• Please use real names.

    Greetings to all who have registered to OPF and those guests taking a look around. Please use real names. Registrations with fictitious names will not be processed. REAL NAMES ONLY will be processed

    Firstname Lastname

    Register

    We are a courteous and supportive community. No need to hide behind an alia. If you have a genuine need for privacy/secrecy then let me know!
  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

New affordable spectrophotometers

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Just a quick info if someone is interested: there are new affordable spectrophotometers on the market. The Sekonic C700 and the Lightning passport.

A general test here.

The reference to the "General Test" is worthy of reading for anyone about to dig out or purchase a meter for looking at the temperature or spectrum of the light they are using. I was surprised by the word, "affordable", thinking we had reached the $200 level, but actually we're still at least $1500. From the test data in the reference, it seems that an older Minolta Color meter might be sufficient in many cases. These can be obtained used. I wonder about the wide variation in the color temp of blue sky light, as it varies by 100% in some cases from the average reliable value. I have never needed to obtain that measurement and have no idea when it would be important or critical.

For adding or subtracting color to correct lighting for specific analog films, or accurate digital photography of artwork, one can use decamired filters one can use a Gossen Color Pro 3F Digital Ambient Incident and Incident Flash Meter to choose the corrections to either the lighting fixtures or to the front of the camera. That model might no longer be available new, but there's at least one available at BHPhotovideo for just $649.95 in excellent condition.

Asher
 

Jerome Marot

Well-known member
I wonder about the wide variation in the color temp of blue sky light, as it varies by 100% in some cases from the average reliable value. I have never needed to obtain that measurement and have no idea when it would be important or critical.

Color temperature only makes sense for light which is close to white. Measuring the color temperature of the blue sky will give erratic results, which depends on the approximations chosen for the underlying maths: Correlated color temperature. The same is true for fluorescent lights, which produce spikes.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Color temperature only makes sense for light which is close to white. Measuring the color temperature of the blue sky will give erratic results, which depends on the approximations chosen for the underlying maths: Correlated color temperature. The same is true for fluorescent lights, which produce spikes.

I suspected something like that but had no reference! Thanks for the clarification.

Do you use a color meter of any kind?

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
The main functions of the Minolta color meters are built into my Sony A900.


I didn't know that, but it makes sense. Sony has really used Minolta technology well. Do you also see Konica DNA in any of the Sony offerings too?

Do you think that the Minolta meter functions are in the A7 series cameras too?

Asher
 
Top