Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens recently tested out our CV600 spectrometer while interviewing a WWII veteran, Wilbur Richardson, about his book, Aluminum Castles. The CV600 is a color spectrometer as well as an exposure meter. In the video, Jay used the CV600 spectrometer to balance the different temperatures in the hanger at the Planes of Fame air museum in California.
Since the CV600 is small and compact, it’s easy to take it with you wherever you need to go. In the spectrometer, you can choose what you want to measure such as the CCT, Lux, TLCI, or foot-candle (fc). Jay went through the meter and played with some of the features. The filter mode was his favorite because you could easily decide which filter brand you want to use and then have the spectrometer calculate what gel you would need to match two different colored lights together. Basically, you choose a color temperature and the CV600 will tell you what gel you’d need to use in order to get that.
“I love the Ikan CV600 color meter because it has so many features to make balancing different light temperatures on set easy.” – Jay P. Morgan, The Slanted Lens
Another feature that he showed was how you can actually record readings that you take on the set. The readings are stored on a card that can then be placed into a computer where you can analyze all the data in an Excel spreadsheet. This really helps you examine which fixtures you’re using or what you’re going to use.
One interesting thing that he pointed out was a feature in the exposure mode where you could choose the continuous setting. By using the continuous mode, you’re able to use the light meter to measure an entire area where an actor will be walking and then identify any places that are too dark. This will help you keep the exposure consistent throughout the shot and is very beneficial when you’re shooting film.
The CV600 is very helpful when you’re color balancing the lights to the background or the lights in the room that you can’t change. If you’re someone that shoots interviews or do a lot of run and gun video productions, a spectrometer can really come in handy because it gives you a quick way to calibrate and then get on with your shot. Want to see how the video turned out? Check out The Slanted Lens or see below:
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