Zero diopter setting for Sekonic light meters?

[mskb]

Hi All,

Is there a zero setting for Sekonic light meter's diopter wheel? In my case, the meter is the L558.
- In the manual, Sekonic says I rotate the diopter wheel until both the circular spot ring and the digital readout are readable.
- Sekonic also says that the diopter range is from -2.5 to 1D. Should I assume these values correspond to the left and right limits of the diopter wheel positions? If this is the case, I would expect the sharpness to peak somehwere for me (for a diopter setting of 0, good eyesight, 0 diopter settings work for me in my other cameras and binoculars as well). But I am not able to figure this zero setting clearly with the Sekonic: the diopter wheel has several rotations moving from relatively sharp to hazy as I rotate the wheel counterclockwise. The in-viewfinder digital display tends to become hazy sooner than the spot circle.

I am confused. Could you advise?

Cheers!

 

[monst]

You normally turn it and stop turning it when it is sharp for your eyes.

 

[BrianShaw]

Zero diopter setting in that context probably isn't a very useful concept. Set for whichever part of the L-558 display you want to see the clearest. I set for the digital readout.

EDIT: The manual specifies to set diopter adjustment so the CIRCLE is in focus.

 

[mskb]

Thanks @BrianShaw and @monst .

@BrianShaw , at least in my copy of the 558, the spot appears in focus over more rotations than the digital readout. Furthermore, the digital readout is sharp from no rotation up to about 1.5 rotations. Is it the same in your case as well? However, I feel like I am developing a slight headache when I set the wheel to the lowest no rotation setting where both the spot and the display are seemingly sharp. This is likely due to a bad diopter setting. All in all, I am very confused. Perhaps something's off about the meter, or not. Any useful comparisons on these observations, that you could make to your meter would be helpful.

Thank you.

 

[BrianShaw]

I just pulled out my meter to adjust it "correctly". Yes, good focus on the spot is a rather wide range of adjustment. The adjustment available from -2.5 to 1 diopter spreads out over about 5 revolutions of the eyepiece. (I didn't really count from stop to stop so it might be 6 revolutions). That seems to be much more fine an adjustment than is really needed. So whatever is in focus is in focus... not really very complicated and shouldn't be confusing. Be practical and set to a position that is in focus for you and get photographing!

 

[mskb]

Thank you @BrianShaw and advice well taken! All your observations agree with my copy as well.
I guess with more use in the field, I should be able to settle down on a proper setting.
Cheers!

 

[xkaes]

Plus, whether it's in focus or not, the reading will be the same.

 

[mskb]

Plus, whether it's in focus or not, the reading will be the same.

Thanks, I agree @xkaes !

 

[250swb]

I've got a 758D and it's the same palaver, you turn and turn with nothing much changing then in a fraction of a turn it pops into focus then if you're not careful it's gone again. I've gotten to adjusting it only when it's gone way out of focus or it would send me mad.

 

[mskb]

Thanks @250swb for sharing this 758 characteristic.

If I understand you correctly, I think I would actually prefer the 758 behavior over the 558. I would like to be able to detect a small region with sharp focus for SPOT & digital reading to set a preferred diopter setting. So far the 558 is eluding me in this regard.

Thank you!