values. I love that thing and it’s a perfect pairing for my favorite camera. The Retina 1a is so small and pocketable for every day carry. Got the version with the f2.8 lens and it even has a flawless documented service history for every 5 years of its life.

[TheHambo]

Excellent video. I used to have the F90x (amongst by Nikon camera gear) and shot many fashion shows with it. It does have an excellent light meter and never let me down. I had a Minolta IVF light meter and hardly used it! Believe me you don't really need a hand held light meter if your camera has an excellent one built in, especially if you're shooting outside of a studio.

[ianlainchbury]

Absolutely perfect Roger... I was going to ask about incident/reflected. Perfect! Many thanks :)

[jamesjacocks]

Personally, I use the Sunny Sixteen exposure system only when my meter won't work. S16 can work, but I feel it works best when applied by very experienced eyes so wouldn't be the best choice for beginners. It has simplicity working for it but, superficially, anyone can play the piano. If the beginner is using the system, an outlier is the possibility that the student will be discouraged by the results. If you can find a complete table of values that calculates the exposure settings all the way to night scenes, that is most useful since meters are sketchy in near darkness.

[anta]

For me: yes.
- Most medium format gears don't have built-in lightmeter.
- Sunny 16 and its variants don't work on indoor setting.

So? Get a Sekonic/Gossen etc.

[rawalker]

got myself one of those lanyards for my little meter great find that Rodger thanks

[Jerry]

I think everyone who does photography should have a light meter. Yes, some cameras have great light meters. But generally I think a light meter should be something in their kit. Like you said it doesn’t need to be expensive.

[bigshooter]

Great video, I will be sure to share this with those who ask about light meters in the future, I get approached often when out shooting so it will be a great resource to share.

I've shot many cameras and had all kinds of different meters in all of them, I do quite enjoy cameras that offer automation, that said I also have several other light meters and do use a Sekonic as well when shooting cameras with no metering at all like the old Mamiya C20 or a Fuji GSW690II. The Mamiya is an incredible tool and makes some spectacular images with incredible depth even with Kentmere 100 which some film snobs consider Cheap film, I give ultimate credit to proper exposure and that is in great part to the utility of my light meter, I also do switch from spot to incident depending of the light and where my subject is, in it. I will second your praise for the Nikon F90X, I am not a Nikon guy at all, although I do have a few of them FTN, FE, FG, FG20, and the F90X, which I can't say enough about for it's fantastic metering capabilities and versatility.. I think one of the nicest things about having a good meter like the sekonic or any meter that allows for incident and spot metering is how much you learn about the way film or a sensors see light, our eyes adjust quite quickly and it can often seem much brighter than it really is, I find a hand held meter most useful in low light situations or for metering in shadows.it is also fantastic for shooting with filters like R72 where you need to compensate 5 or 6 stops with some film like Rollei IR.

I love that folder you were shooting, I have a few that I have been restoring for use I have a 35mm Balda with a 50mm f3.5 loaded with some black and white I need to finish off and develop.


Thanks again for a great video!

[FerrisThomas]

Great stuff on incident v reflective, Rog. Well done.

[andyvan]

this is the reason for the feature of exposure LOCK, on the digital cameras, you use the 3D metering system (reflective), and meter the grass (zone 5 {18% grey}) and LOCK exposure, recompose, and shoot; one other compelling reason to get one, I shoot LF, a sinar F2 so I need to know not just exposure, but if any glare or flare is present, so whether or not to use ND or polarising filters; so a SPOT meter is my friend too, it shows what zone I have in my scene, what contrast is there (for film printing), and, for my Hasselblad 500c\m what EV it is, so here I can set ev and shoot at what ever shutter or aperture I need or want, still safe in the knowledge my film is safe, it will be exposed correctly, so saving my $17 for the roll.

[rick-fstop-lewis]

Great video Roger! A nice broad spectrum look at the topic of metering. And the answer to the question is, It depends. LOL I use the tools at my disposal that will enhance my ability to achieve the desired outcome based on the situational variables. ROFL

[davidjenkins]

Hi Roger, I think that was a really very good video. The only thing that you really could have added would have been useful is to have talked about dedicated flash and how the camera can meter that. You did talk about subject failure and it may have been useful to students if you had mentioned that term as they may come across it in their studies. You know I am a very critical person but as I said, an excellent video and I enjoyed watching it. Also, your enthusiasm is always good to see. Keep it up.

[robertgordon]

Excellent explanation and illustration.

[pietro-viecelli]

Great stuff! I ordered myself the original Astrhori one to use with my medium format cameras as they don't have meters.. Been using an app so far, but that's a bit annoying..

[SnowmansApartment]

i am always wondering if it is possible to just be very good at guessing the values. It feels like something you could learn to be good at