Do you need a spot meter?

[PBimages]

Yesterday I was out with another LF Photographer photographing some of the vanishing old buildings of Birmingham.

We set-up the camera's ready to capture the first building, when I pulled out my light meter, which is a Sekonic L-308 S Flashmate, that is capable of doing incident and reflected light meter readings.

But he insisted that what I was about to do was no good and that ideally I required a Spot Meter!

Ok the spot meter was a lot easier to use, and the results seem pleasing!

But surely this has not always been the case!

I'm interested in hearing other ways of metering a subject, Ok I do a lot of studio photography so the light meter I have is ideal for that. But could I have used my light meter?

Only I plan on taking the camera out again, possibly tomorrow if so how do I meter the scene (Old Church & Grave Yard) I'd hate to screw it up, I only have that one light meter and cannot afford to buy another light meter just yet!

[Daniel_Buck]

I don't think a spot meter is necessary, but I do find that it's very nice to have. I know exactly how dense my highlights are going to be on the film, and what my mid-tones and shadows are going to do. My reading may be very similar to what a non-spot meter would give me, but with the spot meter I know for sure what my values will be.

[Matt Miller]

A spotmeter is most definitely not required. That's ridiculous. If you know what you're doing, you can use any meter. There are plenty of people that do not use a spotmeter and get consistently excellent results.

That being said, I prefer and use a spotmeter.

[Ken Lee]

You can certainly survive without one if you must, but there's nothing nicer than determining the luminosity value of something small, from a distance, directly.

Here's a recent example where I was able to make sure, effortlessly and instantly, that all the values were spot-on - even the light bulb. Since the bulb was was in a shaded area, and the girl was peeking out of the shaded porch, I'm not sure how the values could be easily determined with an incident meter - particularly from where I was standing (behind the camera, at a distance).

[j.e.simmons]

My photos improved immensely when I sacked my spot meter and turned to an incident meter. It's whatever works best for you.
juan

[Joseph O'Neil]

I personally prefer a spot meter, I even have two of them. But for years, I only used a hand meter. As said above, whatever works best for you

joe

[Louie Powell]

Repeat after me - - - it ain't rocket science.

A spot meter is convenient, but you can use whatever you have. Handheld reflecting meters, incident meters, a 35mm SLR, or even the sunny-16 rule.

[Preston]

I also prefer a spot meter since I shoot primarily landscapes and use color transparency film.

A spot meter may be necessary if you require a high degreee of precision for your exposure. I used an averaging meter (both incident and reflective types) for years and with practice was able to predict the outcome with great certainty, but have found that a spotmeter works best for me these days.

The key points are: Use the meter you are most comfortable with, and practice with it to refine your skill set.

-P

[reellis67]

I get very good results with my incident meter, but I think that it has a lot to do with my method. I have learned over a period of time to get the results that I want with a certain combination of tools - I know how to use them to get the effects that I want, and that's good enough for me. I've toyed with the idea of getting a spot meter (I even have the 7/15 degree attachment for my meter) but I don't seem to use it much. If you are happy with the results that you get using the tools that you have, there is no reason to dump them just because someone else thinks what you do is incorrect.

- Randy

P.S. sorry Preston! That was supposed to go off the main thread and not appear as a response to yours...

[BrianShaw]

Repeat after me - - - it ain't rocket science.

OK:

It ain't rocket science.

It ain't rocket science.

My preference is for incident, then 30 degree reflected, then (when it is really needed) spot metering... in that order. I probably use spot metering only about 10% of the time.