Re: [Leica] Sekonic Meter

[Henry Ambrose <digphoto@nashville.net>]

>csocolow wrote:
>> 
>> Dear LUG,
>> 
>> They say two things happen when you pass thirty: The first is your
>> memory starts to go; the second... I forget. That being said, I can't
>> remember what those of you who have the Sekonic L-308BII meter have done
>> to resolve the difference between reflected and incident readings. I
>> should add that it's approximately 3-4 tenths of a stop under what my
>> other Sekonic and Minolta meters read. I had both of them serviced by
>> Quality Light-Metric about a year ago and feel confident with their
>> readings. Please reply on or off LUG as you deem relevant to Leica use.
>
>
>Carl,
>
>If memory serves...there should be no difference between reflected and
>incident readings if the reflected reading is taken completely off of a
>properly positioned 18% gray card. Trouble is, most don't carry said
>cards, and they're difficult to properly position, which is why incident
>almost always is the way to go. Or did I miss something?
>
>David W. Almy
>Annapolis
>
There was quite a string of messages about this subject some months ago 
on the Rollei list. Some questions then were "who decided on 18% gray 
anyway?" and "what's an  average scene"

What I came away with was that due to the difficulty in positioning a 
gray card and/or the meter position there is not a strict correlation 
between the two readings. I find that I get different readings when I try 
to compare my incident and reflective meters.
The more "real world" the situation, the harder it is to have the 2 meter 
methods align.

My studio floor is painted gray. It reflective meters the same as a gray 
card. But then add in some lights bouncing every-which-way and an 
incident reading may not agree with the reflective reading from the 
floor. Go outdoors and try it and its even worse.
I think consistency in measuring technique is the key. Just figure out a 
way that works for you and use it consistently.

For whatever reason I trust incident readings much more than reflective.

Henry Ambrose