Buying a NEW light meter tomorrow

[FrankS]

A bit late I guess, but I bought a used Gossen Luna Star F for $200 and have never been sorry. It functions as an area,5 degree spot, or incident meter as well as a flash meter in any mode. It even calculates fill ratio, and uses standard 9 volt batteries.
No idea what it would cost new; I bought it after a long and frustrating look at other models; when I saw it and tried it, it was an instant sale. One of the best investments in equipment I've made.

I wish these meters were at least 20% smaller.

I had one of these, still do actually, but after a walk in the woods one day, I left it on the car roof while I drove away. I saw it falling in the rearview mirror and bouncing several times on the road. I stopped to pick up the peices. It still reads light but the whole main dial is broken off.

 

[Bryce]

Frank-
That's tragic. You should post that in the "ultimate sacrifice" thread.
Gossen's lineup is so confusing... My meter is a digital model.

 

[egpj]

Update to my original post.
I picked up a Sekonic Flash master L-358 meter today. It actually fell below my $300 price and does both flash and ambient light measurement.
What sold me was the large easy to read readout.

I think you will like the 358. I bought that one recently to try and make my kit a little more compact (was using an L558). It fits nicely in a L2 Alice and leaves a good amount of room to spare.

 

[colyn]

I think you will like the 358. I bought that one recently to try and make my kit a little more compact (was using an L558). It fits nicely in a L2 Alice and leaves a good amount of room to spare.

The size was also a selling point since it will go in my Leica bag.

 

[ZeissFan]

I use two light meters -- each about 50% of the time.

The first is the Sekonic L-508. A great meter, very accurate, very versatile and somewhat expensive when I first bought it.

The other is an older Zeiss Ikon Ikophot T. It takes a 9-volt battery. It uses the CdS cell, and it offers reflective and incident metering. It also is very accurate, and I've been pleased with the results. The Ikophot T is actually my everyday meter, because the Sekonic is too large to tote with my backpack.

But buying a good, reliable meter is a wise investment. Think of it as a long-term purchase with the goal of not having to replace it within your lifetime.

Don't bandaid your purchase -- that is, buy "almost" what you want, because it won't meet your needs and then you'll eventually end up buying the meter you really wanted. That's a waste of money. This applies to most things in photography ... and sometimes in life too.