are manual vintage handheld light meters compatible with digital SLR's?

[Edo]

OK I know that sounds stupid and the obvious answer would be "yes!" But I am just deciding if i should go with a digital light meter or a vintage one. I dont have a lot of money to spend on a light meter and a digital one is quite expensive and the vinage ones I can get for a few $$$. suggestions
I guess what i really want is to double check and really meter what i want. For example I shoot in manual mode a lot and would rather know i am not giving an overall meter of the subject i would just like a more precise metering. I mean i can meter thru the camera on Auto but why flip back and forth, where this way I feel i am metering what i want more accurately even if i have to do some math.

 

[fhotoace]

A light meter is a light meter. Its readings suggest the proper aperture and shutter speeds needed to produce an exact exposure.

Why do you think you need an external light meter?

The light meters on modern cameras are very good and because they are taking readings through the lens itself, you do not have to worry about any light that is "eaten" by zoom lenses, thus creating a difference between the theoretical f/stop and actual t/stop (this is a cine consideration and is important, especially when using an external, incident light meter)

 

[JeroenWijnands]

The use of a handheld meter for a lot of types of photography is indeed quite debatable. Any decent DSLR will have a meter that works accurately in matrix, center or spot mode.

In some cases, like an elaborate studio setup or when using manual focus lenses on a body that will not meter (quite common on nikon for example) a handheld meter can be useful.

Quite a lot of vintage meters, right up until the late 1970s in fact, use a selenium cell to do the actual metering. Problem with these is that they deteriorate over time. Depending on the make and the storage conditions it may work perfectly or it may be of by as much as 4 stops. Additionally the ones using batteries in their amplification circuits were often designed to used mercury based cells. Not all of those take modern equivelants well.

The sekonic l-208 is a relatively cheap modern equivelant of these vintage meters, search a bit on ebay and places like that and you can find a good one around $80-$90. Another interesting model to look out for is the old minolta autometer III, IIIF or IV. Make sure that if you go for one of those a manual is included, they can be a bit complicated

 

[deepblue2]

You don't really need an external light meter unless you are shooting in the studio and you want to check the incident light on a model (in-camera light meters only read reflected light).
I use one to check lighting ratios in the studio as it meters flash light as well as continuous light.

For most other uses the in-camera one is fine - just ensure you are using the metering modes correctly. Most of the time I spot meter for more accurate tonal readings on specific subjects.

However, if you want a meter, there's no problem with getting an old analogue meter - something like the Gossen LunaPro F is a good one.

 

[dontcallmebetty]

i have found that digital is about 1/2 to one stop brighter than what my modern hand held meter tells me and what my old fashioned palm readngs tell me,



anyway, i advise you goto youtube and watch tutorials on:

1. photography using a grey card for exposure and
2. photography using the histogram to set exposure


hand held light meters are good when using multiple flash set ups, for everything else the above should do you