Love, love, LOVE my Gossen Luna F. It does everything I need it to (reflective, incident, flash, spot (with an accessory), is super cheap, and uses modern electronics while also having a physical needle and a dial, so it looks the part IMO. Best $50 I ever spent.

@fries4450

5 ай бұрын

I got the Lunasix 3 and couldn't agree more. It's a bit more bulky and unwieldy than the F, but I got a good deal on one with the spot accessory.

Just purchased the TTArtisan Light Meter II, for my medium format photography. I really don't want to miss my shots there, that would be to costly.

Some one commented on the Gossen Luna Pro F. It is a null meter which allows you to use the Zone system as well as understand what the light is doing. So in terms of learning the craft it is probably one of the best. It also has spot accessories and both incident reflected and flash readings. It may not be the most suitable for street or sports but for almost all other kinds it one of the very best. The analog meters have a deeper level of info than digital if one is still learning

@pushingfilm

5 ай бұрын

They look great, I'd love to try one sometime

Another great watch. I've used the sekonic 308x for years, handy as. I also like my Pentax Spot master V, the old model before the digital meters. Both are pretty affordable

Shoe-mount meters are my choice, one with a rear-facing readout (a keks), another with a screen on top (don't remember the brand). I like having the meter readout match the camera - waist level finder? Top readout meter, rangefinder body? rear facing meter. I keep a Pentax Spotmeter V for slide film and LF too, but pretty rare that I grab that anymore. I highly recommend that Pentax model - it goes for maybe $125 in mint condition and uses three 1.5v batteries, so no issues with funny battery stuff. I have had very good luck with the shoe mount and the Pentax, they all match my Canon mirrorless body.

5:01 I'm old school and I love this option. I have the Seconic and a couple of Weston Master meters.

@pushingfilm

20 күн бұрын

Nice!

I started doing Zone System with 1° spot meter in 1971 and with LunaPro and Sekonic flash meter for studio lights but today shooting film I’d just carry compact digital, take a shot and adjust exposure via highlight warning and histogram changing ISO setting of digital as needed to match results on the film. When started shooting digital with key / fill flash I realized it was easier to just put white and black towels on a stand where the face would and add fill until seeing detail the black one and then adding key over fill until the white one was just below 1/3 stop clipping in non-specular highlights. It’s faster and more accurate than incident metering of flash and can be used with ETTL flash.

Great video. If buying old meters just check what batteries they need. Some of the old CDS meters needed the 1.35v mercury cells. There are workarounds for these but better to find a meter that will take a 1.5v battery.

@pushingfilm

5 ай бұрын

Good point! Thank you

I have an Sekonic 308x and Hedeco Lime 2. Hedeco mostly on my medium format without built in Light meter

There is another category of light meters you did only cover in passing showing the iPhone: small, digital point and shoot cameras with a decent zoom lens. For example, I use the Olympus XZ-2 as a dedicated meter, especially when I need spot metering. I zoom into the area I want to spot meter, I change the metering mode to spot metering in camera, I set ISO and shutter speed. Then I translate the reading to my film camera if not identical.

@pushingfilm

5 ай бұрын

You're right! I meant to mention that, and even had some digital cameras on the desk 😅 They can be a perfect way to meter, and preview the exposure. I do the same for night exposures and other difficult lighting situations.

Fantastic video as always, Hashem! I usually have the TT Artisan cold shoe light meter with me as a backup on photo walks etc, but to be honest I very much prefer to use the internal light meter in my camera(s). Not because they're more accurate in any way (because they're usually not, as you just explained), but just because it's a smoother workflow for me. Although I pretty much always prefer spot metering on my digital cameras, so I might go for one of those next. If only they were smaller, lighter and cheaper, hey? Haha! Cheers /Freddy

@pushingfilm

5 ай бұрын

Thank you! Yeah it's good that we have so many choices these days. I do hope that there will eventually be more third party/indie brand spot meters

Great video. RS. Canada

Another option if you shoot film on tripod : use a small digital camera to mesure light and even preview an idea of the final image, very useful with slide film

@pushingfilm

5 ай бұрын

Definitely! I forgot to mention this

I’m happy with my Voigtlander VM and VMII. They look good on my M3 and M2, not too modern. Work well too, more accurate than guessing “sunny 16”.

Imo, nothing beats a dial indicator light meter. My gossen lunasix is basically perfection.

@mcb187

5 ай бұрын

I got one from my grandfather, unfortunately the galvanometer was stuck and repairing it would have been pretty cost prohibitive. So, I bought a Luna Oro F. Looks almost the same, and still has the needle and the chunky dial I like the look of..

Thanks. Good summary on options with light meters. Your channel is really good. kutgw..geoff

@pushingfilm

5 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Sekonic L-398. No battery needed. Saves film, shutter, battery, electricity and even the planet.

@pushingfilm

5 ай бұрын

Great meter 👍🏼

I've had zero luck with the light meter apps on my iPhone XR. They are all wildly inaccurate for me with no way to reliably calibrate them. Maybe they work OK on other phone models, who knows.

👍👍👍👍👍👍

What are your favorite light meters for iOS / Android? Worth paying for one or just using free apps?

@pushingfilm

5 ай бұрын

I've never had an iPhone, and only ever used the one called "Lightmeter" on Android (for any extensive period). I have played with others, but can't remember the names, sorry!

I have done a lot of light metering with handheld light meters for more than 3 decades, the best way to measure light is with incident light metering where there a dome on the light meter, I can recommend Gossen Light Meters, new or used. I have the Gossen Variosix F2 which is very good, it can also measure flash light.

I recently bought a Astrhori small light meter for $100 Canadian and it does not work at all ! Consumer beware. RS. Canada

I tried the discount. Doesn't work in the US. Oh well.

@pushingfilm

5 ай бұрын

Hey, sorry about that! It was a bit confusing the way they provided the code and instructions. I've updated it to a direct link now, if you still wanted to try it.

@dodahlberg

5 ай бұрын

@@pushingfilm Thanks. I bought it anyway. I've been trying to decide which inexpensive hot/cold shoe meter to get for a couple weeks. This one was getting the best reviews overall..

@dodahlberg

5 ай бұрын

@@pushingfilm It arrived today. It's so tiny! I put it on my Leica M4-2. I'll see how it goes. It might just be to double check my sunny 16 exposures and tricky situations.

@pushingfilm

5 ай бұрын

@@dodahlberg Nice! yeah, I was surprised at how small it actually is. For sure! that's how I plan to use it (hopefully won't get lazy though 😅)

@dodahlberg

4 ай бұрын

@@pushingfilm An update now that I've used it. It's really accurate so it's like having an old Leica rangefinder with a light meter. The two downsides: I've had to put a layer of electric tape in the shoe so it fits more snugly and I put a 1/4 in. piece of the same across the back so it doesn't fall out. The other thing I've noticed is the metering button on the back bouncing against me and turning on when I don't want it on. That runs down the battery unnecessarily. That said, it charges really fast, 20 - 30 minutes.

Honestly i can't justify dropping the cash on one so i just use my cameras meter, sunny 16 or my phone.

@pushingfilm

5 ай бұрын

Nice! That works just fine for most situations

Beware buying old selenium cell (ie: batteryless) light meters - the meter loses linearity when it gets old & becomes hopelessly inaccurate. And it’s not something that can be recalibrated. Old selenium cell light meters basically become paper weights 🤦🏼‍♂️

Spotmeter+learn middle grey technique.

5:37 end of video.......

Once you notice the biceps, you can't unnotice them. 😂🏳️‍🌈