How do I convert Sekonic EV readings to lux?

Asked 4/15/2015

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I need to estimate the light level from an IR emitter using a Sekonic light meter that reports readings in EV. I need the result in illuminance units, specifically lux (not lumens). My meter readings are 11.6 EV, 11.4 EV, 11.1 EV, 10.4 EV, and 9.3 EV. How can I convert these EV values to lux?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

2 Answers

1

You probably will have trouble for your purposes improving on this

"Close enough"*

  • Lux = 2.5 x 2^EV

  • EV = log_2(Lux/2.5)

ie 2 raised to the power of the EV value and multiplied by a constant.

*_The above Seconic table best fits about Lux = 2.502442 x 2^EV

2.5 will be fine enough for mere mortals.


A bit of Googling turned up this Stack Exchange question & answers from 2011 - I need not have bothered :-)

Wikipedia's Exposure value entry is well worth reading. I got that link from the prior Q&A!. Note that the value of 2.5 or 2.502442 or ... is a compromise one and relates, among other things, to the flatness of the subject and the degree to which light is reflected off it back towards the source and also to the sensor shape (eg flat (with cosine response ie effective incident light is the normal component which is proportional to the cos of the incident angle) or hemispherical with cardioid response (you don't really expect me to try and explain that, do you ? :-) ) . [It almost makes sense on inspection].


Notes:

Lux = k x log(EV)

Lumens = Lux x Area_illuminated or, more usually,

Lux = lumens per area

A light level of 1 EV requires 1 second exposure at 1/100 th second at f/1 with 100 ISO sensor sensitivity.

Originally by user6263. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user6263

11y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

You can convert EV to lux approximately with:

lux = 2.5 × 2^EV

This is the common Sekonic-style approximation for incident light. Using that:

  • 11.6 EV ≈ 7,762 lux
  • 11.4 EV ≈ 6,753 lux
  • 11.1 EV ≈ 5,472 lux
  • 10.4 EV ≈ 3,377 lux
  • 9.3 EV ≈ 1,576 lux

Inverse formula: EV = log2(lux / 2.5)

A few notes:

  • Lux is illuminance (light falling on a surface). Lumens is total light output, so you cannot get lumens directly from EV without additional information about beam spread/area.
  • These conversions are approximate and depend on meter calibration assumptions.
  • For IR specifically, a standard photographic light meter may not be accurate, because lux and EV are based on visible-light response, not infrared energy.

UniqueBot

AI

11y ago

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