In-Camera Metering or Hand Meter.

[Richard Mc Donald]

With today's modern cameras and their in-built metering is there any real need to use a hand meter?

Thanks
Richard

Edit: I should have said benefit instead of need.

[Roger Clark]

Richard,

In my opinion, no. I used to use a hand held meter with large format. Then I switched to a 35 mm (film) SLR for metering the 4x5 and taking 35mm slides as backupo to the 4x5 (or 8x10). Then I switched to DSLR for metering. Then I dropped large format film (most of the time) and now only do digital. -- Just my opinion.

Roger

[Charlie Woodrich]

Yes, I use my hand held meter frequently. The camera mearsures reflected light and the hand held meter measures the light falling on the subject (ambient). When the light is even/constant (no clouds moving in and out) the hand held meter will provide you a more accurate exposure settings. I find it particularly useful when photographing very white or very dark subjects.

[Doug Brown]

Depends on your application. Not so easy to do for birds.

[Don Lacy]

Depends on your application. Not so easy to do for birds.

Subject matter makes no difference since you are reading the light falling on the subject and shooting in manual mode. As long as the subject is in the same light as the meter it does not matter if it is a bird a car or an alien from space.

[Alfred Forns]

Just use the Camera meter and works well With varying bg just get the basic exposure and go manual, Don has a strong point there !!!! ... still looking for my first saucer but confident will nail it Don !!!

[Richard Mc Donald]

Thanks for everyone's response, I''ll stick with in-camera.

Reason for asking is I've have a brand new Sekonic tucked away in the cupboard that I'd forgotten about along with all the other gizmos I've purchased over the years. :)

[James Shadle]

Don - isn't this the problem? "As long as the subject is in the same light as the meter it does not matter if it is a bird a car or an alien from space."
If you are photographing a bird in flight and the light changes, you do not have time to pull out the hand held and get a meter reading.

Chuck - camera mearsures reflected light and the hand held meter measures the light falling on the subject.
Most modern hand held meters will measure reflected light( starting at 1degree and >) as well as falling light.
However, using a hand held to measure reflected light would be silly.

In bird photography reaction time is a factor. While a hand held meter measuring the light falling on a subject is more accurate, you may miss the shot trying to use it.
Understanding how tonality or reflectivity affects your camera's meter is vital.
Learn and understand the sunny 16 rule. With practice you will be surprised how accurate your camera's meter can be - strike that, how accurate you can be.

Now for landscapes or other static subject, viva la the hand held!

[Don Lacy]

Don - isn't this the problem? "As long as the subject is in the same light as the meter it does not matter if it is a bird a car or an alien from space."
If you are photographing a bird in flight and the light changes, you do not have time to pull out the hand held and get a meter reading.

Subject matter does not matter the lighting condition determines the metering mode I use not the subject. If the light is inconsistent or changing I will be in aperture using evaluative metering if the lighting condition is consistent I will be in manual after setting the exposure I want to use. Last time I checked most BIF shooters use manual so the changing BG does not affect their exposure. So I stand by my tongue in cheek statement shooting condition should determine metering mode not subject a good photographer should be well versed in all metering modes and use the one that best suits the situation in front of him at that given time.

[Charlie Woodrich]

Jimmy,

Chuck - camera mearsures reflected light and the hand held meter measures the light falling on the subject.
Most modern hand held meters will measure reflected light( starting at 1degree and >) as well as falling light. But predominantly ambient light.
However, using a hand held to measure reflected light would be silly. Did I ever suggest this? If I wanted to measure reflected light I would use the spot meter on the camera.
In bird photography reaction time is a factor. While a hand held meter measuring the light falling on a subject is more accurate, you may miss the shot trying to use it. I said if the light is constant. Understanding how tonality or reflectivity affects your camera's meter is vital.
Learn and understand the sunny 16 rule. With practice you will be surprised how accurate your camera's meter can be - strike that, how accurate you can be.

Now for landscapes or other static subject, viva la the hand held![/QUOTE]

[Desmond Chan]

With today's modern cameras and their in-built metering is there any real need to use a hand meter?

Thanks
Richard

Edit: I should have said benefit instead of need.

Here are links of one photog explaining why a hand-held meter is still useful:

http://www.doorhof.nl/blog/index.php?topic=1999.0

http://www.doorhof.nl/blog/index.php?topic=1674.0

[Desmond Chan]

If you are photographing a bird in flight and the light changes, you do not have time to pull out the hand held and get a meter reading.

What people do is to get the exposure reading first while waiting/observing the birds. Taking test shots help, too. That's what I do. I use manual exposure mode all the time, flight shots or not. Not that it's better, just old habit dies hard :) And I tend to use hand-held incident light meter when shooting close-up/macro floral shots.

[COLOR=Black] Understanding how tonality or reflectivity affects your camera's meter is vital.
Learn and understand the sunny 16 rule. With practice you will be surprised how accurate your camera's meter can be - strike that, how accurate you can be.

True that. Many folks these days just rely on the in-camera meter...you know, the "hey if my camera takes a tons of sampling points to get to the exposure reading it must be accurate, right?" :D Nothing's wrong with that but just sometimes it doesn't work that well. :)

[James Shadle]

"But predominantly ambient light."

Incident light.

[Charles Glatzer]

Subject matter does not matter the lighting condition determines the metering mode I use not the subject. If the light is inconsistent or changing I will be in aperture using evaluative metering if the lighting condition is consistent I will be in manual after setting the exposure I want to use. Last time I checked most BIF shooters use manual so the changing BG does not affect their exposure. So I stand by my tongue in cheek statement shooting condition should determine metering mode not subject a good photographer should be well versed in all metering modes and use the one that best suits the situation in front of him at that given time.

;)

Yes, you can absolutely get along without a hand-held meter in the digital world; the hand-held meter being simply another tool or "crayon in the box", if you will. However, while not the end all, the hand-held meter can prove extremely beneficial if one wishes to learn reference values, simplifying exposure, helping you learn how the different in-camera meter patterns “see” light and tone relative to the mid-tone. Knowing how far from the null point (mid-tone) your meter pattern in use recommends from the correct exposure can prove invaluable in the field. The hand-held meter helps many to quickly learn Equivalent Exposure Values. The hand-held meter when used/oriented correctly can offer a higher degree of exposure consistency and accuracy to beginning photographers. Most hand-held meters offer flash metering capability, another asset onto itself.

“The key to metering and becoming a better photographer is to be Pro-Active, setting the proper exposure in-camera before the decisive moment occurs.”

Often in wildlife photography my exposure is not set in-camera for where the subject is currently, but rather where the subject will be at the time I wish to capture the image.

Knowing how each Meter Pattern (Eva/Matrix, Center and Spot, Incident) works in conjunction with Shooting Modes (Av, Tv, Manual) affords the photographer superior exposure control. The AE lock button is not used by most wildlife photographers using Av Mode, yet it is extremely beneficial in many circumstances.

Truthfully, I say, embrace technology; use all the tools at your disposal, be it viewing the LCD panel, Histogram, Live-Preview, or Hand-held (incident) metering.

Knowledge is power.

Chas

[Sabyasachi Patra]

;)

“The key to metering and becoming a better photographer is to be Pro-Active, setting the proper exposure in-camera before the decisive moment occurs.”

Often in wildlife photography my exposure is not set in-camera for where the subject is currently, but rather where the subject will be at the time I wish to capture the image.

Knowing how each Meter Pattern (Eva/Matrix, Center and Spot, Incident) works in conjunction with Shooting Modes (Av, Tv, Manual) affords the photographer superior exposure control. The AE lock button is not used by most wildlife photographers using Av Mode, yet it is extremely beneficial in many circumstances.

Truthfully, I say, embrace technology; use all the tools at your disposal, be it viewing the LCD panel, Histogram, Live-Preview, or Hand-held (incident) metering.

Knowledge is power.

Chas

I agree with Chas that the learning curve is faster with a handheld lightmeter. However, I would not suggest someone to use it. It is better to know the exposure theory and use incamera metering and histogram. With tons of equipment to carry, I wish to reduce rather than add items.

I am not sure, that there are many photographers who wait for the animal to move into an area with pleasing elements and light. That would require knowledge of animal behaviour as well.

Alfred: I have been looking for a flying saucer since my childhood. No luck yet. :) I am not sure whether I will remember to photograph.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Charles Glatzer]

I agree with Chas that the learning curve is faster with a handheld lightmeter. However, I would not suggest someone to use it. It is better to know the exposure theory and use incamera metering and histogram. With tons of equipment to carry, I wish to reduce rather than add items.

I am not sure, that there are many photographers who wait for the animal to move into an area with pleasing elements and light. That would require knowledge of animal behaviour as well.

Alfred: I have been looking for a flying saucer since my childhood. No luck yet. :) I am not sure whether I will remember to photograph.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

Actually, it may be as simple as the animal moving from sun toward shade. Proactive, may mean taking a reading in both sun and shade or under cloud cover prior to depressing the shutter. Eliminating the guesswork is critical to consistency, however the exposure is derived.

Better...hmmm, under certain circumstances I would suggest one tool may be more advantageous than the other. It is quite often about how fast a photog can assess the scene and light before him/her and set the in-camera parameters necessary to capture the image. IMO, the "better" tool is the one that allows the photographer to capture the image as desired. My suggestion above was to use the incident meter to get a better grasp of how your in-camera meter works relative to mid-tones. In-camera histograms are not the end all in judging critical exposure.

BTW- nowadays I mostly use spot metering in-camera, unless conditions dictate otherwise ;)

Chas

[Jeff Cashdollar]

I like to user a HH light meter on occasion. John Shaw used them as well and thought they were perfect for some pictures when he and the subject were in the same light.
John Shaw's
Focus On Nature
(p55)

[Michael Pancier]

FWIW, for taking photos using strobes as main light or in mixed light, esp. for portraits I swear by the hand meter; so if you ever do non-nature/wildlife work, you may find it useful. For nature work, I only use it (if its with me) to check my settings in difficult light; or for macro work (esp. for set up shots). Mine is used primarily as a flash meter when triggering strobes for adjusting flash / light ratios.