Thanks so much for the kind words - I really appreciate it :)

It sounds like you may need to get your light meter calibrated. While it's not uncommon for there to be a 1/3 f-stop variation or so, a full f-stop is too big a discrepancy. I will often light the set and the actors with my light meter, because I use it to measure lighting ratios of different objects on set. The calibration to the camera doesn't matter as much so long as you use the same light meter on set. To set the actual exposure on the camera, I prefer to use either a waveform monitor or false color, which is a dead-accurate reading of the image itself, after it's been processed by the imaging sensor.

You need to check the native ISO, which may be different for each camera. For example, in dual ISO cameras, you can choose from either 800 ISO or 3200 ISO to deliver the optimal image, depending on the amount of light on set. Other factors that can cause this discrepancy include: different log curves, different baked-in LUTs, the speed of the lens, and sensor size.

Google it! Whats your camera?

It's not obsolete at all. Whereas false color is excellent tool to gauge exposure of a shot (and one I use all the time), it doesn't factor in other camera functions. By understanding f-stops, you can easily determine how shutter speed, ASA, ND filters, and the brightness of lights influence each other. This allows you to solve problems on set and determine not only the optimal exposure, but the optimal camera settings to get as clean an image as possible.

No, as a professional cinematographer I rely on other tools for exposure such as false color and waveform monitors. I use a light meter to measure contrast ratios on set, for example the brightness of light on one side of an actors face compared to the other side. It is critical to understand how middle gray works however because it is the basis of exposure for both film and digital cameras. For example, metering an object with your light meter then setting the aperture to that exposure produces a illuminance value of 50 IRE on a waveform monitor. You can then add light or remove light to the desired look, provided you do it within the dynamic range of the camera’s sensor. I produced an entire series about this process as it’s too complex to explain in one single video. This is part of a bigger series.

You could, but her skin tones are brighter than the gray card, so her face will look too dark on screen.

@@FilmSkills Thanks! If I expose the grey card at 42IRE (as Panasonic suggests for their VLog-L) but using the camera's built-in waveform to get proper exposure level, and then I remove the grey card, her face will look too dark? Or is this different from using a light meter. I've never used a light meter before. Just a waveform and just recently, false color.

You are talking about different techniques to measure light. Light meters, false color, and waveform monitors work differently. Grey cards are used for light meters. So you don’t need a grey card if you’re using false color or a waveform monitor.

I don't understand how you're measuring this. Are you taking screen brightness measurements from the video to determine these brightness values?

@@FilmSkills oh wow, you replied) Ahaha, no, sorry - my decimals must be confusing - I’m just used to the Sekonic’s display: You measured her skin tone to be 8-and-2/3 t-stop and the spydr checkr grey card to be 11-and-a-half t-stop. That is what I meant by (8.6 and 11.5).

I think i get the question and Im curiuos about it, she mean to say is the fstop 11 will make less light than f8 so the exposure will be dark. i don know if i understand the lesson but i tying to figure it out, thanks

@@FilmSkills yeah i am also confused too. If you open up 2/3 of a stop from a t8.6, shouldn't the aperture be around t7.1 instead of t11.5?

OK - let me explain this. When you take a light meter reading of an object, then you set the aperture to that same reading, the object you metered will appear at 18% middle grey. So in my example, my meter reading of Karolina is f8 2/3. So if I set by aperture to f8 2/3, her skin will appear to be middle great, which is too dark. So what I did is metered the DIFFERENCE between the grey card and Karolina's skin. The difference is a little over 2/3 of an f-stop, telling me that Karolina's skin tones are 2/3 f an f-stop BRIGHTER than the grey card. So when I'm determining the aperture setting, I will ADD 2/3 an f-stop to my light meter reading. Instead of setting the aperture to an f8 2/3, I will actually set it to an f8. That will brighten Karolina's skin tones and accurately represent it on screen. I think where the confusion comes in is that I didn't specifically say that the final aperture is set to an f8 in this segment of the video. Hope this helps!