Sekonic L-398 User manual

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JAPAN
86035000s
PRINTEDIN sEKOtrttc
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CONTENTS FEATURES
Nearly all photographic subjectscombine complex variationsof
strongly reflecting
surfaces
(high reflectivity)and weakly reflecting
surfaces
(low reflectivity).
These
variations
delicately
influenceex-
posure determination and to which portion the exposure is set
becomes
a vital factor that considerably
affects
the appearance
of
the finishedphotograph.
Although riskof failurecanbe minimizedby taking
maximumand
minimum readings
of all portions
of the subject,
thenaveraging
the
values,
suchan approach
is
both time consuming
and
tedious.
The
Studio Deluxe
is
the answer
to this problem.
lt is
designed
around
a standard reflectivity of 'lB%, which has been derived through
measurements
of various subjectsthroughout the seasons
of the
yea
r.
Consequently,
high effectiveness
is displayed
with subjects
possess'
ing
ref
lectivities
in the neighborhood
of 'l8o/o
(people,
buildings,
etc.)
and when this canbe considered
the average
value
(street
snapshots,
trees,
forest scenes,
etc.).
1. Optimum exposuremeter for incident light measuring
method
(also
applicable
for reflected
light method)'
2, Freely rotatable light sensorsectionfor very easi
ly performed
measurements.
3. Meterstopper
mechanism
allows
operation
while hand isreleased
from meter.
Meter
release
mechanism
is
also
includedwhich allows
the needle
to def
lect freely. This provides greater conven
ience when
determining
light balance.
Lumisphere
detects
the same light as strikes
the subject.
Since
subjects
are normally 3-dimensional,
according
to the lighting
conditions,
brighter surfaces (highlights)
and darker surfaces
(shadows)
are produced (illumination
contrast). The Studio
Deluxe mechanism
automatically
takes
into account
the strength
of light
from alldirections,
causing
themeterto indicatea
value
applicable to photography. lt is thus most convenient for
determining
typical exposures. 2
Specif
ications
Part
Designations
Accessories
Basic
Operationof Meter Unit 7
1. StopperButtonOperation 7
. 2. ZeroPosition
Check
and
Adjustm€rt .......,.
7
StandardAccessoryOperation I
IncidentLightMeasurement 8
1. Lumisphere B
2. Lumidisc 11
ReflectedLightMeasurement """"'12
1. Lumigrid 12
OtherOperations ........"13
1. ExposureValue
(EV number)
Readout
"""'13
2. Employing CineScale """"""""'14
3. UsingExposureMultipliers
(x1
12,
x2,x4)..' 15
Employing
Special
Accessories """"""' 15
1. DirectReading
Slides """""""" 15
2. Direct
Reading
Slide
Application
""""""""'16
MeasurementExamples
with Various
Subjects
.......
17
1. PortraitPhotography""""""""""""""""""' 17
2. TypicalScenery """'18
3. ObservatorialScenes
"""""""""""""""""" 18
4. SnowScenes """""'2O
5. Scenes
with Side or Back Lighting
""..".......
21
6. Silhouette
Photography
"""..."'........'........'.
22
ApplicationsSummary .....
23
1. SpecialFeaturesof theStudio Deluxe
'........23
2. flfumination
Contrast "..'.'......'.24
3. Reflected Light
Measurement
...-....-............
26
4. fllumination
Adjustment
........'.'..................
29
5. Closeups """""""" 31
Handling
Cautions ."."...'..34
4
5
6
I
4.
5.
l*,. ,s -1.."*.;
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6.
7.
8.
After combining ASA sensitivity and shutter speed, direct
readingslides (optional) can be usedfor directly determining
the aperturevalue.
Selenium photocell is employed as light sensing
element,
eliminating need for battery.
Wide selectionof available
accessoriesallows numerous
photo-
graphictechniques
to be enjoyed.
SPECIFICATIONS
MeasuringSystem
Measuring
Range
Measuring
Accuracy
ASA Scale
DIN Scale
Shutter Scale
Aperture Scale
CineScale
EV Scale
Calibration Constant
Dimensions
Weight
Incident
light
(reflected
lightsystem
also
capable)
At ASA 100,
EV4 - 17
Within
t 0.3
EV
(1/3f
stop)
6- 12000
9-42
60- 1|2OOOsecond
1-90
8fps
- 128
fps
1- 20
(exposure
value)
C=340 K=12.5
107x58x30mm
Approx.
250
grams
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PART DESIGNATIONS ACCESSORIES
Lumisphere
@Hish
(H)
slide
@
Optional Accessories
(sold separately).
Direct readingslides.
Front
EVmark
O
DIN
mark@
topper
ASAmark
@
Lumisphere
@
Light sensor@
Footcandle
scale
(incident
light) O
Aperture
value
(for direct readingl
@
Needle
@
EV scale
Dial
ring
@
Dial
scale@
H"mark
"L"mark
O
DIN
scale@
Stopper
button @
ASAscale
@
Film sensitivity
selectorknob @
Cinescale
@
Shutter speed
scale
@
Aperturescale
@
Lumidisc
@
Dial
scale
Total
of lldirect
(set
of 11 slides
reading
slides
in case).
Lumigrid
@
Zero adjust
Rear
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BASIC
OPERATION
OF METER UNIT
1. Stopper Button Operation
lf the stopper button @ is press-
ed when the stopper button mark
@ issetto Q , the meter needle
@ deflects according to bright-
ness. Then when the button is
released,
the needleremains
fixed
at the indicated position.
By holding the stopper button
depressedand turning it clockwise
sothat the mark position becomes
Q , the needleis released.
At this time, the meter will de-
flect freely even if the stopper
button is released. To fix the
needle, turn the stopper button
counter-clockwise to where the
mark is positioned e
2. Zero PositionCheckand
Adjustment
With stopper
button
in released
O position, cover light sensor
with hand or black cloth to com-
pletely block light. Check that
meter needle @ correctly indi-
cates zero position. lf the indi-
cation deviates from zero, while
observingmeter indication, use
a
coin or similar tool to turn the
rear zero adjust screw @ and
adjust for zero indication.
b.
STANDARDACCESSORY
OPERATION
IncidentLightMeasurement
1. Lumisphere
a. MountLumisphere
@ to light
sensor
@ . To mount, align
white dots of Lumisphere
frame and light sensor, then
turn Lumisphere carefully
clockwise to secure.
Set film sensitivityknob @
to sensitivityvalue of employ-
ed film. SetASA value
to right
side ASA mark @ and DIN
value to left side DIN mark
@ . Photo shows setting for
ASA 100 (DrN 21).
From position where subjectis
to be measured, point Lumi-
sphere O in direction of
camera. (Light sensor @ can
be turned freely.)
Hold meter erect and press
stopper. button @ Meter
needle @ deflects according
to brightness.When the stop-
per button is released, the
meter needle becomesf
ixed at
the deflected position. lf the
location is excessively
bright
and the meter needle deflects
beyond scale,insert the High
slide @ .
d.
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e.
f.
Readthe footcandle indication
@ of the meter needle.
Transfer footcandle value to
the dial scale
@ Rotate the
dial ring @ and set the a
symbol L mark. lf the High
slide @ has been inserted, set
thersymbol Hmark.
g. At thistirne,theshutterspeed
scale @ and aperturescale
combination becomes the
correctexposure.
Example:With High slide in-
serted,
meter indicates
80 f
ootcandles. At
ASA 100, the proper
exposure becomes
'll25O sec at f 15.6,
1
/30 sec at f/1
6 and
1 secat f/90.
--s\
Footcandles
* Meterscale
intermediate
val
I
ntermediate
values
for
Shutter
speedand
aperture
scale
.21
,.s'io
* Film sensitivityintermediate
values
Note: When no slide
is inserted,
strong
lightdirectlystrikingthe
slideslotmayenterthroughthe slot.Althoughthis does
not
seriously aff
ect exposure, if more accurate exposure is
required,
coverslot with hand.
DIN
/8-
9
/9
20
?2-'
21
24'
t3
26-
10
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2. Lumidisc
Employ for illumination contrast
adjustment and luminance
measurement.
o contrast measurement
a. Mount Lumidisc @ to light
sensor @ . lnstall in the same
manner as Lumisphere.
b. Hold meter at subjectPosition
and point Lumidisc @ di-
rectly toward center of main
light.
c. Pressstopper button @ and
read meter scale f
ootcandle
indication @ .
d. In the same manner, readthe
fill in light footcandle indi-
cation @ In this case, use
care that light from main
source does not enter sensor.
e. Ratio between main and fill
in light footcandles becomes
the contrast ratio.
Example: With main light at 640
footcandles,
fill in light
reads 320 footcandles.
I
llumination contrast
ratio becomes:
#=i or2:1
Luminance
(lux)measurement
Mount Lumidisc @ to light
sensor
@ inthe
same
manner
as Lumisphere.
b.
c. Place
Lumidisc @ parallel
with the measuredsurface.
Press stopper button @ and read meter scale footcandle
indication @
d. Multiply this value by 10.76 to obtain
Example: 80 x 10.76
= 860.8 lux
lf meter def
lectsbeyond scale,
insert High
footcandle indication by 32.
Example: 80 x 32 = 2560 footcandles
2560 x 10.76 = 27545.6 lux
Reflected
LightMeasurement
1. Lumigrid
a. Mount
Lumigrid
@ to light
sensor
@ in the same
manner
as Lumisphere.
Set sensitivity value of em-
ployed film. Setting is per-
formed in the same manner
as
for incident lightmeasurement.
Point Lumigrid @ directly
toward part of subject to be
measured.
As close as possible to the
subject,measure
ref
lected light
from main point of subject.
Use adequate care at this time
that meter shadow etc. does
not interfere.
lux.
slide
6,thenmultiply
b.
o
a.
11
light
d.
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e. Press
stopper button @ and
read meter scale footcandle
indication @ . However,
since
footcandles are units of inci-
dent light only, this value
becomes simply a reference.
f. Transfer indicated
valueto dial
scale @ . Rotate the dial ring
@ and set ^ symbol H mark
@.
g. At this time, shutter speed
scale @ and aperture scale
@ combination becomes
the
correct exposure.
Note: Do not employ slides for
reflected light measure-
ment.
* More accurate results can be
obtained for reflected light
measurement by using a
standard reflectan ce slide
(optional accessory).
Other
Operations
1. Exposure
Value
(EV
number)Readout
Reading this exposure value to
perform setting becomes con-
venientfor cameraswhich employ
a light value system shutter and
aperture combination.
b.
Read meter needle @ foot-
candleindication
@
Transfer
this number to the
dial
scale
@ . Rotatedial
ring
@ and set
^ symbolL mark
@. lf the High
slide
is in-
serted, set the a symbol H
mark @ .
EV value indicated by EV
mark @ becomesthecorrect
exposure
value.
2. Employing
CineScale
lncident and ref
lected light
measurementsduring cine pho-
tography are performed in the
same manner as described
pre-
viously.
However,
since
the cine
scale
@ numerals
correspond
to
cine camera
film speed,
readthe
aperture
scale
@ indicationthat
pertainsto the employed film
speed.
Note: Some cine cameras
possess
faster exposuretimes due to
a narrowerrotating
shutterangle
(angle
of light transmitting
portion). lt is important to know the accurate film speed
versusshutter angle valuefor your camera
in order to
determineproper exposure.Refer to the camera
operating
instructions, maker's catalogue, etc. for shutter speed
inf
ormation.
Shutter
angle
and
exposurecalculation:
T= 0 R = Framesexposed
in 1 second
360xR T=Exposuretime
0 = Shutterangle
Note: Standard theatrical cine film speed ts 24 fps at 1/50 sec.
This position is indicated by a red line on the scale.
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3. UsingExposureMultipliers
(xl
12,
x2,
x4l
Exposuremultiplier
indications
are provided at both sidesof the
H and L marksof the dial scale. Use
the x1l2 when desiringto
cut the exposure to 112
U
esser)
and the x2 and x4 positions
to
muftiplythe exposure by 2 and
4 (greater). Insteadof the H and
L marks,setthe x112,x2 or x4 markto the footcandlevalue.
EMPLOYING SPECIAL ACCESSORIES
1. Direct Reading
Slides
A totalof 11 slidesareavailable,all
of whichmay
be
usedtogether
with the Lumisphereand Lumidisc.
(Note
thattheycannotbe
used
with Lumigrid.) The High slide, as mentioned previously,
is
employed
for varyingthe measuiing
rangein 2 steps
(high and
low illumination),however,it canalsobeused
for direct
reading.
The other slidesare specialized
for directreading
and cannot be
used
for mode selection.
I3
Note: One
set
of slides
consists
of slide
numbers1 - 11 in a case.
The High
slide
can
also
be usedasa direct readingslide.
2. Direct ReadingSlide
Application
When photographing,
selectslide
from the above tableaccording
to
film sensitivityandshutter
speed.
Insert
slide
and perform measure-
ment in the same
manner
as
for
incidentlight. Readdirectlythe
aperture value @ indicatedby
the meter
needle@
* Since it is not necessary
to rotate the dial when employing direct
readingslides,
setting becomesextremely fast and convenient.
Ib
x3
^p
Shutter
-peed
Slide No. ----- /tu /to t/oo t/uotIo t/rutlruotluro
IASA
64 ASA
r25 ASA
r60 ASA
200 ASA
250
250 100 t25 160 200 400
340 80 100 L25 r60 320
432 64 80 100 r25 250
525 50 64 80 100 200 400
620 40 50 64 80 160 320
716 32 40 50 64 L25 250
I25 32 40 50 100 200 400
I20 25 32 40 80 160 320
r0 16 20 25 32 64 L25 250
ll t2 l6 20 40 80 160
High 12 25 50 100
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