Sekonic L-398 Light Meter

Download and print the Help Sheet with this link: Sekonic L-398 help sheet

1. First thing is to set your ISO to the sensitivity of your camera or speed of film stock. For example here it is set to 200. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds. For example an indoor sports event when you want to freeze the action in lower light. However the higher the ISO you choose the noisier shots you will get.
2. Next if you are outside you need to put in the HIGH Slide Located in the back of the meter.
3. Note that there are two readings one for the high pointer and one for the low pointer
4. Make sure the knob is in the locked position by pressing it down and turning to the left so the button pops out so it is not in constant mode. This means you must press the button for the light meter to get a reading
5. Point the Meter White Sphere towards the camera very close/near the subject where you have the camera pointed and press button to get the light reading
6. The reading here shows @ 80 foot candles. It also shows where to set the F-Stop (@4)
7. Set the Dial to 80 and this will show you the F-Stop to set the camera.
8. When the dial is set to 80 (the reading we got from our light meter) The meter shows us the F-Stop we need to set our camera. This sets the amount of light needed to properly expose film based on the film speed that was entered in step 1.