Gossen Digiflash meter observations

[Lee L]

I just posted some observations on my new Gossen Digiflash light meter in the Articles section under equipment reviews. Not a full review, just some notes.
http://www.apug.org/forums/article.php?a=131
I do like it.

Lee

[Kirk Keyes]

Lee, it sounds like the Digiflash thought it was taking a flash mode reading while under some of those fluorescent lights... Does it separate out the flash reading from the ambient reading, or do you have to put it into flash metering mode to meter flash?

[Lee L]

Lee, it sounds like the Digiflash thought it was taking a flash mode reading while under some of those fluorescent lights... Does it separate out the flash reading from the ambient reading, or do you have to put it into flash metering mode to meter flash?

Kirk,

The same thing occurred to me. The flash and ambient metering modes are separate functions. The flash mode shutter synch speed is adjustable, and so I tried changing that to see if it affected the gate time for the ambient readings, but it didn't change the readings even with much longer or shorter flash synch speeds. So my guess is that it's just an unadjustable short sampling period for ambient light... short enough to sample as much as +/- 1 stop from average output during 60Hz AC output changes for line frequency flourescent ballasts.

Lee

[bobfowler]

I use a Gossen Ultra-Pro meter. That meter uses the shutter speed information to give an indication of the ambient light level vs the flash exposure - very helpful for fill flash outdoors. It doesn't always indicate the difference in ambient to flash though, only if it's within 4 stops (IIRC).

[Lee L]

Bob,

The Digiflash requires two steps to meter for fill flash. First an ambient mode reading (reflected or incident), then a flash mode incident reading with the meter shielded from the main ambient light. You then manually/mentally compare EV readings to see how far down the flash fill is from ambient.

I really bought the Digiflash as a fast, and very small, incident meter for use with meterless rangefinders. It appears very well suited for that. I just thought potential buyers should know about the behavior under flourescent, or strobing continuous light, ergo my post. Since it reads out in EV, I can do a reading and make settings, remember the EV, and make adjustments to changing light with a quick push of the button and a glance at the EV readout. You don't even need to remember the previous reading, as it's retained on the display continuously, and you can glance at it before a new reading, then make the adjustment according to the change in EV.

Lee