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Thread: How accurate are exposure meters? Not very....

  1. #91

    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Kingwood, Texas USA
    Posts
    274

    Re: How accurate are exposure meters? Not very....

    Bill, if you are so inclined, please explain your "dual 810 color chromes" comment.

    Thanks for all your input - it is always educational.

  2. #92

    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Posts
    783

    Re: How accurate are exposure meters? Not very....

    810 stereo

  3. #93

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    8,470

    Re: How accurate are exposure meters? Not very....

    Bill,

    Thanks for the clarification.

    I appreciate your concern about getting the exposure wrong when shooting 8x10 chromes for clients. The costs of error, including loss of face and having to reshoot, are very high. Film and processing are the least of them.

    I wasn't aware that you were selling stereo shots that started from 8x10 chromes. Please tell us more about that business. Not about your clients, but about how they use the 8x10 stereo pairs you sell them.

    What is your failure rate? I ask because the two (2) meters I use didn't agree that well even when both were freshly calibrated yet both gave good exposures. I stick with the one that's a little easier to use.

    I also ask because, although I blow more than my share of shots, the failures are much more often due to operator error -- that's me -- than to equipment failures of any kind, including light meter(s) that lie. Meters that give bad advice are the least of my problems. And I shoot mainly chromes.

    Cheers,

    Dan

  4. #94

    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Posts
    783

    Re: How accurate are exposure meters? Not very....

    Dan two meters that don't agree with each other when calibrated, is a recipe for bad exposure. Of course, you did not mention how far off they were, a critical issue....

    My "TRUE" failure rate, i.e. when a chrome is not usable is very very low.... much less than .1%. But this is not about total failure, its about optimizing the exposure on chromes as often I have no chance for correction after the exposure. During mid day when color temps are near the 5k zone, my exposures are very accurate, within 1/3 a stop on avg. However, its when color temp changes, I notice chromes that can be off at times, maybe up to a stop at the most.... but I have had conditions where I was off 1.5 stops for a shoot.... and in all those cases, lighting was never normal. Extreme overcast, low light, high altitudes, etc.

    I rely mostly on the Sekonic 608....its interesting how this meter faired in the test.... positive errors on the low side of 6k and neg. errors on the high side of 6k. Again, this information is based on the Gossen Lux readings, so I am not 100% certain this is is reliable as the Gossen has not been proven accurate as a light meter (yet).... after I get the Nikon I will learn more.... I will also shoot some film with the Nikon under many conditions and leave it in "auto" exposure mode, and see how well it tackles all kinds of lighting conditions. If I build the confidence level up others have with the camera, it will probably become my light meter. Too many times I think the light is 5 - 6k range, and a color meter tells me its 10k+.... our eyes are the worst color meters possible... and this is when the exposure errors often creep in...

    Its very rare I have user error as I have learned the last thing I do before firing the shutter is read exposure, set lens, read meter again, fire....

    Most stereo I shoot is not 810 chromes, as I need static subjects.... but even on MF stereo, I can blow through 20 rolls of 120 a day, it pays to perfect exposure.

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