How often do you use a light meter

[bowieknife]

Whenever I shoot with an old meterless camera, I have a handheld meter ready. Something like the compact Gossen Sixtino, easily fits any pocket.
Most often I just take an incident light measure, and shoot with the choosen shutter/aperture combination as long as the light remains about the same.
No need outside to measure each subject individually, except when suddenly a cloud covers the sun etc, then of course I take a fresh reading.

[zerobuttons]

Originally Posted by Chriscrawfordphoto

Its pretty overpriced for what it is: a 50 year old design with very poor low-light sensitivity. For the same price, you can get a good modern digital meter that reads in much lower light, can read flash if needed, and is more accurate.
One of the modern Sekonic models that have built-in spotmeters as well as incident light metering are very good, and available for good prices used.

Since I have exactly the same thoughts as Seakayaker1, I have acquired a Sekonic L-398A Studio Deluxe III. I agree with Chris that it´s price tag may not be justified. On the other hand, people have owned these (previous versions) for decades and still use them, and the current version comes with a photo cell that ought to last even longer than the Selenium cell in the previous versions.
I chose to start out with the L-398A since I have not "grown up" with external light metering and wanted to learn things from scratch - and I like the fact that it doesn´t need a battery.

And to answer the OP´s question: always - so far with the camera´s built-in meter.

[kingqueenknave]

Pretty often with the MP and M7. Never or almost never with the M2. I'm comfortable with the Sunny 16 rule. I look at the in-camera meter and frame lines as guides, never relying on them too much. Handheld meters aren't all that helpful for me as I tend to shoot outdoors and like to maintain a pretty quick pace.

[Jonathan Paul]

I use a light meter every time I use film instead of digital. I get the best results that way.

[Oren Grad]

It depends. Almost always use the built-in meter in digital cameras, often use it in film cameras. With a meterless film camera I almost always just wing it - except for large format cameras, where I almost always use a meter.

It's important to add that I use only negative film. If I were shooting slide film I'd always be using a meter.

[cjbecker]

All the cameras that I use, do not have built in light meters. I use a handheld for less then half the shots that I take. I meter at the beginning of the shoot and when the sun changes I meter again. I normally meter a couple times during a shoot. Im good at guestimating exposure.

[andredossantos]

Originally Posted by Chriscrawfordphoto

I ALWAYS use a meter. Why bother guessing? I need my photos to come out perfectly, and guessing doesn't do that. Sometimes, it does, but that's luck, not consistency.

OTOH, being able to set exposure without a meter is very possible and in that case it is certainly not "guessing". I have a system that I've been using for several years that requires no meter and it works, even with slides. I rarely misjudge and blow an exposure in any light condition. Don't get me wrong, it took a whole lot of practice to get it down, just saying it's possible.

[cjbecker]

Originally Posted by andredossantos

OTOH, being able to set exposure without a meter is very possible and in that case it is certainly not "guessing". I have a system that I've been using for several years that requires no meter and it works, even with slides. I rarely misjudge and blow an exposure in any light condition. Don't get me wrong, it took a whole lot of practice to get it down, just saying it's possible.

Whats the system?

[andredossantos]

It's something I came up with myself. Im not even sure how to verbalized it and putting it in a post would take a long time.

Basically, I started with sunny 16 and came up with a way to extend it to any light condition.

[Cyriljay]

All my Cameras Have built-in meters which are very reliable . So I don't have any worries!

[mathiasprinz]

Originally Posted by jsrockit

I always use a meter unless I don't have time to... then I guess.

Thats my approach.

[umcelinho]

why no "never" answer?

[c.poulton]

Originally Posted by seakayaker1

I use the meter in the M9, M6TTL, and MP, so it would be all/most of the time.

I am picking up a Rolliflex and do plan on purchasing a light meter. Was thinking about a Sekonic L-398A Studio Deluxe III, any thoughts?

I love my Studio Deluxe - paired with my M2 I am totally battery free - quite liberating when travelling to remote areas. (I have been caught out a few times with unavailability of batteries or spares that are dead when using a metered camera)

As regards low light - yes have to agree with Chris, it's not so good. I tend to increase the exposure by a stop or two indoors when it's very dark, depending upon the light, this usually works out OK.

When I had my IIIf a few years back I used to use sunny 16 all the time with fairly good results, however I now feel more comfortable using a hand held meter to check the exposure every now and then, or for difficult lighting conditions.

[Damaso]

Maybe only once or twice a shoot but when I need it, I need it...

http://blog.sekonic.com/2009/12/14/d...-fundamentals/

[DGA]

About half the time.

When shooting with my M6 outdoor I mostly use sunny 16, and when indoors I do one or two readings and shoot all frames accordingly, compensating if I feel it requires.
I use an external light-meter.

On digital, this is a different story, since the metering is there all the time.

[Erik van Straten]

I like to work without a meter. To think about the exposure gives me a kind of concentration on the picture.

Erik.

[swoop]

I use the meter in my camera to give me an idea of exposure but never trust the thing.

I use a handheld meter whenever I use flash.

[jippiejee]

I wished I were more hardcore, but I'm also insecure. So out there with my M4-P I usually use my meter to check my guestimates...

[Blanc]

Well I'm mostly using my eyes and brain.
I use a meter for inside shots with continuous light or flashes, or when I really need some precise info (nightshots, churches...)

[loquax ludens]

Generally, I meter all the time, but not necessarily for each and every shot. If I'm shooting under unvarying lighting conditions, I meter then shoot until conditions change. If I'm shooting large format or portraits in any format, I'll meter every shot just because the results need to be spot on.

[Findus]

I usually meter - why waste precious film and/or ruin a good picture? to be honest, i don't trust my guesstimates. Maybe if I stayed with one film only, i could learn to know it well enough, but I like to switch between various films/ISOs, and/or use filters.

Depending on the camera, I use the inbuilt meter or my handheld. I love old, mechanical cameras, many of which don't have a meter. Then I use either my Weimarlux Nova (old, simple, reliable and without battery) or my sekonic L 758 (reflective, incident and spot). Sometimes, I still manage to screw it up, though

[venchka]

I shoot with an M5. 'Nuff said.
When I'm not shooting with the M5, I use a Gossen Luna-Pro sbc. 'Nuff said.
Poor exposures are always operator error. In my case.

Wayne

[Spanik]

If you mean a hand-held light meter then about 90%, if you include build-in light meters then 100%. Why guess if you can measure 100% accurate? And those that say "sunny 16" I'd like to see them shoot slides without bracketing.

[bean_counter]

Originally Posted by Spanik

those that say "sunny 16" I'd like to see them shoot slides without bracketing.

My father did it for decades, shooting Kodachrome in a IIIf/Summitar. His GE meter died before I was born, and he never fixed or replaced. Sometimes a little overexposed, sometimes a little underexposed (especially late evening light), but he mostly nailed 'em.

I use a hand-held incident meter nearly all the time, reflective mode when called for, and usually in-camera meter for SLR tele work.

[Range-rover]

When I use the Nikon S2 about half the time, just to double check some tricky light
levels.

Range