Light Meters: Helping You Provide The Right Amount Of Energy For Your Camera

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Light is necessary for vision and therefore, doubly necessary for photography, video, or any external imagery. It is, therefore, just as necessary to make use of an illuminance meter, and / or a light meter when producing any sort of imagery for best results. Light provides us with a plethora of visual information. The forms and colors around us are visible because light from sources around us reflect off of various surfaces, then reach our eyes, which decode the received information, then convey it to our brain. It’s important to realize that any camera is, in effect, a mechanical eye. To help that eye get the most information from its environment, we need to provide it with the appropriate amount of light, and the most precise way of doing that is by use of an illuminance meter, which measures the amount of incident light hitting an object. It’s very important to remember that Luminance and Illuminance are not the same thing. One, Luminance, is the measure of light reflecting off of a given surface or object, while the other, illuminance, is the measure of light reaching and hitting that object or surface (also ...
... called “incident light”). For this reason alone, it’s vital that you have both a luminance meter, and an illuminance meter (both are different types of light meters) in your arsenal. The visible light spectrum is a relatively small portion of the light spectrum, between 380 nm and 760 nm. It’s key to remember that the term “light” includes the infrared and ultraviolet regions too. These also need to be properly measured and taken into account for certain types of imagery. The detection and control of light is a necessary process and to measure it requires at least a rudimentary understanding of its properties and laws, and proper application of that knowledge. The introduction of new terminology and concepts with regard to light has made it one of the least understood subjects in the field of optics.



So, what exactly are you measuring?

Normally, you’re measuring the total light energy emitted either from a source or falling on a surface with a light meter. This total energy covers a portion of the visible spectrum, and includes both ultraviolet and infrared energy (infrared energy is most commonly associated with heat, another form of energy, but attributed to light). Color, being a property of light, can also be measured and quantified with various light meters and illuminance meters, many of which have built in display measurements integrated into the tools.

So how do I measure light properly?

First and foremost, you have to establish where you need to measure the light from. Both types of light meters, illuminance meters and luminance meters, measure light; but from different sources. If you need to measure the light reflecting of a given surface, you’ll need a luminance light meter such as the LS-100 or LS-110. Both are handheld, compact and lightweight, run off a 9 volt battery, and are connectable to a PC. If you need to measure the light coming to, or hitting your target, you’ll need the assistance of an Illuminance meter such as the TL-1. With an understanding of light and how it affects your subjects, and practice with these tools, your success is assured.

Kris Leeds is a freelance writer for Konica Minolta, a leading provider of 3D scanner, illuminance meters and light meters, For more information about 3d laser scanning service, please visit Konicaminolta.us.