color meters

dvdguy · Oct 29, 2010

hi again! (sorry the title is actually "light meters")

Could someone check this vid out? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk2rAxoZ-FU&feature=player_embedded And skip to 4:20 sec and tell me what he meant by "balancing out"? Not really certain what he was actually doing there, cause exposure is a bit confusing.

2001 Productions · Oct 29, 2010

I like that shallow, daylight balanced soft box. Might have to look into one of those someday.

Regarding your question, the soft box was serving as the key light. He was filling with a reflector and had a hair/rim light off the model's right shoulder. He used the meter to compare the throw from the two light sources and found that the output from the key was too bright in comparison to the rim, so he shut off one of the bulbs to even it out.

dvdguy · Oct 29, 2010

2001 Productions said:
I like that shallow, daylight balanced soft box. Might have to look into one of those someday.

Regarding your question, the soft box was serving as the key light. He was filling with a reflector and had a hair/rim light off the model's right shoulder. He used the meter to compare the throw from the two light sources and found that the output from the key was too bright in comparison to the rim, so he shut off one of the bulbs to even it out.

Yeah that daylight balanced soft box looks great! Expensive as hell though ..lol. Im not gonna buy it, Id rather make it. It looks pretty easy to make - except I wont have some benefits such as easy setups etc. (the parts are pretty easy to find)

ohhh....the output is measured eh? hmm.. does that have to always apply everywhere? Or depending how you feel?

2001 Productions · Oct 29, 2010

dvdguy said:
the output is measured eh? hmm.. does that have to always apply everywhere? Or depending how you feel?

Now I'm confused by your question...

An incident light meter measures the brightness of the illumination falling on your subject. If you're shooting film, using a meter is necessary so that you can set the proper aperture. Most non-professionals using video just eyeball it.

dvdguy · Oct 29, 2010

2001 Productions said:
Now I'm confused by your question...

An incident light meter measures the brightness of the illumination falling on your subject. If you're shooting film, using a meter is necessary so that you can set the proper aperture. Most non-professionals using video just eyeball it.

I meant if you can play around with lighting not balancing it with the light meter (for an artistic look)?

So how does the light meter determine aperture size? Can you give me an example? Sorry, this stuff is basically confusing to me. I dont have much idea how this works

2001 Productions · Oct 29, 2010

If you aren't shooting film don't worry about it.

You can look up light meters on the internet if you really want more info about them; there's too much to try and explain here. They are a tool that professionals use, but aren't really necessary for video. They have nothing to do with whether you can "play around" with balance. The guy in the video chooses to use one, but you don't have to.

dvdguy · Oct 29, 2010

2001 Productions said:
If you aren't shooting film don't worry about it.

You can look up light meters on the internet if you really want more info about them; there's too much to try and explain here. They are a tool that professionals use, but aren't really necessary for video. They have nothing to do with whether you can "play around" with balance. The guy in the video chooses to use one, but you don't have to.

Yeah, well I was kinda looking for something more specific. Thanks anyways

Ill check into it more.