Polaris SPD100 Digital Exposure Meter
by Polaris
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: PolarisModel: SPD100
Product features:
- Oversized LCD display shows all data and functions clearly and easily, even at full arm's length.
- Large analog" (Gas-Gauge Style) Scale for easy fractional measurements.
- Standard PC terminal for sync cord flash activation. Compact, ultra-thin design. Polaris is less than 1- inch thick and weighs just 4 oz.
- Requires only one "AA" battery. (Not included)
- Four exposure modes to choose from.
- Unique multi-flash feature makes it simple to calculate how many times the flash must be fired to achieve a desired f/stop.
- Accurate to 1/10 f-stop.
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Polaris SPD100 Digital Exposure Meter
Customer Review: Terrific studio meter for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
I have one of these that I use regularly with my studio flash setup.
Inexpensive high-power studio flashes generally don't work with your camera's TTL metering system, and when you bring in multiple lights, complex diffusers and so forth, calculating exposure gets to be a challenge. With the Polaris, I setup my lighting the way I want, fire the flashes (either one at a time or all at once), and the meter gives me correct exposure information that's always 100% spot on. It can also help me achieve certain specific lighting ratios, such as making sure the background is subdued or helping me know one part of my subject isn't in too-deep shadows - in effect, you just fire the flash a few times, metering all the key parts and noting how far apart the exposures are. For calculating studio flash exposure, the Polaris can't be beat, especially considering the price.
Of course, these days you can achieve good results with digital cameras by simply taking lots of test exposures...there's no film cost, and most photographers tend to have a few lighting setups that really don't vary all that much. This means there aren't too many exposure combinations, and you can probably home in on it trial and error if you want. Or, you can do it the old-fashioned way by knowing the guide numbers of your flashes and dividing by flash to subject distance. Still, having a meter like the Polaris makes this much faster and more precise, especially if you tend to shoot under lots of varying conditions.
There are also flashes like the Nikon Creative Lighting System that actually do integrate with certain camera metering systems, even when multiple, off-camera flashes are used. These are wonderfully flexible units, but I still find myself using my somewhat old-fashioned (by CLS standards) studio strobes to get the power and light quality I want. There are so many types of flash attachments - big diffusers/soft boxes, snoots, barn doors, gobos, etc etc etc - that just don't work with the compact flashes Nikon and others make. The Polaris makes using these setups almost as easy as having a TTL flash.
The Polaris can, of course, also be used as a more conventional exposure meter under nearly any condition. Frankly, the meter in most of my cameras are so good under most non-studio flash conditions, I tend to only rarely use it this way.
About the only thing the Polaris doesn't do is include built-in color temperature metering. This would simplify situations where you have a mix of different light sources and you want to set the white balance for a particular effect.
Otherwise, it's a small, compact and lightweight unit. It doesn't seem particularly rugged, but since I tend to wear mine around my neck on a lanyard, I'd rather have lightweight than a unit built like a tank. The display is large and easy to read, even in dim light, and it runs quite a long time on a set of batteries.
Recommended as a low-cost alternative to some of the other more expensive brands.
Description of Polaris SPD100 Digital Exposure Meter
Polaris SPD100 is an easy to use flash and ambient light meter. Take accurate meter readings accurate to 1/10th of an F-Stop and get good exposures every time. One of the best values in exposure meters on the market.Light Meters
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