Best light meters according to redditors
We found 112 Reddit comments discussing the best light meters. We ranked the 24 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 112 Reddit comments discussing the best light meters. We ranked the 24 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Since your monitors are not the same model, it's going to be very challenging to get them to look the same.
You should probably get a color calibrator if you actually want them to look the same.
If you can't afford that, there are cheaper calibration tools. Just look around. You can also, of course, just tweak the color settings manually until they look the same using Nvidia Control Panel / Catalyst Control Center. You can also try to just use the built in Windows color calibration, which I find very hard to be consistent with. What models are your screens? Somebody may have made color calibration profiles for them. They won't be perfectly tailored to your screens, but they should come pretty close.
There's nothing wrong with your approach but spacing in this context is when people use uncut 5m strips.
A narrow spacing would have a tight ring with the LED strip. As you wrap the strip around the inside of the bucket there would be no space between the strips. The problem with this is that all the light is concentrated to a narrow region of the plant at higher lighting levels.
But, lower lighting levels can actually be more photosynthetically efficient (this is why shade cloths are used in a lot of green houses). The two main reasons why higher lighting levels can be less efficient have to do with non-photochemical quenching and photorespiration.
So it is more efficient for the plant to not blast the plant as hard but also have the lighting more distributed so that more individual leaves receive light. Unlit leaves below a certain lighting intensity, known as the compensation point, start consuming more resources than they produce. This is part of the pressure flow hypothesis and is the basis of why some people might defoliate a plant (remove some leaves- as a beginner I would not do this since it is often over done and haphazard).
So with a 5m strips it's typically better to have an inch or two between the wraps to spread the light out and illuminate more leaves.
Don't fret! You can still use your LEDs. You can do a bit of trial and error or even better buy a cheap cosine correct lux light meter (lux meters should only be used with white light, not color LEDs- you will get very wrong measurements with color LEDs) so that you can dial your spacing for very even lighting. The light sensor in phones tends not to be cosine correct and can therefore give some real bad readings.
It looks like you have some experience soldering so you actually have some more flexibility in how you set up your side lighting instead of just a continuous 5m strip.
If one is working with white light and plants, the best investment one can make is a simple, low cost light meter to set everything up.
https://www.amazon.com/HDE-LX-1010B-Digital-Luxmeter-Display/dp/B00992B29I
Just because you have a decent monitor doesn't mean it is showing anything in the correct colors, saturation, or anything else. If you want it right, you need to calibrate your monitor. People constantly buy these expensive monitors and leave the settings at default, or worse fiddle without knowing what they are doing.
You can use one of these or hire someone.
$3000 computer for a videographer... only spends $180 on a 21" monitor? ಠ_ಠ No. No. Nope.
SLI is pretty much useless for video editing (very hit & miss depending on the software) and only adds unnecessary heat and cost to the rig. Drop one of those 780s and focus that money on a quality 24-27" IPS screen and hardware color calibration! (stay the hell away from those budget 4k TN screens)
Edit: Also, if OP is used to their MBP keyboard, I'd recommend picking up a wired Apple keyboard. Personally, I find them much less fatiguing on my fingers. It makes for a seamless transition (if you're still using the MPB) and goes a long way to make your Hackintosh feel more native.
Edit 2: After some very surface level searching, here are some much better monitors the OP should put their money towards: HP 24" z24x P-IPS ,Dell 27" U2713HM P-IPS and Asus 27" PB278Q P-IPS. If it can't come close to 100% sRGB, it's shit. Oh and the monitor color calibrator.
addes lumen reader to christmas list
http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Meter-Digital-Illuminance-Light-LX1330B/dp/B005A0ETXY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418876959&sr=8-1&keywords=lumen+reader
I would say it is viable, but LED bulbs would be better than CFL. Keep in mind that you can raise the plant closer to the lights. The best way to know for sure is to follow /u/SuperAngryGuy advice, get a Lux meter and read his guides at /r/HandsOnComplexity.
>I'm kind of useless at judging what kind of light the rest of the apartment gets outside of this.
I do understand the problem, another problem is that your eyes adjust to the light conditions which makes the amount of light deceiving.
Years back I invested in a Lux meter. It measures the amount of light. I use it to determine what is the brightest and what is the shadiest spot in my living.
These values do I use.
>1000 Lux = very bright light (In full sun I grow Crassula ovate here, south faced window)
10.000 Lux = bright light (With some morning sun I grow Dracaena here and for instance Stapelia).
5000 Lux = light shade (Among others my Anthurium grows here, also Spathyphilum)
2000 Lux = shade (Boston Fern, Phalaenopsis orchids)
These are just guidelines.
I have exactly the same one as this one https://www.amazon.com/SODIAL-Light-Lx1010b-Luxmeter-Display/dp/B00SO31JI2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1525274886&sr=8-5&keywords=lx1010b&dpID=41cE2psCvFL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
I hope I'm allowed to mention a link as example for what I have. Of coarse there are other sources to obtain them.
Mine works flawlessly. It told me that in the middle of the room with a North and South window, I have 1/4 of the amount of light than in my Nord window with overhang! I couldn't see that difference with my eyes.
The 135 watt QB is great for a 2x2 tent. I've been using a cheap lux meter to dim it down so that it has 30k-ish lux coverage for the whole tent. It actually goes up to 160w, according to my Kill-a-Watt, and I had a plant burn when it grew too close and got more than 60k lux. Also, here's a great post about using a lux meter to get plant lighting dialed in.
I haven't used an HPS light, but in a tent that small, the extra heat may be an issue. The QB doesn't put off that much.
I believe the best one is the Sypder4Pro, they're $150 new. You might be able to buy a used one off eBay for around $100.
http://www.amazon.com/Datacolor-Spyder4Pro-S4P100-Colorimeter-Calibration/dp/B006TF37H8/
Do you have an IPS monitor? If not, you should think of investing in one of those as well, especially if you're printing a lot.
Datacolor Spyder4Express:
http://www.amazon.com/Datacolor-Spyder4Express-S4X100-Display-Calibration/dp/B006TF3746/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342633794&sr=8-1&keywords=spyder4express
The pro is 50$ more but may be worth it as it does a better job (Slightly) and can configure multiple displays:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006TF37H8
Buy a light meter!
Give it 600 to 1,000 foot candles. Water as needed.
Amazon, for $20 It reads in lux, but it's an easy conversion to candle power. As noggin-scratcher said, they're called light meters.
>In your subjective opinion, is a hardware-calibrated monitor significantly more beautiful than a software-tweaked one, and is it worth the $150 or so it'd cost for a colorimeter?
Yes, absolutely. Having spent the money I consider it worth every penny. Once you know calibrated reference color, you can't go back. Our eyes will readjust and compensate for a lot of differences over time. Those who like using f.lux, for example, often comment on not noticing it's effects after a while.
This is because f.lux is basically an automated color profile changer. It goes from a higher color temperature (7K/6500K or so) down to a very low color temperature as it approaches night time. This makes sense, since the human eye tends to view colors a bit cooler under lower lighting conditions.
While f.lux can feel pleasing, it's does result in inaccurate colors. If you wanted an f.lux like experience with accurate color, you would create a profile for each lighting condition your room has. Primarily an 'overhead lights on' profile calibrated for 6500K 2.2 gamma, and a 'lights off' profile that might be something like 5500K 2.2 gamma.
I consider this a bit overkill though, I stick to one daytime profile, and I have a fluorescent bulb in my overhead that is more of a 'daytime' color temperature. Photo studios go to extremes and use high end monitors with hoods to reduce direct light from hitting the screen, and they have accurate color temperature bulbs of a known brightness.
Personally though, I think one of the better advantages to calibration is also setting the luminance level. Lots of LED backlit monitors can get REALLY bright, but brightness is only beneficial under really harsh lighting conditions, and often washes out the color. Monitors also tend to overgain the colors a bit on high lighting conditions, so you lose some accuracy.
The best way to calibrate, imo, is to 120 cd/m2. This is a nice, even brightness, and while somewhat 'dim looking' at first is quickly compensated by your eyes and brain. This also tends to reduce eye strain. In addition, lots of monitors now can go 200 cd/m2 and up, so by having the brightness significantly lower than its maximum, you often reap the benefit of more accurate color.
As far as a tool, I ended up getting the Spyder4Studio, because I knew I was going to need a printer profiler also and it saved me money.
For your purposes I would go with the Spyder4Pro since it's the same hardware as the Spyder4Elite, only limited by software license. You also get to use it on multiple monitors, vs the 1 monitor limitation of the Spyder4Express.
If you end up needing the features of the Spyder4Elite later, you can just upgrade the software package (I'm not sure if it's more expensive that way vs buying the Elite outright, though).
with this
People still use light meters quite frequently. Otherwise there'd be no market for meters that cost more than some lenses...
While not required, I also would purchase a LUX meter like this.
Based on what a typical UVA/UVB reptile light puts out, the target intensity is between 8-9K LUX. I have a meter for other reasons but when I play with my Cham lighting, it's a good tool to have.
Believe it or not, a minimum of between 3 and 120 μW/cm2 for lighting is about all that is needed to prevent MBD. Here is a long read on the subject. Studies are tricky though. It's very difficult to get pure "lab conditions" in a home setting, so take it as you may.
This may be corrected when actually I do the conversion between μW/cm2 and/or μm/cm2 to LUX. I'll do that when I get out of bed this morning. Spitballing 8-9K LUX does seem right though.
Edit: 120 μW/cm2 is about 820 LUX, but you are not going to get ideal heating from that intensity.
If you do go the phone-metering option, I'd try to test the metering provided by your cell phone camera by taking digital photos (or a test roll) using the suggested exposure to be sure that it's accurate. I believe on iPhones it's pretty consistently good, but I found that on my old HTC phone, the metering apps weren't very accurate. You can also get an actual light meter attachment for your phone to improve accuracy.
The most important piece of a good calibration is a monitor with even backlighting and great color range, gradation, and accuracy at different luminance levels.
To get a real good calibration you're going to need a colorimeter. They are pretty expensive. Most IPS monitors claiming to be good for design work are factory calibrated, which makes it mostly unnecessary to do it yourself.
Some computer shops will have a service offered to calibrate the colors; quality varies.
The cheapest way is to use the built-in calibration that Windows has. If you have a good eye and some good color swatches, you can get a halfway decent calibration.
They look healthy, imo. Patience, they're developing.
Check these out
https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/blog-how-to-use-a-lux-meter-to-increase-your-cannabis-yields-n977
Check this out at Amazon.com
URCERI Light Meter Digital Illuminance Meter Handheld Ambient Temperature Measurer with Range up to 200,000 Lux Luxmeter with 4 Digit Color LCD Screen https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075DC6X25/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_4yeUCb8MFS7XF
$16 isn't THAT expensive...
And light meters are cheap!
I bought this one to check brightness and distance when I use plant lights in my house:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B075DC6X25/
..and if you put an incan bulb inside a reflector for an LED it would probably not go well. Why would you expect it to work well when you're mixing parts that weren't designed for each other?
A "more focused beam" is generally called throw. Its a measure of how far the flashlight can project its beam of light. There are two things that come into effect:
Incandescents have a filament. Their light comes from a squiggly wire of some sort. No reflector will ever gather all that light properly. LEDs are much closer to the ideal "point source" where all the light comes from a tiny spot.
I think your eyes are lying to you. Incandescents just do not out-throw modern LEDs. They can't make as much light and they can't be focused as cleanly. HID and other arc-lighting can with a big enough reflector, but not incandescent. Maybe what you're seeing is a smaller hot-spot of light. That's possible. But the intensity of that hotspot is very relevant to how much throw a light has. You can buy a $26 light meter and test it yourself. Or you can believe me, because I've got lots of lights including incan maglites, LED maglites, and proper contemporary LED lights. And I own a light meter.
Here's a good range to look at, in USD:
$2600
$1400
$800 + $170
$400 + $170 The monitor's not in stock yet, but they also have a $500 one available with a few more bells and whistles, but without the new enclosure.
I use this with a lux to EV table and an EV chart to expose for my large format stuff. It's not great, but it works. In the future I'm going to build my own - you could try that, it's quite simple. A microprocessor like an arduino and a photoresistor, or for better accuracy a dedicated light meter board (about $10).
No problem, in fact as u/mondoman712 says apps exist that use the ambient light sensor for incident metering; but I'm on android and I think the wide variety of hardware give quite inconsistent readings, for what I've tested at least
In any case no thoughts regarding the light meters i mentioned?
Like this one: Lux meter on amazon
I use one of these. There are cheaper options, but since you really only need to calibrate every once in a while, you may just want to look into borrowing one of these if you can find someone that has one.
If you're on a Mac, OSX also has built-in calibration software in the System Preferences. There may be other free software options available, but the Spyder hardware/software did a better job of matching my two monitors.
Get a cheap lux meter on amazon for about $35, I was recommended this one and it seems to work well. Tried to use an app but it seemed really inaccurate. Also a humidity/temperature meter would be a cheap investment.
Can't argue with $21.99
https://www.amazon.com/Dr-meter-LX1010B-Digital-Illuminance-Light/dp/B004K0A7I6/ref=sr_1_3?rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1523327833&sr=8-3&keywords=lux+meter&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011%2Cp_72%3A2661618011&dpID=51hOAEYG-BL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
Well i test for LUX and calculate par based on height, spectrum used and lux to come up with the average par. I'm not the most experienced person for indoor grows since all my other grows have had solar power. With LUX and watt meters while the data i collect might be off its still something to go based on for future grows.
Digital Luxmeter/Digital Illuminance Light Meter with LCD Display 0.1-50,000 Lux Range https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00992B29I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_uAuEDbEAF4NWN
If you can spend a few bucks, a light meter will help you get an idea of how much more you need: http://smile.amazon.com/Dr-Meter-Light-LX1010B-display-Luxmeter/dp/B004K0A7I6
My 2'x4' indoor setup has six T8 fluorescents and is pumping out about 12,000 lux. Different plants require different amounts, but I suspect you're not going to get much in the way of results if you are below about 5,000 lux. It's hard to have too much light.
Fluorescents are fine but you sometimes need several of them. Big tube fluorescent bulbs (T12) are the least efficient, T8 is better and T5 is best though initial price goes up with those. Generally, just a few decent T8 warm-white bulbs should be enough.
LED lights are coming down in price while rapidly improving in quality. My next lighting upgrade will probably be something along the lines of these models: http://smile.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-GL100LED-Spectrum-Growing/dp/B00FGG1HDM
You can also wrap some mylar around your growing area to make sure any escaping light gets reflected back in and the plants get as much as possible. This is the cheapest way to increase your light absorption though it obviously is limited by the lights in the first place.
Things get more complicated if you're growing flowering plants (they are more particular about requiring certain wavelengths). But for growing garden herbs, edible greens, things like that, you can keep things pretty simple.
I'd recommend getting a cheap lux meter (like this. You can also get apps for your phone sensors that will give an estimate (usually at least the right order of magnitude) of the light output.
Sounds like that species likes decent shade, but "shade" can still mean a lot brighter than some T5 bulbs, and it heavily depends on their distance from the plant.
It may also be picky about the spectrum that it's getting. Any idea what color temperature your bulbs are? "Full spectrum" or not? Fluorescents have a pretty mediocre spectral distribution, not generally as good as black body radiation or LEDs. Example. Since most tropical understory plants that I've seen are generally very picky about everything, I'm guessing this one isn't much different.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000KZBRG6/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1506528168&sr=8-11&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=sekonic+light+meter one of these little guys and a lot of luck.
Edit: I'm guessing you're also asking what kind of metering I used. I used incident light up close to the plant, the sand was so bright in the midday sun that the sky came out too.
Edit 2: I mean it when I say I was lucky. This was my first serious outing with the big boxy camera and 60% of the shots were so overexposed as to be unusable.
Are either of these what you had in mind?
https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Checker-Atmospheric-Light-Meter/dp/B00481APE8
https://www.amazon.com/Checker-Ultraviolet-Smartphone-Android-iPhone/dp/B01917YSX2/ref=pd_sim_328_2/152-4109593-4115021?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BNRTC0G6TD4GPFE2M0PA
This little light meter is great if you're new to film. Mine has been so accurate and durable that I haven't bothered to replace it. That said, it's not great for low-light or very unusual lighting conditions.
Yeah I bought a spyder4 pro off amazon. it's like 150 bucks but you can use it on tons of stuff.
http://smile.amazon.com/Datacolor-Spyder4Pro-S4P100-Colorimeter-Calibration/dp/B006TF37H8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407881831&sr=8-1&keywords=spyderpro4
I calibrate my:
MBP
Surface Pro 3,
3 desktop monitors.
It's been worth EVERY PENNY.
You can rent a Colormunki Here. A little pricey since you will want to verify your calibration every 30 days or so.
While Datacolor Spyder5 is the latest and greatest, I still use a Spyder3 and it works very well. You can get a new one on Amazon for a pretty reasonable $85.
Hope this helps
You could buy a cheap lux meter and just measure the brightness?
​
https://www.amazon.com/URCERI-Illuminance-Handheld-Temperature-Measurer/dp/B075DC6X25/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=lux+meter&qid=1565111950&s=gateway&sr=8-3
http://imgur.com/a/woCTh#0
The one with aurora really shows the color loss I'm talking about.
A coworker, who uses one of these on his laptop because he does print work on the side, and my wife both asked me why everything was so grey and blurry. So it's not me or people's monitors.
If higher saturation settings for FXAA injector weren't as popular as they are I'd say you're on to something, but they are popular. Which makes me think the coloring does need a little boost.
In fact my coworker had originally purchased it and didn't want to play it until I showed him the FXAA injector.
Well… this little photography project is more complicated than I anticipated. If I lock the exposure on my phone to make the comparison, one photo is either very yellow or very blue, due to the crisp white of the Aurora vs. the warm white of the incandescent bulbs. Also, the shadows are weird from the overhead light vs. the wall-mounted Aurora.
Here’s what I ended up with: yellow one is the incandescent overhead light in the ceiling.
It probably makes more sense to use a light meter across the room from the light source rather than taking photos, but… I don’t have a good light meter. The gizmo on my phone tells me the overhead light is less than half the lux of the Aurora, which can’t be right (maybe it’s the effect of RGB white LEDs vs limited-gamut incandescent warm white?).
Anyway, if anyone has any advice on how to go about it, I’m open to suggestions.
Dr.Meter Digital Light Meter, 0 - 200,000 Lux Light Lux Meter, High Accuracy Illuminance https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B005A0ETXY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HZUDDbVF50RJY
Just this cheap one, nothing fancy. I just wanted to get a general idea about the light condition in my apartment which is probably abysmal.
Well if you aren't using flash and just need ambient, an iphone meter (get an attatchment) or cheap meter (http://www.amazon.com/HDE-LX-1010B-Digital-Luxmeter-Display/dp/B00992B29I/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1416841101&sr=8-14&keywords=light+meter) may work well.
That meter will give you lux. You can print a quick EV conversion chart and tape it to the back.
I've got a few questions about computer hardware for photography.
My father is a paper artist and needs to upgrade his computer monitor.
He has always photographed his work then edited in Photoshop elements. He is constantly struggling with color correction trying to get everything to look the same as in real life. His average size work is about 5'x5'. He shoots with a T5i with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM.
What are some recommendations for high color quality monitors. Color is the most important factor. He has been using a dell ultra sharp and was thinking of upgrading to one of Dell's higher quality monitors. I've heard good things about BenQ but not sure what to look for. I know he should be getting one with an IPS display.
We were thinking a 27" but is it worth investing in a 1440p or is 1080p still fine. Are there any recommendations for display calibrations. The best selling on amazon is Datacolor Spyder4Pro S4P100 Colorimeter for Display Calibration Is this really worth it and is worth trying on his current monitor? I heard about them on a B&H youtube video but it sounds like it's an easy fix?
He is willing to spend the money to invest in something that will last him a while. What would give him the best bang for his buck? Is there a 750 BenQ that acts like a $1200 Dell
What is the best option for $500?
750?
1000?
1250?
Thank you for any recommendations.
Those two lights on the outside are not going to add anything.. use a lux meter to mesure light intensity on your plants
https://www.amazon.com/URCERI-Illuminance-Handheld-Temperature-Measurer/dp/B075DC6X25/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549323896&sr=8-2-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=lux+meter&psc=1
In seedling stage they should all be getting 5k-10k lux for fastest growth
Chances are you are WAY to close and definitely not too far away.
Those sprouts are trying to get their head in the dirt, not reach for the sky like a guppy on its last breath.
https://www.amazon.com/URCERI-Handheld-Digital-Temperature-Measurer/dp/B075DC6X25/ref=pd_rhf_sc_p_img_12?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=N1J50XP6BGAA8515VKWS
Find the point they are reaching for the sky (about 3 to 3.5ft or higher if your lights are stronger). Then lower a little at a time (every 2 days) until they level off a little.
They should always be reaching just a little at the tippy top. about 10 - 15 degrees.
Also, if your leaves turn too dark too quickly, is another sign of roasting your bud (to be) way to early.
LEDs like lasers. are a specific wavelength. Your eyes are uses to many colors coming from the sun and incandescent bulbs. About half the spectrum is missing from LED (so it can be more efficient in the ones you want), so your eyes 'think' its not as bright, but it is. At least in photon impact and heat generated is concerned.
Yeah, if you've got an unhealthy plant it could be Wrong nutrient solution pH or wrong nutrient intensity (PPM) or too little/too much light
You can hone in on those issues with those devices. Without them you couldn't know of one or more of those are Messing with you
Then there's Humidity/Temperature (https://goo.gl/images/Lf31JV orange is optimal)
Then your medium could be fucked Up, too dense, Bad components (screws with pH), Salt build up
Or your Nutrient composituon could be messed Up (Missing CalMag, Bad Base nutrients)
Those 3 devices together with a Tempreture/Humidity measuring device (godmode would be a Graph with multiple measurements, those things only cost Like 30$) should Cover most your bases.
pH and PPM: https://www.amazon.com/Water-Quality-Meter-Pancellent-Temperature/dp/B06XCMNFVQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542216012&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=ph+ppm&psc=1
Lux: https://www.amazon.com/URCERI-Handheld-Digital-Temperature-Measurer/dp/B075DC6X25/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542216067&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=lux+meter&dpPl=1&dpID=41VbfwkdRUL&ref=plSrch
Never used Recharge before, so can't really speak on that, but yes, the lux meter is fine with the QB. I have the same board and I used this [meter] (https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Meter-LX1330B-Digital-Illuminance-Light/dp/B005A0ETXY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1538762008&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=lux+meter&psc=1)
You are going to need something like this https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Luxmeter-Illuminance-Display-0-1-50/dp/B00992B29I and to fine tune each one manually.
I calibrate my monitor on regular basis with the Spyder calibrating equipment/software.
It does a decent job adjusting the screen in balance with the ambient lightning. Reduced my symptoms radically.
http://www.amazon.com/Datacolor-Spyder4Pro-S4P100-Colorimeter-Calibration/dp/B006TF37H8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421078233&sr=8-1&keywords=spyder4
Hi all. I have a seagull camera from the 1950s that I bought in a Shanghai flea market. It looks like this:
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Seagull_4BI_front.jpg/220px-Seagull_4BI_front.jpg&imgrefurl=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seagull_Camera&h=293&w=220&tbnid=zM0n2kNpGk6zMM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=120&usg=__eCZJBuzm-4beJ7qWSPmQMnNmz_M=&vet=10ahUKEwjvxaSDs9zVAhVkyoMKHZFTBpIQ_B0InwEwEQ..i&docid=G1_Vg4Td83S4dM&itg=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjvxaSDs9zVAhVkyoMKHZFTBpIQ_B0InwEwEQ
I have used it for years successfully by guessing the exposure, or using a digital camera to verify.
I bought a light meter thinking I would simply input my film ISO and then get a reading of the F stop and shutter speed, but the meter I bought produces a number called "lux"
Try as I may I cannot find any way on the internet to translate that number into a way to expose my shots properly. Help!
The meter looks like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Leaton-Digital-Luxmeter-Illuminance-Display/dp/B018QLIVSC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1502908762&sr=8-3&keywords=light+meter
Thanks!!
I was typing up my list of shit for my second grow. Lets see if I got my Reddit Formatting Correct. :)
The Details
Seeds
Gear
Veg/Flowering
Seedlings
Medium and Nutes
Meters
Pots
Misc
I am considering buying a light meter (specifically this one). Would I need to purchase a sync cable to connect my flash and light meter? If so would a cable like this work with this trigger system?
Yep, I had the same thing happen on my first grow (on my 3rd now). It's stretching due to not enough light. You can basically ignore the recommendations of the grow light manufacturer's as far as distance above the plants -- they seem to always err on the side of caution. I bought this lux meter on Amazon for about $20: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075DC6X25/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_xnYUDbD3MF0DF
I've been keeping the light intensity between 10K - 20K lux for seedlings and that seems to work for me. Then gradually increase.
Although you can get hand-held spectrometers they are not cheap, this was the first example I could find at $2 000 a bit more than the $150 that this device is asking for.
I don't think it is possible to build a spectrometer for $150 right now and I have never heard of one being used for calorie counting, Spectrometers are used for identifying materials but you would need more information than that to give an accurate calorie count (such as mass).
So although this is a nice idea I really would have to have an independent expert confirm that it is real before I would believe it.
I have a Gossen Luna-pro (from west Germany) like this but I can't remember when was the last time I changed its battery. It works and measures but I'm afraid about having the same voltage problem with it. Could it happen as well or does it use a different system?
I’d recommend a PAR meter, as lux and lumens are for humans, also if you do get a lux meter and you are running leds then you’ll need to make sure it’s led compatible, like this one on Amazon
I've been using a Gossen Digisix for years and have been happy with it. It's tiny, weighs almost nothing, has done a fine job as far as I can tell with giving accurate readings, and has survived a few falls onto concrete. I could have sworn when I bought it I got it for only ~$100, so maybe it's cheaper elsewhere?
I also used this light meter through my school, but I've never owned one. I recall not liking something about the design quite as much (no idea what since it's been years), but it worked well for me.
I have no idea if those are the best on the market for that price range, but those are the ones I've personally used.
I may spend the cash. What are ur feelings on this one? (does multi monitors)
Actually I did. I purchased the one that u/Ohseventyfive recommended and got way better results. Hope this helps you as well man!
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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005A0ETXY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
so in all this, my assumption is that the meter reading is off in the sense that i if i want 70k lux on my canopy, I'll set it LOWER (@50-55k lux on the lux meter), this is where I'm not sure, is the reading weaker or stronger than reality? I'm going on the assumption the light is stronger than indicated on the lux meter ....right??? (forget PAR, don't know anything about that or could afford it anyhow)
Pick up one of these. I use it all the time.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075DC6X25/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Mine is the pretend 2000w version and for me, 1100k lumens (about 3.5 ft) for sprouts and then slowly implement to about 2100k lumens (about 1.75 ft) for full growth flowering. I'm comfortable with 2 plants as long as I rotate a lot.
You're lower powered and might be tempted to lower to much.
LEDs are exact in their spectrum (end abruptly) unlike incandescent which bleed across the board. But that makes them more efficient in the spectrums you want.
LEDs are basically low powered lasers with a borked direction.
Your eye appear to see less light, even though just as much radiation is hitting your eyes (and those sensitive leaves).
Don't trust your eyes, trust the $20 gizmo and the coloring of the leaves.
I bought a Lumens meter for $20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075DC6X25/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And I use it more than anything.
I found that PEAK is 20k lumens is max for a full grown plant and 19k for sprouts.
Comfort zone is around 17-18k (peak). Every inch drops by 1000 points.
But, with under powered lights you have a second problem, radiation from the LED output device.
If you have to push the LEDs to close to get the 20k, you'll burn the plants very prematurely from heat from the board and some other radiation source that I am presently on a quest to get the exact physics on.
If you got outside on a partly cloudy day you'll pull 90k lumens from The Great Photon Emitter in the sky.
I have a high powered device, probably like what you ordered as a main flowering LED and its almost 2.5 to 3 ft above the plants and comfortable handles 2 plants. For a 3rd, I am squeezing and rotating a lot.
I dangle a lower powered 80w at a side angle to 'fluff' the top and middle from a different angle with photons. Never exceeding 20k lumens at any point on the plant.
I might still be a little to high and need to back my lights off some.
Remember, LEDs are just laser beams with a borked direction
The default hotkeys to open display controls is:
Hold "Option" and press "F1"
(You might have to also hold down fn if you have your function keys toggled the other way)
Now click on "color", and then "Calibrate...", then follow the instructions.
If you wanted to be super serious about it, you could buy one of these...
But frankly, I wouldn't bother. As long as you edit entire photo sets on the same screen, it should be ok. If you switch screens halfway through an album, that is really bad. But if you do the whole thing on one screen, your photos should be fine, and any slight tones will just add character to your photos.
This one. It's not cheap but you can share it with your friends as the software seems to have unlimited installs.
You calibrate your colors and after that run flux. Flux will now take the calibrated color profile as base and then do its thing on top of it.
Angle from where the picture is taken might have an influence, but I don't think that it matters all that much.
Try looking at the original picture and compare it to the picture shown on the wall screen. Look at the colour of the floor. There is a distinct difference even though if you look at the original picture shown on only one screen there is no such thing.
I don't know how the calibration is done when it is turned on, and I can't see how you can do a proper calibration without an external measuring device to measure what colour each screen is actually producing. Basically measuring the colour which is produced and comparing it against the colour which you are trying to produce.
I only know about the consumer facing products used for this. The tool used is called a colorimeter.
Link to one such device.