Light & Flash meters vs. camera reading..

[Prismpic]

Does everyone here have a light meter?

Currently I don’t own one.  I trust my camera program to give me a first reading..then I go from there and switch to manual and make my own combinations. Is that twisted? I wonder if the light meter is more confiable. Any feedback is appreciated.

[kbolin]

I use a meter when doing portrait work either indoors or outdoors, otherwise I do what you are doing.

Kelly

[Hank]

I use flash meters extensively, both for balancing multiple strobes and for manual strobe fill.

I use spot meters extensively with LF.

I use the incident meter any time I suspect the values I've metered with the reflective meter.

Currently my favorite meter is the Sekonic L-508, which performs all these functions.

I also have a small metering "wand" intended for the Minolta meters, but it works just fine on the Sekonic.  This is invaluable for working in small spaces, especially for macro.

When using any TTL system, I always use the 508 alongside it and compare results.  If there's a big disagreement, it is a nudge to figure out why, often saving me from metering mistakes in critical situations.

[Anon E. Mouse]

I don't use camera meters anymore - I haven't for 20 years (except for snaps with point and shoot cameras that have no manual control). I find a handheld meter faster and more accurate. My main meter is a Gossen Luna Pro SBC and I also have a Minolta Spotmeter F.

But camera meters are improving. Just like a handheld meter, you need to learn how to use it and how different situations fool it. For me it became a necessity because many of the cameras I was using had no meter. I also noticed my exposures became more consistant when I started using one, but that was probably do more with starting to understand what I was measuring.

If you are having problems with your exposures and you are willing to learn the art of using a separate meter, then I would say get one.