Flash Meters

Flash meters come built-in on many modern digital cameras and some standard cameras. While these work well mostly in overcast outdoor situations built-in meters lack the accuracy found mostly in hand held flash meters.

Learning how to take flash meter readings takes little effort. Flash meters come with controls for the photographer to tell the meter what film speed will be used. The photographer then aims the flash meter towards a lighted area on the subject and takes a test flash to lock in the flash meter measurements.

Flash meters have two types of measurements, reflective and incident. Incident light and flash meters go hand in hand, though some meters include both reflective and incident measurements as well as spot metering. A CSA580 Samigon electronic flash meter precisely measures both and sells at a price ranging around $100. The measuring head rotates 270 degrees and includes an auto power off setting. A signal warns the photographer of over or under exposures.

The Minolta Flash Meter VI functions as two meters in one. This meter is able to report both incident and reflective measurements all at once. It compares the readings on a small LCD screen. This meter also records spot metering. It displays the ratio of ambient and flash lighting on the screen. Photographers can change the shutter speed to control the flash type. This flash meter is one of the favorites for professional photographers because of all this plus its lightweight design. It also sells at a heavy price at around five hundred dollars.

Need a good meter with a lower price? Try a Polaris Digital flash meter. The SO2100 sells for just under two hundred dollars. This meter reads shutter speeds up to 1/8000 seconds in ambient mode and 1/500 seconds in flash mode. Read the included Polaris Flash meter instructions to learn how to use the sliding sphere in both incident and reflective measurements. The SO2100 includes settings for up to twenty five shutter speeds in ambient mode and eighteen in flash mode. Also included with its many features, is an automatic battery checker that tells the user how much battery power is left each time the meter is turned on.

Search online for instructions on how to use a flash meter and the newest available styles offered by camera manufacturers. Use keywords "flash meters + reviews" on Google or other search engines to see user reviews on many different brands.