Meters and Metering Suggestions

[grsnovi]

I use a 4x5 and I have the Asahi Pentax V analog spot meter. I bought it in about 2006 from a friend and it has been a great meter for me. I made a zone scale for it just as shown in 'The Negative' if you have that book for reference.

Thanks!

The Asahi Pentax meter appears to be reasonably available from eBay but it also seems large. The Sekonic 308 looks pocketable. Maybe I'll use the shoe mounted TTArtisan for a couple of exposures and see what I get. To be honest almost all of the example shots that appear on YT from LF film cameras seem to be too dark (which for film would mean over-exposed?).

[BoatMan902]

I think it's difficult to evaluate a person's metering skill based on a snip from a YouTube video - there are a lot of processing steps between the making of the negatives and where you're seeing it - including your monitor's brightness and contrast settings, which are probably different from mine, and anyone else who sees the video. A dark image might be underexposed - thin shadows, so you have to pull up the black point - but it could also be under-developed, or simply a choice made in scanning.

If you're concerned about pocket space, and don't mind looking like a bit of a dork (of course you don't, you've left the house with a view camera), consider picking up a "dump pouch" from your preferred military surplus vendor. It's like a pocket that you can mount on your belt, which rolls or folds up when empty. They're a great solution when you need to juggle a bunch of things (film holder, light meter, loupe, pencil, notebook, gloves, etc) and don't want to stuff them back in your bag or put anything on the ground.

[grsnovi]

...and don't mind looking like a bit of a dork (of course you don't, you've left the house with a view camera)

Now that's quite perceptive! :-)