Not sold on this analog incident meter thing..

[f/stopblues]

Last weekend I had a little mishap and left my beloved Sekonic L-308 in a seedy part of town. When I arrived home 30 minutes later I realized what I'd done and drove quickly back down there, but of course it was gone.

This week I picked up a perfect Sekonic L-398M from a local guy. Good deal, nice guy, but I'm not sure if this meter is for me. There's a lot going on with the dials and hash marks, high slide, etc. I seem to fumble around with it the few times I've taken it out so far 🙁 It seems like a great piece of equipment but I'm afraid I've been spoiled by my little 308.

For those that have used the L-398M, is it just something that takes getting used to? Can it eventually be as quick as a digi incident meter? All I use is incident, so extra features aren't much of an issue. Think I should just hold out?

Thanks!

 

[rtphotos]

Hi,

I'd say hold out and give it some time. The L-398M is a good solid meter. I cut my teeth in photo class using one. Like all things new, it may take a bit of time to get on with it.

If after a while you don't like it, just sell it here on RFF.

But I do really like mine.

rt 🙂

 

[payasam]

Any new piece of equipment takes some getting used to; but I don't think an analog meter can be as fast as a digital one. I have an analog CdS meter which is not of the direct reading kind, so I need perhaps 15 seconds rather than 2.

 

[Jerevan]

Yeah, it takes some time to get to know the L-398. Prepare for a few mistakes in the beginning, especially with the High slide and the H/L markings. I think it can be pretty quick to use. Just excercise. 🙂

 

[Hiyawaan]

L398 is a great lightmeter it can feel a little overwhelming with its dials and settings that can easily be bumped, but is solid and battery free. Also I thinks it great to walk through a scene with it and see the needle move. I found it to be a very precise meter with better sensitivity in low light.

I also have the L508 cine, which is great too until the batteries die.

give it time

 

[oftheherd]

Never had the 308, but I have used the L28c2 a lot and loved it. I think it is one of the best incident meters ever. I would give it some time. As much as I love the Gossen Luna Pro SBC, I would use the L28c2 over it any time I could.

 

[f/stopblues]

Ohhhh I caved. I told myself I was going to learn the analog meter, rationalizing it with the fact that learning a rangefinder was a challenge but now I love it. However, a 308S popped up on craigslist for a very decent price and I had to go back to my tried and true meter.

I gave it a good (one week) run :bang: Thanks for your advice, guys.. you're probably right about it getting better, but comfort of a familiar piece of equipment is hard to beat!

On a related note, I now have a Sekonic L-398M in very very nice shape for sale, with the high slide, incident dome ("lumisphere"), luminance disk ("lumidisk"), and reflected meter attachments, all in the original case. The meter scarcely looks like it's been touched. Let me know if you have any interest! I'll put it up in the classifieds tomorrow and pay the appropriate fees when I have a digi cam handy. 🙂

 

[eric]

The 398 is my all time favorite meter. Probably because its the one I learned with doing studio work. They actually made a newer version of that meter not too long ago...398A.
What do you want for that thing?

 

[Bill58]

'Never used a digital, but I love my Luna Pro. It's not fast, but I can see many options of speed to f-stop. I can choose the optimum aperature for image quality, DOF, or speed for moving subjects. Now that it's been calibrated/ CLA'd by Hollywood, it's 100% accurate.