Sekonic l-358 Lightmeter Question

Rinthe · Sep 6, 2009

Hello, i just got this used lightmeter from someone. I have a question about the aperture. It's currently on shutter priority mode right now, when i measure, theres a smaller number that shows up next to the aperture. the manual says its the 1/10 F Stop. But im a little confused, whats the point of that?

any help would be great. Thanks

MikeSeb · Sep 6, 2009

What, your camera doesn't have 1/10 stop increments? Loser!

Good question. I think you can throw one of those little dip switches in the battery compartment to choose smaller increments--maybe 1/3?

I guess some people need 1/10 stops, especially when metering studio strobes. But for us mere mortals, it does seem like overkill.

I used to own that meter; when it was stolen I bought the L-758---and have been wishing ever since that I'd just replaced the smaller, more compact and simpler 358.

Rinthe · Sep 6, 2009

thanks MikeSeb.

"and have been wishing ever since that I'd just replaced the smaller, more compact and simpler 358." what? im a little confused here.

Christopher Walrath · Sep 6, 2009

Wirelessly posted (BBBold: BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.167 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

He's just remarking on the 758's complexity. The owners manual will tell what those dip switches in the battery compartment will make the meter do in differet combinations.

benjiboy · Sep 6, 2009

You can download the instruction book here http://www.sekonic.co.uk/Brochures.htm, as Mike says Its the way you configure the dip switches in the battery compartment so it reads to the nearest half stop, I use a 358 and it's a wonderful meter, enjoy.

benjiboy · Sep 6, 2009

MikeSeb said:
What, your camera doesn't have 1/10 stop increments? Loser!

Good question. I think you can throw one of those little dip switches in the battery compartment to choose smaller increments--maybe 1/3?

I guess some people need 1/10 stops, especially when metering studio strobes. But for us mere mortals, it does seem like overkill.

I used to own that meter; when it was stolen I bought the L-758---and have been wishing ever since that I'd just replaced the smaller, more compact and simpler 358.

I chose the 358 because the L 758 has no ability to take general reflected readings only spot, I bought the 1 degree spot attachment for the 358, so I have the best of both worlds.

Rinthe · Sep 6, 2009

thanks guys for the help, yes i found the switches in the battery place.

Andrew Horodysky · Sep 6, 2009

Hi Rinthe,

My apologies for going a little off-track here -- I don't have an answer to your question. My question is to you (and anyone else with experience with the L-358), and a little more self-serving... How do you like the meter, so far, as I'm looking to purchase the same one -- for ambient, incident readings, with potential for mixed ambient/flash, later on?

Thanks.

Rinthe · Sep 6, 2009

a.horodysky: np. I just got this meter 2 days ago so i haven't had much time to play with it. But i got a really good deal for it, only $50, i took it asap But i did do a lot of research on it, seems like most people are very happy about this meter. people here can probably tell you more

MikeSeb · Sep 6, 2009

In my first post I was bemoaning the larger size, more awkward handling, and greater complexity of the 758 vs. the 358. They are both very accurate and reasonably rugged, but if I were buying today I'd go with the 358.

Rinthe · Sep 6, 2009

MikeSeb said:
In my first post I was bemoaning the larger size, more awkward handling, and greater complexity of the 758 vs. the 358. They are both very accurate and reasonably rugged, but if I were buying today I'd go with the 358.

thanks for the clarification.

Brandon D. · Sep 6, 2009

Rinthe said:
Hello, i just got this used lightmeter from someone. I have a question about the aperture. It's currently on shutter priority mode right now, when i measure, theres a smaller number that shows up next to the aperture. the manual says its the 1/10 F Stop. But im a little confused, whats the point of that?

any help would be great. Thanks

They are there for accuracy, i.e., for picky people like me, who use fractions of f-stops.

For example, let's say I'm out shooting flowers on a roll of Ilford Delta 100 and so is my friend, Bob. Bob rates his Ilford Delta 100 normally, at E.I. 100. However, I prefer to rate mine at E.I. 160 which is 2/3 of a stop higher than E.I. 100 (or approximately 6/10 of a stop higher, which is the way the meter understands it).

With the L-358 set at ISO 100, Bob meters the light falling upon a flower, and the meter provides an incident reading of 1/125th @ F/5.6. But because I rate my film at E.I. 160, I could not use that reading because the meter is set for ISO/E.I. 100. Instead of using F/5.6, I would "close down" the aperture 2/3 of a stop to F/7.1.

If I move the meter's "ISO 1" dial from 100 to 160, the meter will read "F/5.6 & (6/10)" (because we have added 6/10 of a stop to F/5.6) which is F/7.1.

Let's say that another friend, Carol, joins us. And let's say she rates her film at E.I. 125. In relationship, she rates her film 1/3 higher than Bob but 1/3 lower than me. If we set the meter's "ISO 1" dial to 125, the aperture reading will change to "F/5.6 & (3/10)" which is F/6.3.

From memory, here are some approximate equivalents:

F-STOP = SEKONIC READING
F/2.0 = F/2.0
F/2.2 = F/2.0 & (3/10)
F/2.5 = F/2.0 & (6/10)
F/2.8 = F/2.8
F/3.2 = F/2.8 & (3/10)
F/3.5 = F/2.8 & (6/10)
F/4.0 = F/4.0
F/4.5 = F/4.0 & (3/10)
F/5.0 = F/4.0 & (6/10)
F/5.6 = F/5.6
F/6.3 = F/5.6 & (3/10)
F/7.1 = F/5.6 & (6/10)
F/8.0 = F/8.0
F/9.0 = F/8.0 & (3/10)
F/10.0 = F/8.0 & (6/10)
F/11.0 = F/11.0
F/13.0 = F/11.0 & (3/10)
F/14.0 = F/11.0 & (6/10)
F/16.0 = F/16.0
F/18.0 = F/16.0 & (3/10)
F/20.0 = F/16.0 & (6/10)

... and so on!

Rinthe · Sep 7, 2009

thank you brandon for the detailed explanation, i think i'm starting to understand this. but not all cameras have 1/3 stops right? i have a canon ae-1 and it looks like i only get 1/2 stops. Also, theres a switch on the back of l-358 that i can turn on to make it display 1/3 stops. so it'll display, 4.5, 5, 5.6, 7.1 etc.. i guess the 1/10 is for even more precision? maybe sometimes it'll show 1/10 or 2/10? sorry if these are stupid questions, im a newbie

Nick Zentena · Sep 7, 2009

Some one asked about the 358in general. I have the 358 and the newer 558 [558??] In my mind the only reason to buy the 358 instead of the 558 is if you are SURE you'll never need a spot meter. he mentioned 1degree adapter for the 358 adds a fair bit of cost to the 358. I don't see the point with the release of the 558. The 358 OTOH is great if you don't need a spot meter.

benjiboy · Sep 7, 2009

The L358 plus the spot attachment if bought new is much cheaper than the L558 or 758, and if Rinthe only paid $50 for a meter that costs about six times that new, since he/she ? is a newbie, and probably wouldn't know what to do with a spot meter anyway, this was a great buy.

Rinthe · Sep 7, 2009

yeah i can get the 1" lumigrid if i want to use a spot meter, but incident metering is good enough for now

benjiboy · Sep 7, 2009

Ritthe the Lumigrid is the general reflected light reading attachment that should come with the L358 not the spot attachment, check the instruction book.

John Koehrer · Sep 7, 2009

Rinthe said:
thank you brandon for the detailed explanation, i think i'm starting to understand this. but not all cameras have 1/3 stops right? i have a canon ae-1 and it looks like i only get 1/2 stops. Also, theres a switch on the back of l-358 that i can turn on to make it display 1/3 stops. so it'll display, 4.5, 5, 5.6, 7.1 etc.. i guess the 1/10 is for even more precision? maybe sometimes it'll show 1/10 or 2/10? sorry if these are stupid questions, im a newbie

In fact MOST cameras do not have 1/3 stop indcators.
1/10 stop change is nice if you're marketing a meter but most people can't use it anyway since neither your shutter or lens is calibrated to use it. Any use of 1/10 is by gosh and by golly or wishful thinking. To explain it a little more easily(?) if the indicated reading is Xsec@f2.2 you're just opening the lens on the camera to f2 & a little bit.

benjiboy · Sep 8, 2009

John Koehrer said:
In fact MOST cameras do not have 1/3 stop indcators.
1/10 stop change is nice if you're marketing a meter but most people can't use it anyway since neither your shutter or lens is calibrated to use it. Any use of 1/10 is by gosh and by golly or wishful thinking. To explain it a little more easily(?) if the indicated reading is Xsec@f2.2 you're just opening the lens on the camera to f2 & a little bit.

I use mine a great deal with studio strobes and as Mike Seb wrote many of the modern ones have the ability to adjust the light output in 1/10 of a stop increments, and since the light several flashes is cumulative it enables precise exposure setting. The full title of the meter is the Sekonic L -358 Flash Master , and I find it to be one of the best flasmeters i've ever used.

Chan Tran · Sep 8, 2009

Most newer cameras (in the past 10 years or so) do have 1/3 stop increment for both shutter speed and aperture.

John Koehrer · Sep 9, 2009

Chan Tran said:
Most newer cameras (in the past 10 years or so) do have 1/3 stop increment for both shutter speed and aperture.

You're correct, I forgot the newer cameras have the 1/3 stop settings. But, they still have shutter tolerance that can be as much as 25% +/- and still be within spec.
The electronic shutters are more consistent and accurate than mechanical but still the probability that you can get exposures within that 1/10 stop is pretty slim.

With studio flash exposure is done with the lights, not the camera so the exposure can be more accurate.

benjiboy · Sep 11, 2009

Just about all the leading modern digital meters Gossen , Sekonic, Kenko, can read to 1/10 of a stop, both for ambient and flash light.

robertmgray · Sep 13, 2009

Hey, if I was to use a meter solely for spot metering, would it be more practical to buy the 358 and the spot add-on, or the 758? I know the 758 has it built in, was just curious as to how they compare in spot.

robertmgray · Sep 13, 2009

I've calculated it and they're about the same price, so I might end up going with the 758.

Nick Zentena · Sep 13, 2009

Compare the features and sensitivy. Sekonic provides all the info. The 758 will have more.

Sekonic l-358 Lightmeter Question

Andrew Horodysky

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