Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I just have to laugh :lol: any time someone says something is 100% wrong in photography.
If it gives the results the photographer is expecting, how can it be "wrong"?
It may not be the most efficient or accurate under as many circumstances, but its obviously working for some people. But who am I to judge? :-)

Now, humor-side of things aside, I do agree with the principal of your statement. 8-)
It just makes more sense that metering should be done towards the camera when multiple lights are used or when lights are not aimed directly at the subject. roughly speaking in as few absolutes as possible. 8-) (I taught myself to use the meter more along with what kenyee stated)

It is also why I keep my Sekonic. I'd like to sell it, but the Cyber Commander simply does not seem to meter properly for me when aimed at the camera.

I do wonder now if there is a problem with the sensor or the dome, etc...

Aiming the meter at the lights instead of the camera is simply the wrong way to set up your exposure. How can that work for anyone when the meter is seeing way more light than what the camera is? That ONLY gives you a reading of maximum output at a given setting. It certainly doesn't tell you how much of that light is hitting your subject.

I find my CC to meter well. Not sure if something wrong with yours but have you tried comparing with your Sekonic?

EDIT: Just read your other post. If the CC isn't keeping up with the Sekonic.... than it definitely sounds like you might have an issue with yours.

Exactly... which is why I am now wondering if my Cyber Commander is faulty, after it is inferred that it should work while aimed at the camera.
Would be nice to know if it is supposed to meter light similar to my Sekonic where I can rely on proper readings while aiming at the camera. (that is my preferred method)

If you were to compare the Sekonic to the CC at the same flash pop, they should read very very very close to each other, regardless of which way they are aimed. Be sure you are allowing enough time for the light to recycle for each test. When aiming at the light vs. aiming at the camera, you can get very different readings from one direct to the next. Or maybe not. It will vary based on the set up.

Got it. And that is what I am doing.
- When aimed at the light, both read almost identically.

- When aimed at the camera they are VERY different. BUT the Sekonic remains very close to the original level.

... and yes, the meter is held at the same location and same angle. (as much as humanly possible, and over many tests for which results are quite consistent)

We're not talking about 1/2 a stop or even a stop difference, but four or five stops difference between the Sekonic and the CyberCommander!

From what I am reading, it sounds like my CyberCommander is not metering properly.
Would you agree?

Well, I was going to take some photos and show examples of what I am getting...
During the process I found what I believe to be the problem.

The Cyber Commander is working just fine and matches the Sekonic within 0-.3 stops on every shot... even when aimed at the camera. (odd that in all my past testing of literally dozens of comparison shots, this never happened before)

But... the Sekonic seems to have a wider "viewing" angle of the incoming light than the CyberCommander.

I'm just making up numbers here, but lets say if the Sekonic had 180 degree metering angle, the Cyber Commander probably has 160.

If I tilt the Cyber Commander slightly towards the light when the metering is way off, or bring the light a bit forward, the metering is again within the 0-.3 stop range.

I must be doing something "wrong" or "unusual", but now that I know the problem I can work towards a repeatable solution.

Thanks to everyone for confirming their CCs were working as expected.