Pocket meter - digital or analogue?

[BillBingham2]

.......I dug out a spotmeter someone lent me a while back to check my Lunasix (before it died, while it was acting funny). I must have knocked it off the table and then forgot about it because when I picked it up a few days ago, it too was dead. .....

I know it's silly but check the batteries before you give up. Clean the contacts and all. Perhaps run the potentiometer (the adjustment screw) back and forth a few times just to see if there's build up that could also be messing things up.

 

[Godfrey]

I've had the Gossen LunaSix and LunaPro, the Sekonic L208 and L328, a Minolta Autometer III, and a host of others over the years.

Nowadays, what I use is the Sekonic L328 and the Lumu meter attachment and app for the iPhone. They're about equivalently sensitive and accurate. The Sekonic is a bit nicer to use, the Lumu is less to carry (since I always have the iPhone anyway). I've had the Sekonic for almost 20 years now and it is still perfectly calibrated and does the job—incident, reflective, flash metering—very very well.

One of these days I'll sell it for the L358 model. I think. ;-)

G

 

[nongfuspring]

Probably not the suggestion anyone wants to hear, but how about a cheap digital camera? Inexpensive, gives readings at least as accurate as anything else, and you get exposure preview. A friend of mine uses an RX100 for a light meter for her work (a lot of large format long exposures, museum documentation etc.) and swears by it - never uses her dedicated light meters anymore at all.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Hardly any mention of the Sekonic L-308, so I'll throw it out. I like the size- flat and fits in a jacket pocket easily. Easy to hold and use with one hand. No two-handed twisting dials, matching needles, or such. And more than anything, the readout is large enough that I don't need to put on my reading glasses- great to use in the field. I tried some of the others mentioned- Sekonic l_208, L-398, Gossen Digisix- all were too fiddly for my use.

I use it as an incident meter almost all the time, by the way. Best to tape the dome in place since going in and out of pockets can slide it over.

 

[charjohncarter]

One thing about old meters like my Sekonic Master is it has the zone system on the dial so you can use it for placing different tones in zones WITHOUT having to think. Although I usually use a Sekonic Digital; if I'm confused I pull out the old Sekonic master.

In fact, I find that a hand meter like the old Sekonic Master used with a digital camera is helpful. Digital cameras still suffer from short latitude so it is nice to know what the limits are.

 

[Solinar]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

I think I've settled on something modern- a Gossen or Sekonic digital. or whatever turns up on the local classifieds before the weekend arrives.

not considering the following...:
Sekonic 208 - no numerical or scale readout, low light performance not that great
Sekonic 398 - I like the idea, but that low / high range slide would get lost sooooo quickly
Digisix - kind of offput by the negative reviews...
VCII meter - no incident, no readout either


dead meters... ugh. that's why I'm going digital. I hate dead meters.


thanks guys!

I like the old-school Studio Master Sekonic 398 series - it has been or was in production in many nomenclatures for over 60 years - and - it doesn't need batteries.

Modern has it benefits - but there are some things about digital only that I don't like - like having to toggle buttons versus rotating a mechanical dial.

***

The above mentioned Sekonic L-308 which also meter a flash is a wonderful meter in a small package with only two downsides.

* It's programmed as a shutter priority meter. So, you'll be toggling the + or - button to get to your preferred aperture.

* It doesn't display an EV for a particular ISO - while displaying the shutter and f stop. You have to hold the ISO button and press the mode button to see the EV.

* Then do the same to toggle back to the shutter and aperture display.

Neither and especially the latter should be a deal breaker for most modern photogs. I happen to like an aperture priority mode.

Upon immediately seeing an EV of 8 @ ISO 400 or EV 6 @ ISO 100, I'm clued into the fact that there ain't going to be much wiggle room in settling my exposure.

I prefer the old manually set analog dial which is set to a specific EV - but if you are wanting digital, check out the Sekonic L-308.

Best Regards,

 

[zauhar]

The luna-pro SBC has good accuracy and is really sensitive. You do have to twist the dial to get the reading (but also on lunasix, yes?)

I have the monster spot attachment for it, which still works if I hold it on tightly. ;-) Only thing I have which will meter the sky at night.

 

[Steve M.]

I had a digital meter once, an L 308 I believe. It was easy to carry, but slow to read compared to an analog meter because you can't see all the possible combinations at a glance. W/ a digital, you have to use your finger to scroll up and down the scale. You also had to point the digital meter like a Star Trek communicator or something, upright towards the light source, instead of simply pointing it like the meter you have. I hated that, and it did draw attention from people because they wondered what the heck you were pointing at them.

My usual meter is a tiny and light L 188. It's very accurate, but if you need even better for low light I recommend a SBC Super Pilot. These are different than your usual Super Pilots. They're about the size of a pack of smokes (larger than the L 188, but a lot smaller and lighter than your meter), and super accurate in low light. Cheap on the used market, but not as readily available as other meters. Mine was bought from a commercial photographer about 10 years ago and was beat up then. Still works perfectly. They have a bridge circuit in them so they can use 1.35V or 1.5V batteries. There's really no scientific reason why a digital meter would be more accurate than an analog. The meter site below is tons of fun to look through.

http://www.jollinger.com/photo/meters/meters/sekonic_l188.html

 

[mooge]

Because nothing can go wrong with digital?

EX-ACT-LY! I'm glad someone finally understands me.





with regards to the Sekonic 308 -maybe a dumb question but do you have to turn it on with the power button every time after it automatically powers off, or will it wake up when you hit the 'meter' button? if you have to power it on after every 4 minutes of inactivity, I could imagine that getting really annoying...

 

[BillBingham2]

Does anyone use their SmartPhone as a meter?

I've seen some apps but have no need so haven't plunked the cash (though many as very reasonably priced) to buy one.

It could be an interesting spot meter. If you do the app right you could......

Never mind, just came up with an idea for an app.

B2

 

[Vincent.G]

I have the sekonic L-208 and L-398.

The L-208 is small, light and handy.
Slips into the pocket and easy to use for a quick check of light levels.

The L-398 is a heavier so it is usually in my bag.
I use it if I can take my time to meter.

Both are good though. I usually meter for incident light.

 

[Godfrey]

Probably not the suggestion anyone wants to hear, but how about a cheap digital camera? Inexpensive, gives readings at least as accurate as anything else, and you get exposure preview. A friend of mine uses an RX100 for a light meter for her work (a lot of large format long exposures, museum documentation etc.) and swears by it - never uses her dedicated light meters anymore at all.

Digital cameras are pretty limited at doing incident mode flash metering, which is one of the things I use the hand-held meter for most.

G

 

[Dan Daniel]

EX-ACT-LY! I'm glad someone finally understands me.





with regards to the Sekonic 308 -maybe a dumb question but do you have to turn it on with the power button every time after it automatically powers off, or will it wake up when you hit the 'meter' button? if you have to power it on after every 4 minutes of inactivity, I could imagine that getting really annoying...

You have to power it back on. And wait for it to wake up, etc. Yep, can be annoying. My experience says that every meter has its annoyances and I end up working with them. Since I am shooting in pretty consistent light conditions I actually don't use them meter that often. Quick incident readings provide a reality check as I go lalong, mainly. And a digital not having a range of readouts still works for me. I keep it set at 1/125 and can do the changes in my head for different speeds. And do zone calculations on the fly. It all works well for my purposes, but for single sheet large format work I would probably go back to a spot meter.

 

[Vics]

It's really hard for you to break a Sekonic..
I have the L-308s, it's quit portable and reliable, easy (a joy) to use. $150 probably the last investment you're gonna to make on metering.

Plus one more on the 308s.

 

[Godfrey]

Does anyone use their SmartPhone as a meter?

I've seen some apps but have no need so haven't plunked the cash (though many as very reasonably priced) to buy one. ...

Yes. With iPhone 4S, what I've used most is:

- Fotometer Pro ... nice UI, analog-ish readout, pretty accurate overall

- Lumi ... incident hemisphere that uses the iPhone camera, works well, works with a specific app best but I forget the name (phone's upstairs right now...)

- Lumu ... incident light meter that connects to the iPhone via the audio out port and has its own app to drive it. Very sensitive, on par for accuracy with my Sekonic L328. Also have a special app for use with pinhole photography.

G

 

[oftheherd]

The luna-pro SBC has good accuracy and is really sensitive. You do have to twist the dial to get the reading (but also on lunasix, yes?)

I have the monster spot attachment for it, which still works if I hold it on tightly. ;-) Only thing I have which will meter the sky at night.

The Luna-Pro SBC is a really great meter to use, even the Luna-Pro. And yes the 1 degree attachment is big and bulky. But both will indeed meter night time scenes, pretty much down to the black cat in the coal bin, especially the SBC. SBC cells are better in lower light and don't have the memory problems.

But I still often still like my Sekonic L-28c2. I believe it to be better than my SBC for incident readings. I have long wanted the big dome accessory for the SBC, but they cost more than I want to pay since I have the Sekonic.

The old Studio Deluxe such as the L-28c2 are rather pockable, very accurate for incident (although they do reflected, for my use, I don't find they as easy to use nor as accurate as my Gossen), and I think the price is coming down. For a while the L-28c2 were going for more old and used, that I paid for mine brand new.

But it seems you have decided on what you want. If you get it and are happy, that is what counts. Not what any of the rest of us have/lkie.

 

[BillBingham2]

Yes. With iPhone 4S.....

- Lumu ... incident light meter that connects to the iPhone via the audio out port and has its own app to drive it. Very sensitive, on par for accuracy with my Sekonic L328. .....

G

Godfrey,

Never heard of the Lumu and now I've got GAS with it's name on it. And I have NO use for it, thanks.

Very cool info, well worth anyone having an iPhone and needing a good meter to check out.

B2

 

[Bill Clark]

Sekonic L-158 analog light meter for film.

Digital flash meters!

 

[Godfrey]

Godfrey,

Never heard of the Lumu and now I've got GAS with it's name on it. And I have NO use for it, thanks.

Very cool info, well worth anyone having an iPhone and needing a good meter to check out.

B2

I've had it a little while now. It's quite handy and works well. It's one of those knick knacks I keep in my bag all the time now.

G