Up to now, I have always used my in camera metering to expose my images. I was just wondering about an after market light meter. Are they more acurate and would they be worth the expense. If so what brand/model would be the right choice. I wouldn't be looking for something with a lot of bells and whistles so to speak. But if it would improve my exposures, I would be interested.
Depending on your camera, the in camera metering system is extremely sophisticated and capable of providing precise, accurate exposures. However, in situations where the brightness range of the scene exceeds the capabilities of the camera sensor's dynamic range, you will have to make some tradeoffs. When shooting a such a scene you want to make a decision about how much of the hightlight detail you want to retain. The in-camera histogram view will be your saving grace, showing you what is overexposed. Some cameras, like the Nikon D200, D2X and others, will show overexposured areas as blinking from black to white. Then you can make an informed decision about how much detail you want to keep.
With a manual meter you can pretty much do the same thing, provided you are using a spot meter. With a 1 degree spot meter you can individually view and measure specific areas of your scene and check what the brightness range is and where you want to set your exposure.
It is extremely useful to read about and learn Ansel Adam's Zone System, or read any of the material from Zone VI workshop, to better understand how light meters are calibrated and how to interpret the information they provide. Put simply, a light meter will measure the light that it sees making no interpretation. If you read a white card, a gray card or a black card in the same light, each card will provide a different reading, with the white card reflecting the most. The light meter will read that, and provide a series of shutter speed/aperture combinations for each. However, the light meter is calibrated to provide a reading to give you a neutral (50% gray) value in your exposure. If you follow the reading without interpretation, each image taken with these readings will give you a 50% gray image. You, as the photographer, have to add exposure (larger lens opening/slower shutter speed) to make the white card appear white, or the opposite for the black card. This is an oversimplification, but the spot meter, whether the in camera one or a separate handheld one is an extremely useful tool to help you evaluate exposures, but you need to have a clear understanding of how to interpret what it tells you against what your intent is for the photograph. I hope this helps.
However, the light meter is calibrated to provide a reading to give you a neutral (50% gray) value in your exposure.
Actually, neutral gray is 18% but Gene is otherwise correct. Any exposure meter, whether spot or average will give you exposure coordinates which will render what it sees as neutral gray on your film. If you are using a spot meter you can determine the dynamic range of your scene and choose where, in the scale of steps from black to white, you want to place a given brightness tone. If you are using an average or multi pattern meter it will take into account the whole dynamic range of your scene and give you exposure recomendations which are a compromise, (or "average") of that dynamic range. The reason that average meters work reasonably well is that your average nature scene will usually mix down to 18% gray and an average meter is calibrated to accomodate that fact. But thay can be easily fooled.
A good working understanding of the Zone System is invaluable, however, it must be condensed for the shorter dynamic range of color tranparency films and digital sensors. I've modified my zone system to accomodate a 7 stop range in 1/2 stop incriments.
I was thinking a Photoshop median value of 50%, not reflectance, which of course would be 18%.
But the most important thing to consider is the dynamic range of the medium vs the intent. B&W film can be made to recover as much as 12 stops of dynamic range by manipulating ISO, developer concentration and time in the soup. Color reversal film is less forgiving, at about 7-8 stops if developed according to plan, less if the ISO is pushed. Digital sensors are even worse, with the best of them offering only 6-7 stops dynamic range. When shooting B&W negatives, keeping in mind that even if you overexpose the highlights one can "burn them in" during the enlargement process, one targets the exposures to grab as much shadow detail as possible. So, typically the photographer looks for the darkest part of the scene that he wants detail in, measures it carefully, and underexposes 3-4 stops from what the meter suggests in order to build up enough silver on the negative to render some detail.
When shooting reversal media, and especially with digital sensors, it is important to not overexpose important highlight information, so it is important to measure the lightest areas and only overexpose them by 2-3 stops at the maximum. Any higher and you risk losing all highlight detail.
If you are using a raw workflow, it is usually not that difficult to recover shadow areas correct gamma to give you a reasonable image, but under most circumstances, once the hightlights are blown, they are gone.
Some classic examples of difficult metering situations:
If you are photographing a head and shoulder shot with strong backlight, but do not care about detail in the background and don't have the ability to add fill light to the subject, you are going to ignore an average or matrix meter reading, which takes into consideration the background, and concentrate on the face. Most anglo saxon faces will reflect about one stop more light (making it a zone 6), meaning you will have to adjust an exposure reading taken exclusively from the face area by one stop - either by enlaring the lens opening or by decreasing the shutter speed.
Another classic meter-fooling scenario is when you are taking a pic of a boat on the water with the sun to the rear of the scene, but not necessarily in the frame. There are many specular highlights off the waves that will make the meter read more light than there is. Using even the most sophisticated in camera metering system whill usually result in moderately to severely underexposed images. In such situations the dynamic range can exceed 15 stops, so the photographer makes a conscious decision to add several stops of exposure to balance out the scene, thus blowing out the water highlights entirely, since they are not important.
Fireworks, night scenes with small strongly lit regions, people wearing white shirts, etc all require experience to arrive at the optimum camera settings.
So the bottom line is if you decide to forego the in-camera meter, the only alternative that would make any sense would be a narrow angle spotmeter, such as the Pentax, Minolta or Gossen. But be prepared to spend between $225 for used and as much as $700 for a new one.
When I used to shoot film, my Minolta gave me incredible accuracy, but now that I use a D200, the matrix metering is so accurate for the majority of pictures, and the spot meter is sufficiently narrow enough to give me the rough equivalent of the Minolta in those settings where I need to fine tune things a bit - I find there is no need for an external meter anymore.
Here are a couple of ways I use a handheld meter in nature shooting Chris:
I do a lot of lighting for macro- both strobe and reflectors. I've got a small "sensor wand" for my handheld, which is also a strobe meter. With the wand I can monitor and control the lighting as effectively as I do on a large set with multiple lights in our studio. Even without the strobes in a particular shot, the meter setup is invaluable for adjusting reflectors when I want a particular lighting ratio on a subject.
Another important use for me is a little more obscure, but nonetheless invaluable. Hope I can explain it clearly. When working with long lenses and wildlife such as bears or white birds that require exposure compensation, if the light is changing often and rapidly exposure can be a bugger to keep up with. That's because the correct exposure for the subject is not at the center of the metering scale you see through the viewfinder. When you're exposed correctly for the subject your camera's meter will tell you that you're over- or under-exposed. I note the difference between what my camera is saying and the incident reading I get with my handheld (when I'm in the same light). Then I simply use my handheld to monitor the lighting changes, dialing the changes into my camera as they occur without regard for what its meter is telling me. That may sound complicated, but it's the height of simplicity for challenging lighting.
And here's a use for the spot meter in a handheld, along the lines that others have noted. In critically composed shots, you simply can't be swinging the camera around to use its spot meter to monitor lighting changes. Once the shot is composed I lock down my tripod and rely on the handheld to monitor light changes, which can be a terrific boon when light conditions are changing or when you're trying to capture action within your critically composed shot.
In a nutshell, I can get by without the handheld for most nature shooting, but it makes life a lot easier in challenging situations. But when I mix in strobe and/or reflectors to modify a scene, I can't live without it. It's another tool- useful to some and an advantage in some situations, but not all photographers and all situations.
With the number of posts you have, it is hard to tell how much experience you have. I am going to assume very little, so if I am wrong, feel free to tell me that! I'd rather assume too little than too much.
With any meter, whether in-camera or handheld, you still will need to learn how to use it and more importantly, know how to override what it is telling you. If you have not been shooting for very long, one of the harder things to learn is how to read a scene.
Starting with the cameras built in meter: Are there bright highlights which will fool a camera meter into underexposure? Light yellows or pinks that will require +1 exposure compensation? How about dark blues or blacks that will require -1, maybe -1.5 stops of correction? How about lots of whites and blacks, will average to 0 compensation, but you need to keep detail in one of them? Finally, how does your camera react to this? I have found that my EOS 3 has the best metering of the cameras I own, while my 20D and Elan 7 need more user input to override. If you are just starting out, understanding how tones affect the metering will go a long way towards getting the exposure right.
If you are using digital, do you understand how to use the histogram to aid in judging exposure? It is not perfect, but it might be a tool you already have.
With handheld meters, if you are using reflective metering, you will still need to understand everything in the paragraph about the camera's metering. They are great tools, but if you read off of the wrong surface, or don't understand tones, you'll stick be stuck on getting the correct exposure.
Incident metering, handheld, is probably my favorite mode because it is far less influenced by errors in judging tones. You meter the light falling on the subject, so reflective surfaces, light tones or dark tones won't affect things. This isn't always the mode you can use though. For example, if you are shooting across a lake at sunrise and are standing in the shadow of a hill, while the other side is lit by the sun, incident metering where I am standing will be completely off. Running to the other side isn't an option. Yes, this has happened to me, so I still have to fall back on my camera's meter or using reflective on the handheld.
Now, I realize that in some respects, this is at odds with Hank's advice. But he is also absolutely correct, because I know he has the experience to understand what the metered reading means and when/how/if to override it.
I suppose the primary consideration here is this: How good is your understanding of exposure? Can you, without much conscious thought as to why, correctly override your camera's meter? If yes, get the handheld meter. It will make a great additional tool in your kit, for exactly the reasons Hank talks about. If not, I think you might get a lot out of trying to understand your camera, tonalities and exposure.
Again, I apologize if I have underestimated your knowledge and experience, but if not you, then there is probably someone else reading this thread this would apply to.
Hi,
Thank you so much for the detailed explanations. I'm sorry about the lack of info provided in my question. I use a D200, I only shoot landscape and wildlife images. I don't have much experience, but occasionally I get it right. I work 6 days aweek 10-12 hour days in the constuction field. So it is near impossible for me to try and take some courses. I have been tying to teach myself as I go. Most of the difficulties I experience are with sunrise /sunset situations. I use GND's, but still get a lot of "hot spots' in the sky and amongst the clouds. I have seensimilar images where these situations are acceptably under control. I have just recently stated using the matrix metering and multy pattern in my camera. I did not know about how different tones require plus or minus exposure compensation, that is something I will read more about. I hope this additional info helps.
I think a lot of exposure questions you have might be answered in the Nature Photography 101 series of articles here on NPN. Lots of useful info and techniques there!
Chris, I too have the D200 and find the matrix metering incredibly accurate and for most scenes very simple. Just check the histogram and keep the exposure as bright as possible but without clipping the highlights. I find that many times I have to overexpose +2/3 to +1 to reach this exposure value.
Discussion
11 repliesThanks,
Chris
Tell us more!
Depending on your camera, the in camera metering system is extremely sophisticated and capable of providing precise, accurate exposures. However, in situations where the brightness range of the scene exceeds the capabilities of the camera sensor's dynamic range, you will have to make some tradeoffs. When shooting a such a scene you want to make a decision about how much of the hightlight detail you want to retain. The in-camera histogram view will be your saving grace, showing you what is overexposed. Some cameras, like the Nikon D200, D2X and others, will show overexposured areas as blinking from black to white. Then you can make an informed decision about how much detail you want to keep.
With a manual meter you can pretty much do the same thing, provided you are using a spot meter. With a 1 degree spot meter you can individually view and measure specific areas of your scene and check what the brightness range is and where you want to set your exposure.
It is extremely useful to read about and learn Ansel Adam's Zone System, or read any of the material from Zone VI workshop, to better understand how light meters are calibrated and how to interpret the information they provide. Put simply, a light meter will measure the light that it sees making no interpretation. If you read a white card, a gray card or a black card in the same light, each card will provide a different reading, with the white card reflecting the most. The light meter will read that, and provide a series of shutter speed/aperture combinations for each. However, the light meter is calibrated to provide a reading to give you a neutral (50% gray) value in your exposure. If you follow the reading without interpretation, each image taken with these readings will give you a 50% gray image. You, as the photographer, have to add exposure (larger lens opening/slower shutter speed) to make the white card appear white, or the opposite for the black card. This is an oversimplification, but the spot meter, whether the in camera one or a separate handheld one is an extremely useful tool to help you evaluate exposures, but you need to have a clear understanding of how to interpret what it tells you against what your intent is for the photograph. I hope this helps.
Gene
Actually, neutral gray is 18% but Gene is otherwise correct. Any exposure meter, whether spot or average will give you exposure coordinates which will render what it sees as neutral gray on your film. If you are using a spot meter you can determine the dynamic range of your scene and choose where, in the scale of steps from black to white, you want to place a given brightness tone. If you are using an average or multi pattern meter it will take into account the whole dynamic range of your scene and give you exposure recomendations which are a compromise, (or "average") of that dynamic range. The reason that average meters work reasonably well is that your average nature scene will usually mix down to 18% gray and an average meter is calibrated to accomodate that fact. But thay can be easily fooled.
A good working understanding of the Zone System is invaluable, however, it must be condensed for the shorter dynamic range of color tranparency films and digital sensors. I've modified my zone system to accomodate a 7 stop range in 1/2 stop incriments.
Bob
I was thinking a Photoshop median value of 50%, not reflectance, which of course would be 18%.
But the most important thing to consider is the dynamic range of the medium vs the intent. B&W film can be made to recover as much as 12 stops of dynamic range by manipulating ISO, developer concentration and time in the soup. Color reversal film is less forgiving, at about 7-8 stops if developed according to plan, less if the ISO is pushed. Digital sensors are even worse, with the best of them offering only 6-7 stops dynamic range. When shooting B&W negatives, keeping in mind that even if you overexpose the highlights one can "burn them in" during the enlargement process, one targets the exposures to grab as much shadow detail as possible. So, typically the photographer looks for the darkest part of the scene that he wants detail in, measures it carefully, and underexposes 3-4 stops from what the meter suggests in order to build up enough silver on the negative to render some detail.
When shooting reversal media, and especially with digital sensors, it is important to not overexpose important highlight information, so it is important to measure the lightest areas and only overexpose them by 2-3 stops at the maximum. Any higher and you risk losing all highlight detail.
If you are using a raw workflow, it is usually not that difficult to recover shadow areas correct gamma to give you a reasonable image, but under most circumstances, once the hightlights are blown, they are gone.
Some classic examples of difficult metering situations:
If you are photographing a head and shoulder shot with strong backlight, but do not care about detail in the background and don't have the ability to add fill light to the subject, you are going to ignore an average or matrix meter reading, which takes into consideration the background, and concentrate on the face. Most anglo saxon faces will reflect about one stop more light (making it a zone 6), meaning you will have to adjust an exposure reading taken exclusively from the face area by one stop - either by enlaring the lens opening or by decreasing the shutter speed.
Another classic meter-fooling scenario is when you are taking a pic of a boat on the water with the sun to the rear of the scene, but not necessarily in the frame. There are many specular highlights off the waves that will make the meter read more light than there is. Using even the most sophisticated in camera metering system whill usually result in moderately to severely underexposed images. In such situations the dynamic range can exceed 15 stops, so the photographer makes a conscious decision to add several stops of exposure to balance out the scene, thus blowing out the water highlights entirely, since they are not important.
Fireworks, night scenes with small strongly lit regions, people wearing white shirts, etc all require experience to arrive at the optimum camera settings.
So the bottom line is if you decide to forego the in-camera meter, the only alternative that would make any sense would be a narrow angle spotmeter, such as the Pentax, Minolta or Gossen. But be prepared to spend between $225 for used and as much as $700 for a new one.
When I used to shoot film, my Minolta gave me incredible accuracy, but now that I use a D200, the matrix metering is so accurate for the majority of pictures, and the spot meter is sufficiently narrow enough to give me the rough equivalent of the Minolta in those settings where I need to fine tune things a bit - I find there is no need for an external meter anymore.
I do a lot of lighting for macro- both strobe and reflectors. I've got a small "sensor wand" for my handheld, which is also a strobe meter. With the wand I can monitor and control the lighting as effectively as I do on a large set with multiple lights in our studio. Even without the strobes in a particular shot, the meter setup is invaluable for adjusting reflectors when I want a particular lighting ratio on a subject.
Another important use for me is a little more obscure, but nonetheless invaluable. Hope I can explain it clearly. When working with long lenses and wildlife such as bears or white birds that require exposure compensation, if the light is changing often and rapidly exposure can be a bugger to keep up with. That's because the correct exposure for the subject is not at the center of the metering scale you see through the viewfinder. When you're exposed correctly for the subject your camera's meter will tell you that you're over- or under-exposed. I note the difference between what my camera is saying and the incident reading I get with my handheld (when I'm in the same light). Then I simply use my handheld to monitor the lighting changes, dialing the changes into my camera as they occur without regard for what its meter is telling me. That may sound complicated, but it's the height of simplicity for challenging lighting.
And here's a use for the spot meter in a handheld, along the lines that others have noted. In critically composed shots, you simply can't be swinging the camera around to use its spot meter to monitor lighting changes. Once the shot is composed I lock down my tripod and rely on the handheld to monitor light changes, which can be a terrific boon when light conditions are changing or when you're trying to capture action within your critically composed shot.
In a nutshell, I can get by without the handheld for most nature shooting, but it makes life a lot easier in challenging situations. But when I mix in strobe and/or reflectors to modify a scene, I can't live without it. It's another tool- useful to some and an advantage in some situations, but not all photographers and all situations.
With any meter, whether in-camera or handheld, you still will need to learn how to use it and more importantly, know how to override what it is telling you. If you have not been shooting for very long, one of the harder things to learn is how to read a scene.
Starting with the cameras built in meter: Are there bright highlights which will fool a camera meter into underexposure? Light yellows or pinks that will require +1 exposure compensation? How about dark blues or blacks that will require -1, maybe -1.5 stops of correction? How about lots of whites and blacks, will average to 0 compensation, but you need to keep detail in one of them? Finally, how does your camera react to this? I have found that my EOS 3 has the best metering of the cameras I own, while my 20D and Elan 7 need more user input to override. If you are just starting out, understanding how tones affect the metering will go a long way towards getting the exposure right.
If you are using digital, do you understand how to use the histogram to aid in judging exposure? It is not perfect, but it might be a tool you already have.
With handheld meters, if you are using reflective metering, you will still need to understand everything in the paragraph about the camera's metering. They are great tools, but if you read off of the wrong surface, or don't understand tones, you'll stick be stuck on getting the correct exposure.
Incident metering, handheld, is probably my favorite mode because it is far less influenced by errors in judging tones. You meter the light falling on the subject, so reflective surfaces, light tones or dark tones won't affect things. This isn't always the mode you can use though. For example, if you are shooting across a lake at sunrise and are standing in the shadow of a hill, while the other side is lit by the sun, incident metering where I am standing will be completely off. Running to the other side isn't an option. Yes, this has happened to me, so I still have to fall back on my camera's meter or using reflective on the handheld.
Now, I realize that in some respects, this is at odds with Hank's advice. But he is also absolutely correct, because I know he has the experience to understand what the metered reading means and when/how/if to override it.
I suppose the primary consideration here is this: How good is your understanding of exposure? Can you, without much conscious thought as to why, correctly override your camera's meter? If yes, get the handheld meter. It will make a great additional tool in your kit, for exactly the reasons Hank talks about. If not, I think you might get a lot out of trying to understand your camera, tonalities and exposure.
Again, I apologize if I have underestimated your knowledge and experience, but if not you, then there is probably someone else reading this thread this would apply to.
Thank you so much for the detailed explanations. I'm sorry about the lack of info provided in my question. I use a D200, I only shoot landscape and wildlife images. I don't have much experience, but occasionally I get it right. I work 6 days aweek 10-12 hour days in the constuction field. So it is near impossible for me to try and take some courses. I have been tying to teach myself as I go. Most of the difficulties I experience are with sunrise /sunset situations. I use GND's, but still get a lot of "hot spots' in the sky and amongst the clouds. I have seensimilar images where these situations are acceptably under control. I have just recently stated using the matrix metering and multy pattern in my camera. I did not know about how different tones require plus or minus exposure compensation, that is something I will read more about. I hope this additional info helps.
Thanks Chris
I think a lot of exposure questions you have might be answered in the Nature Photography 101 series of articles here on NPN. Lots of useful info and techniques there!