Question about meters?

[Brad Bireley]

I have a sekonic 358 for studio work. I just received a 4x5 that I want to use for landscape work. Will the spot attachement for my 358 be OK?
Thanks in advance,
Brad

 

[Ted Harris]

I can'tspeak specifically to the 358 but AFAIK most of the so called spot attachments are more like 5 ot 15 degree attachments. Tehre are a few 1-3 degree attachmenets for some meters but they are nearly as expensive as a good used spotmeter.

Will it work for LF landscape? Sure as long as you test the results and calibrate your exposure to the results from your light meter. It is not going to allw you to do incredibly accurate high - mid - low reading but you need to decide if ithat really matters.

For me, a light meter is a reference guide,no more.

 

[roteague]

Sure, no problem at all. I've use 1, 3 and 5 degree spot meters, and when the light starts changing really fast, I use my Nikon F5.

 

[rbarker]

There are three Ifixed) spot attachments available for the L-358 - 1°, 5°, and 10°.

Any of them will work fine, as long as you recognize the surface area being measured, and meter accordingly.

If, on the other hand, you are itching to buy a new meter with all the latest bells and whistles, the zoom spot on the newer models might be sufficient justification.

 

[nyx]

Zoom spot means lower sensitivity - at least with Sekonic meters it makes 1-2EV difference (comparing L558 and L508 (iirc)).

I had L408 (5° spot) and it was too wide, so I changed to L558 with 1° spot. That alone was worth the change.

If that 1° attachment for L358 is anything like spot meter in L558, it should be absolutely ok. I don't really see any need for wider spot - if anything, I'd like it to be even smaller.

 

[roteague]

I think you also need to take into consideration what type of landscape photography you are going to do. Color or B&W? Zone System? Questions, only you can answer.