[Saltwater Images]

I haven't used a light meter for incident and reflective readings in two decades. Lately I have been considering picking up one again. Do you shoot with a light meter these days? How beneficial do you find it to be?

[MadMathMind]

I do. I use it for flash setting. It's absolutely invaluable because it gives me the percentage of flash to ambient; I use this to achieve a certain look.

[Saltwater Images]

I do. I use it for flash setting. It's absolutely invaluable because it gives me the percentage of flash to ambient; I use this to achieve a certain look.

For flash, I see the practicality. I shoot manual flash a lot and starting at ISO 100, f/8, 1/125 and flash at half power - working into the correct combination can be a pain. Do you also use the meter when shooting without flash?

[pathdoc]

Not with a DSLR, no; I have no need. The internal meter is good enough, and as an amateur/enthusiast I can't justify a model with flash capabilities. You can bet that if I went pro, a flash-capable model would be first on my list of things to get.

For my film cameras, however, it's another matter. Being the owner of an S1a especially makes having some sort of handheld meter mandatory; mine is an unpowered Sekonic Studio Deluxe, so I can shoot completely independent of batteries if I have to or want to.

[gofour3]

Yes frequently, I have an incident/reflective meter as well as a spotmeter that I mostly use with my Pentax 6x7 cameras. The two older 6x7 & 67 bodies that I have are only used with a non-metered prism.

Phil.

[MadMathMind]

Do you also use the meter when shooting without flash?

No. And I don't even know how to make it work without flash.

[microlight]

Hehe. It's the iPhone Pocket Light Meter app (calibrated against the Spotmatic) whenever I take the AP for a walk...

[stevebrot]

I do for tricky situations where an incident reading is appropriate or when I am using manual exposure with lenses that don't support aperture control by the body. It is always in the bag.


Steve

[Buffy]

I haven't used a light meter for incident and reflective readings in two decades. Lately I have been considering picking up one again. Do you shoot with a light meter these days? How beneficial do you find it to be?

Rarely for digital, but yes for film, in particular a Crown Graphic 4x5, it's pretty much required for that.

[dms]

-- Yes, an incident light meter, or the equivalent (one's own ability to recognize the required exposure, as common outdoors during daylight). This is completely different than reflected light method used by camera, and more reliable for most scenarios.
-- You learn to recognize lighting that is tough for camera to do in auto, and then use the incident meter. BTW the sun pretty high over head is such an example--where it is simple to use the incident meter (if it has the usual integrating dome), or guess the exposure--but much less reliable for the camera using reflected light. Also a scene with very unbalanced sky/earth, mostly dark or light tones, etc.
-- And it is important/useful as:
1. You may not have a chance to get another shot.
2. Checking the taken image uses battery up, may be tough in sunlight, and takes time/interferes with your work flow.
3. Bracketing shots suffers from above limitations, and is not elegant/best left for the rare situations where it is really useful.

Of course those who use B&W film, spot meter, zone system, etc. have their methods and no need for my discussion, and rightly will say it is too simple/does not apply. But for most photographers using digital or color negative film, I think a middle ground as I describe above is very useful/can give significantly greater percentage of keepers.

[oneill]

Yes! (Like Brooke Meyer) above I shoot manual exposure for everything and don't even pay attention to the light meter. I do pay attention to histograms though! I have a Sekonic L398, fabulous for incident readings, light, fits in my shirt pocket and does not use a battery. a Gossen LunaSix F, does incident, reflective and cumulative flash, and a Pentax Spotmeter V.

I use my Seconic L398 for probably 95% of my shooting, the Gossen LunaSix F as a backup and for flash, and the Pentax Spotmeter when you just have to get it right and nothing is moving.

I broke the head on the Sekonic a year ago, and even though it is over 35 years old, I was able to get the parts from Toronto to Vancouver in a week without having to send it for repair.

I never leave home without them

[Dartmoor Dave]

I use a combination of Sunny 16 and incident metering with my Sekonic L-308S, and I genuinely find it quicker and easier and a lot more reliable. I meter whenever the light changes, so that the camera is always ready to use and I don't have to even think about exposure at the moment I'm shooting. Trying to use the built-in meter of a DSLR is a nightmare of constantly having to monitor what the camera is doing automatically, then wasting time fiddling with buttons and dials to override it.

The only real downside of incident metering is that sometimes I'll hold up the Sekonic to take a reading of the light coming from behind me, and then I'll notice that there's somebody standing there who thinks I'm trying to take a sneaky photo of them with what they assume is a phone camera.

[lmd91343]

I usually carry a Sekonic 308b to use in incident mode only. I check the histogram and chimp (red/yellow) the just completed shot and readjust. That said, I really like the K3 meter.

I use and carry the Sekonic because of its size, but for incident only. For any other purpose, I will bring a Gossen Luna Pro SBC(9v), Luna Pro F(9v), or rarely a spot meter.

[Kerrowdown]

Do you still use a hand held light meter when shooting with a Pentax DSLR?

Certainly for difficult or complex lighting situations.

[Kerrowdown]

Do you still use a hand held light meter when shooting with a Pentax DSLR?

Certainly for difficult or complex lighting situations, but that's probably because I'm old school. .