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Sports reporter thinks his iPhone calculator app is a light meter and gives out readings on air

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It’s said that the truth is often stranger than fiction. I’m not entirely sure about that, although it can be far more hilarious. In this example of a man who’s confident in his words, we have a sports reporter talking about the light levels on the cricket field. It can become difficult see the red ball when it starts to get dark. So, light meters are often used to measure the light levels. If it’s below a certain amount, the game is called.

To illustrate his point, he pulls out his “light meter” to take a reading and show the viewer. Unfortunately, his “meter” was an iPhone running the calculator app. It showed a “reading” of 6.5, which indicated that it was getting rather dark.

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Getting perfect exposure every time with the meter you always have with you

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Using a handheld light meter isn’t for everybody, and we occasionally forget to pack a grey card. But there are things that are close enough to middle grey that they can work just as well. Grass is a common subject to meter off in rural areas. But something else you can use is your hand.

Using your hand as a target for spot metering isn’t a new idea, but it’s one that many don’t know about. All modern cameras have built in reflective spot meters, and the hand can be a great way to nail a good exposure. As long as it’s in the same lighting conditions as your subject, you’ll be able to get it spot on every time. This video from Sareesh at Wolfcrow shows us how it’s done.

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Sekonic’s new L-858D light meter finally lets you meter for High Speed Sync flash

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Ever since high speed sync was introduced to speedlights, I’ve seen questions about metering it. Up until now, it’s pretty much been impossible to judge with a handheld meter. You basically have to just go off your histogram. Now, that’s all changed. Originally announced at Photokina in September, Sekonic’s L-858D light meter is now getting into peoples hands.

Being able to meter high speed sync should start to put an end to the debates over just how much power is lost once you go past your sync speed. It should also make repeatability and consistency much easier. When you’re on location and fighting the sun, you’re often changing shutter speed regularly. While this doesn’t have any effect on flash below sync speed, it does when you get into HSS territory.

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How to use an inexpensive old analogue light meter for modern digital photography

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While it’s completely possible to shoot digital cameras without a handheld meter, they do seem to be back in fashion lately. They provide quick and easy consistency between shots, or completely different lighting setups and environments. They help you get setup and ready to shoot before your subject’s even arrived at the studio or location. They’re also very handy for street photography, too.

There’s a lot of options out there, and plenty of digital ones for all budgets. You could go with an old used digital Minolta. Or even something fancy and expensive like the Sekonic L758DR or L478DR. The least expensive meters today tend to be the very old analogue light meters. You can often find them in the used sections of local camera stores and auction sites. But how do you actually use them?

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Lumu Power Converts Your iPhone To a Color Meter, Exposure Meter and Flash Meter

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Lumu Labs has started a Kickstarter campaign for their newest light meter!

Anyone who uses a light meter knows they are a very important piece of gear. The current offering by Lumu Labs is great because the tiny form factor allowed me to carry the meter in my pocket and than plug into my iPhone. You don’t have to carry around a full light meter which takes up space in the bag.

They new version is called Lumu Power! Hit the jump to read about what its going to offer photographers!

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Sekonic Shows Their One-In-The-World Prototype Of The C700 Spectrometer

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Have you ever had to balance LED lights? If you have, you know it is a nightmare. For once not all 6500K are created equal and even if all the LEDs on your setup are set to 6500K, they light output is slightly different. The other thing is that regardless of the color temperature, LED lights (and other pulsing lights, such as fluorescents) do not show a consistent light pattern.

This inconsistent light pattern means that a graph showing the color signature of an LED light may have spikes on certain colors. (have you ever heard on the horrible green spike?). Here is the thing though, (in general) the color meters that we currently have are not built to measure those color spikes, they assume that the signature is linear and sample the light color at wide intervals. Those wide intervals may cause the light meter to miss a spike (or a valley).

This is where the Sekonic C700 comes into play. We had a chat with Sekonic International sales director, Lorenzo Gasperini and he explained to us how the C700 is coping with those issues. There are some good news. Apparently, Sekonic rushed production and only had 2 of the C700 units produced, and even those were not guaranteed to be the final models. And there is nothing more exciting than putting your hands on a one of a kind unit :). And yes, the screen was stellar 🙂

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Luxi For All: An Affordable Kickstarted Light Meter

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We dont usually feature kickstarters, but you have to hand it to a company that knows what they are doing and already shipping their first product.

I love my photography toys and gadgets. Most photographers I know are exactly the same. But the problem is so many of them cost a small fortune that often the money can be best spent elsewhere.

One such gadget that can be argued should be in every photographer’s bag is a light meter. Such a tool can be used incredibly effectively, especially in studio work, to shoot with the correct settings to gain perfect exposure. The only problem is that light meters are normally expensive. Until Extrasensory Devices, a Californian company, came along with the Luxi, an affordable light meter for the iPhone.

Their current Kickstarter project sees them trying to bring the new and improved “Luxi For All” to the consumer world which is not all made of iDevice owners. Their prior Kickstarter project, simply called the Luxi, was purely for iPhone and raised over $120,000 from a little over 5,000 backers. It was praised by reviewers as an exceptional and accurate device, particularly considering the price point. The new release is sure to match.[Read More…]

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