Favorite <compact> Light Meter

Favorite &lt;compact&gt; Light Meter

  • Total voters
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Weston Master V. Small, tough, accurate enough, and easy to use. I use it more for security because I, like most of us, can pretty well guesstimate most of the time.
(It is within 1/3 stop of my Luna Pro in good light.)
 
surely it's possible for somebody to make a simple digital light meter that is hardly bigger than the accessory shoe itself...and cheaply, too? I carry my twinmate in my pocket often, but would love something that could be attached to the camera and takes up almost no space at all.
 
rbsinto said:
I bought a Minolta Flashmeter III about twenty or twenty-five years ago and it's the only handheld meter I've ever used or needed. Incident. Reflected. Flash. Spot. Does it all.
I don't think it's what you'd call compact, but on the other hand it's just exactly as big as it needs to be. Fits very nicely in both the left breast pocket of my vest, and my left hand, and always gives me accurate readings. What more could I ask for?
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You could ask for it not to run down the (expensive) battery when not in use. That is the only knock I have on it; I have taken to removing the battery when not in use, which is interesting when I can't find the battery, run to Rite-Aid to spend another $10, only to find the previous battery after opening the blister pack of the new one. Murphy lives inside the Minolta IIIF battery chamber.

I have only used it in incident mode, as I do not have the reflective or spot attachments
 
crawdiddy said:
[. . .] since some of us are not proficient at judging EV values (visual equivalent of perfect pitch, IMHO) with our eyes [. . .]
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Sunny 16 doesn't require any special abilities, just practice. Bright sunshine with very strong shadows is 1/film speed @ f/16. Overcast skies with soft shadows is f/8. Open shade, f/5.6 Adjust accordingly from there. You can be several stops overexposed with films like Tri-X and have usable photos. It's difficult to gauge and adjust slide film, but I use meterless rangefinders for shooting B&W negatives, where the Sunny 16 Rule, um, shines.
 
maddoc said:
I also have a Weston Master V but the cell is nearly dead ... How much is it to have them repaired ?
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The last time I sent it to Quality Light Metric in California it costs around $60 for a cell replacement. My IV is still working since, but I've broke my glass and now needs a replacement :bang:
 
novum said:
Sunny 16 doesn't require any special abilities, just practice. Bright sunshine with very strong shadows is 1/film speed @ f/16. Overcast skies with soft shadows is f/8. Open shade, f/5.6 Adjust accordingly from there. You can be several stops overexposed with films like Tri-X and have usable photos. It's difficult to gauge and adjust slide film, but I use meterless rangefinders for shooting B&W negatives, where the Sunny 16 Rule, um, shines.
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I can handle Sunny 16. Indoor lighting is far trickier to guage for me.
 
Another vote for The Weston Master V. I own 2. The metering from both of them is dead on with my Pentax MX. Downside is that they can't be used for very low light, but it don't bother me..
I have been frustrated with several Gossen meters in the past. Lunasix and Lunalite (so called here in Germany). They all broke down internally and could not be repaired for reasonable money. Plastic fantastic!
The Weston Masters are pieces of art, like a Leica, but damn cheap.

wallace
 
Just bought myself a sekonic L 308s. Must say i am very impressed. Buttons and interphase is very straight forward and simple. Weigh close to nothing.

Now i need to test it out in the fields to see if the simplicity and ease of use translates. Will report back sometime in the future.
 
What are the main differences between Seconic 208 and 308 in practical use? I could read the marketing mumbo jumbo but I'd appreciate if someone here could sum up the main points.
 
Mablo said:
What are the main differences between Seconic 208 and 308 in practical use? I could read the marketing mumbo jumbo but I'd appreciate if someone here could sum up the main points.
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THey are VERY different beasts - have a look at them on the Sekonic website, and it's easy to see the very different approaches.

The 308 can do flash, which the 208 can't, but for everyday use the significant difference is that the 308 is digital. On the 208 you merely match the needle tp a pointer, spinning a little wheel, and you get all the xposure/aperture coombinations instantly laid out for you. It's rather like the Weston, but much quicker.

I love the 208 as a meter and would really recommend it, especially because it's so compact, and doesn't ever seem to get disturbed when sitting in your pocket with keys/money/ pebble collection etc.
 
BB52 said:
Sekonic "Leader Deluxe 2" model 36...
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Or the Auto Leader or even Micro Leader. Both small, light, one hand use possible, and accurate when working.

Now I mostly use My Gossens, Luna Pro, Luna Pro SBC (both agree), or the Luna Pro F (one stop different). When using 120, especially the Super Press, I prefer the Sekonic L28c2. Never has let me down (even when one too many drops made it useless unless held on one side, but working again).
 
Over time I've had several meters. Sold some, got some new ones. So, a this time I've settled on these:

1. Smallest 2 - CV and Sekonic:
smallmeters.jpg


2. All together:

allmeters.jpg
 
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Maybe it's about getting accustomed to the attributes and foibles of a specific meter -
I find my Kiev 4 meter quite accurate enough in most daylight situations together with a light Leningrad 4 , 'cos I just like to stay with a meter of the period [ based on a pre-war Zeiss design , LOL ]
It took a while to work out what my Minolta SRT ' clc ' meter was attempting !
Several of my Weston Vs measure well and are still linear , but are heavy to carry around .
Just knowing they meter wide , and compensating seems to work .
dee
 
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