Light meter:

Well, my 35MM cameras have built in meters so why did I go and buy a light meter. Two reasons; it’s nice to have a second opinion and I’m starting to shoot a lot with flash and this meter makes shooting with flash lots easier. The meters that are built into cameras are, from what I’ve heard, notorious for being wrong. I like having confirmation that my camera meter is right. Well most of the time, as compared to my light meter it is off sometimes. This particular meter is of a type that is often referred to as a strobe meter. It can synchronize to a flash and measure your expected Exposure. The way it works is that instead of plugging the flash unit(s) into the camera you plug them into the light meter. You hold the meter where you want to take the light reading and push a button on the meter to trigger the flash and lock in the reading. This way you can judge exposure either based on light falling on the subject or light reflected from the subject. You can also check light ratios in the scene to see if the shadows will turn out the way you want them to. The white dome (Spherical Diffuser) is where the light is measured. The head where the diffuser mounts can be turned so you can take readings and still be able to see the meter. Also This diffuser reads light coming in from "all around" the light sensor (about one half a sphere). The diffuser can be removed and replaced with others that vary the field of view of the light sensor. The Flat Diffuser show next to the meter is one such. The Flat Diffuser is handy for measuring the light ratio between light sources since it is much more directional than the Spherical Diffuser. This meter also has memory for light readings and the ability to be calibrated.