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I just got my 1 medium format a Hasselblad 500c, no light meter on it so i am in the search of a good & affordable spot meter...

any recomendations are higly appreciated...dont know much about spot meters...

thanks

J. García

Choice of meter depends on what you intend to do with it, tell us a bit more

planning on using it with a flash at all? If youre NOT, the old fashioned needle kind work great. If you want to use it with a flash though, its a whole new ballgame.

No flash intended, mostly portrait, landscape and documentary.
old fasioned meaning what kind? brand or style ? again dont know much about spot meters, just have a rough idea on how they work.

thanks

Without seeing your work it becomes difficult to recc anything.

If you don't have any handheld meter, I suggest that you consider a combination spot/incident meter like the Sekonic 558. That has an advantage over the older 508 because you can see the reading while looking through the finder. Both the 558 and the 508 can be used for flash. The 508 has an advantage that it can be used with the Minolta Booster II, which extends its usefulness, but I don't think that that makes up for the lack of a reading in the viewfinder. Both spot and incident metering have thier advantages and disadvantages - neither one is 'best' all-round. (All this is just my opinion, of course)

I also use a Pentax Digital and a Minolta F. They are both good meters. The Minolta has the best readout (in my opinion) and can be used for flash. However, it isn't the best performer near the low limit of its sensitivity.

The comparatively new Pocket Spot from Metered Light has had some good reviews, though I have not used one so I'm only going by what I've read. It is supposed to have very good spectral response (ie it isn't easily 'fooled' by coloured objects) and good linearity. I don't think that it measures flash.

Best,
Helen

Perhaps I should have added that if you are on a tight budget an incident meter might be a better option.

Sekonic does put out some good meters, could probably pick up one used. They are workhorses so last a long time. Don't need new, state of the art for a meter.

Congrats on your Hassie, they are so GOOD, I used one for years. Also no built in meter. After years of experience you'll be able to guesstimate in a lot of situations.

Good luck on your search.
Lori :)

Ansel Adams used a Pentax spotmeter, so i went out and bought one. I've never regretted it ... It's just a great meter!

Kevin

thanks for the suggestion really appreciate the feed back.

Helen when u say incident meaning which kind. I am faily new at this meter thing.

Indent is the light reflected from the subject?

thanks again.

"Incident is the light reflected from the subject?"

The other way round. Incident light is the light falling on the subject. At first glance, this might seem like the wrong way to measure exposure - after all, it is the reflected light (the light reflected from the subject) that makes the exposure.

Incident light metering works because most materials have a fairly limited range of reflectivity. The advantages over reflected light metering are mainly because incident metering avoids problems with spectral response and flare/receptor angle. It's also a very simple, rapid method. Reflected light meters can be fooled by the colour of the subject, especially if the subject is reflecting a lot of infrared light but very little visible light. The meter is probably more more sensitive to the IR than the film is. That's just an extreme example. Spot meters aren't perfect - they often suffer from flare.

There are a few ways of using incident meters. I could go into them later, and explain more if you wish.

Simple reflected light meters can be used in a way that is equivalent to incident metering by reading the light coming from a known reflector - like the palm of your hand or a grey or white card.

There are times when it doesn't work well - where light is reflected directly into the camera (specular reflection) from metallic or liquid surfaces, for example; or where the subject is trans-illuminated (like stained glass windows). Another situation is when trying to meter for distant shadows - say under trees. You can measure the exposure for near shadows, but aerial haze will affect the luminance of distant shadows. That's when a spotmeter is useful, but you can also estimate the compensation for these lighting effects.

Ask if anything is unclear, or if you want more explanation.

Best,
Helen

Yeah, I forgot something fairly important. There's one type of subject where nothing but a spot meter will work well: when you can't get close to the subject, or can't read the light falling on the subject. Classic example: live theatre. Have a look at the wayang performers in my SE Asia portfolio. I couldn't have metered that so precisely (for pushed slide film, which is quite demanding in terms of accurate exposure) without a spot meter. Neither incident nor broad-angle reflective metering would have worked so well.

However, in very low light a spotmeter won't work - for ultimate sensitivity you need a broad-angle reflective meter.

Best,
Helen

I use the Konica Minolta Auto Meter VF , measuring flash light and ambient light.
can reads Incidental and Reflected light with attachments and Flash with or without sync cord
ISO: 3 to 8000 in 1/3 stop inc... , I prefer hand held meters than depending on the camera meter .look for this meter on the net and you might like having it within your camera gears. Beast regards my friend ..

so I got myself a pentax spot meter V. I will be posting some results on my porfolio eventually

Thanks a lot for all the help and the best in 2006 for all of you!

Ayan M.	Yamil S.	Mostafa T.	Tim S.	Dolle .	a. S.	Robert C.	Jean-Francois B.

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