Sekonic 308 and reflected light

[jrydberg]

Santa handed me a Sekonic 308 light meter this past xmas. Haven't had the chance to play with it that much just yet, but from the the small experiments I've done at home it tends to misread by -1 (underexpose) stop, compared to my cameras with AE prisms and my DSLR. Is this normal for a L-308S?

[David Henderson]

After a recent forced period with a 358 I'd say that the extremely wide angle of light gathering would make it quite difficult to judge because it's hard to tell whether you're measuring the same thing with the different meters. My experience of the accuracy of Sekonic meters is very positive, but with the 358 the only way I could tell was to take readings from very close to a large plain evenly lit subject so I could be sure that the 54 degree receptor was being totally covered by the one value. You need to be careful not to cast a shadow on the subject when doing this. I had developed doubts about the meters accuracy but this showed me that it was spot on and the real issue was the very wide angle . IMO this type of meter is much more suited to incident mode when measuring ambient light.

[Dinesh]

I have a 308B and it underexposes by 1/2 a stop.

[Gary Holliday]

Why use it as a reflected meter, when ambient is more accurate? Are folks reporting under exposure pointing the meter towards the camera?

[Dinesh]

My 308B tested (against a calibrated light source) at 1/2 under in reflected mode. I did not test the incident mode.

[Christopher Walrath]

My L-358 was spot on accurate for the five years I used it. Of course, I didn't just meter only a general reading. I always took multiple readings and figured where I wanted the differing luminances in the subject to fall. But I was able to use the Sekonic with a great amount of success.

As to reflected light v. incident light meters. I would rather have a reflected light meter because the camera is going to record reflected light. Incident light readings would come in handy when calculating the light source falling on the subject and has its applications. But, generally, reflected light meters are more applicable in general photography (your cameras have reflected light meters after all).

I would test the meter and the cameras. Stand before a single luminance subject such as a flat wall with equal illumination and close enough to maintain equal luminance in your subject but not so close as to cast a shadow in the area you are measuring thus throwing off your readings. This should provide similar readings with your various units of equipment. Doing this on multiple such subjects will also indicate any discrepancies that may exist. Good luck.