Sekonic L-308S v Gossen Digisix

joey

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Both light meters have the same price tag. Both are quality light meters.

Sekonic can also be used with flash. Convinient AA Alkaline battery is used to power it.

Gossen's advantage - it is smaller; I think it can be mounted on hot-shoe.

Could someone comment on these two light meters please?

Thanks
 
I don't know about the L308 but the L358 has memory to store about eight different readings. Then you can scroll. Too bad they don't let you name them. Ie.. inside limo, altar, outside sun, outside shade...

I love the L358 and lightmeters ingeneral. I think they are faster and more accurate than metering inside my DSLR or my M6.
 
I have the L208 which I like. I was looking at the Digisix too but it is too complex to use, scroll through options and all. I would like to get the 308 for the flash feature but there so many different models, does anyone know which is good?
Bill
 
Joey,

I don't have any experience with the digisix. I went with the 308S because it was a very compact size for handheld, uses easy to find batteries (which last a long time btw), and has auto power-off.

The other thing to keep in mind is that flashshoe meters, while small and convenient are not usually coupled to the camera. So you must still remove your eye from the VF and look at the meter from above, then adjust the readings on your camera/lens. That pretty much made it's advantage less advantageous for me. CV does sell a hotshoe adapter that allows you to mount and carry the CV meters around your neck (as opposed to on your camera). I find that to be most convenient. good luck with your search
 
joey said:
Both light meters have the same price tag. Both are quality light meters.

Sekonic can also be used with flash. Convinient AA Alkaline battery is used to power it.
Gossen's advantage - it is smaller; I think it can be mounted on hot-shoe.
Could someone comment on these two light meters please?

Thanks


I have the 308S and IMO it's the best compact meter on the market.

Tiny, very tough, now splash proof and accurate. It does incident or wide spot metering and comes with a flat disk to measure contrast ratios. Battery life is very good.

The Gossen is rather fussy in operation and not as compact as the VC meter II.

If you are looking for a shoemount meter I highly recommend the Voigtlander VC Meter II (make sure it's the second version). I have one of these for my M2/M4 cameras and it is hard to beat. http://www.cameraquest.com/voivcmet2.htm

Nice metal body, very compact and accurate. The reading I get with mine perfectly match my M6ttl or M7.
 
Flyfisher Tom said:
Forgot to add, the only complaint re: 308S is that it does not have Aperture Priority, only Shutter Priority (very small complaint and you get used to it quickly).
I do think that's a drawback; I tend to think in terms of DOF rather than shutter speeds. I have a perfectly good Minolta III or IVF that I don't use for this reason, instead I use an old-fashioned dial type meter (Quantum Calculight) where I can look at the aperture I'm interested in and select speed accordingly.
 
I only have experience w/the Digisix. I love it for its small size, but I was also already familiar w/the EV system & prefer that type of analog readout, which may not apply to you.

joey said:
Both light meters have the same price tag. Both are quality light meters.

Sekonic can also be used with flash. Convinient AA Alkaline battery is used to power it.

Gossen's advantage - it is smaller; I think it can be mounted on hot-shoe.

Could someone comment on these two light meters please?

Thanks
 
I find the Digisix a bit too fiddley, too. With it's single scrolling button, it's a real pain to use quickly. When it sold for $99, as it did originally, it was a good deal for a simple little meter, and it's ergonomic drawbacks, cheap plastic build quality and slow function could be forgiven for it's low price. But now that it costs about the same as the L308, I can't see bothering with it.

I use the Sekonic L508 and L308, and love them. The L308 is very compact and very accurate- it's my standard carry-around meter, especially for casual quick shooting. The new 308S is even better than my old B version- the readout is improved, (and basically identical to the larger and more expensive 358 and 558), and the weather sealing is better.

As for the shutter priority function, I don't see the issue. Once you press the button, you get a reading of both aperture and shutter speed, and can dial quickly through the whole range for that reading, or you can do it in your head easily enough. I tend to think about what aperture I want to shoot at, too, but I have no problem getting the correct shutter speed with this meter- I take my best guess, and the take a reading, and adjust the settings on my camera as neccesary. I tend to enter a situation, take a couple of readings, say for highlights and shadows, then put the meter away and set my camera on the fly based on what I'm looking at. For me this is most easily done with the little L308 tucked in a pocket.
 
How easy is the L308S to use with the left hand? It looks to me like it's designed for right-hand operation. (The reason I'm asking is that I normally keep the camera in my right hand at all times - I don't use straps - so the only hand available for the meter is the left one).

Also, am I wrong in thinking that the L308S does not allow a reflected reading to be taken whilst looking at the LCD?

Cheers,

Vincent
 
vincentbenoit said:
How easy is the L308S to use with the left hand? It looks to me like it's designed for right-hand operation. (The reason I'm asking is that I normally keep the camera in my right hand at all times - I don't use straps - so the only hand available for the meter is the left one).

Also, am I wrong in thinking that the L308S does not allow a reflected reading to be taken whilst looking at the LCD?

Cheers,

Vincent

Good to see you again Vincent.

re: left hand ... pretty easy to use with left hand. I sometimes have to do so as well with the camera in my right hand. Just use left hand index finger (as opposed to right hand thumb) for the button manipulations, piece of cake. Ergonomically very easy to switch off between left/right hands.

re: reflected reading ... you are correct, you have to point the meter at the reflected area, slide the incident dome to the right, take the reading, and then look at the LCD. Sounds long, but it takes literally all of an extra 1-2 seconds.

cheers
 
Flyfisher Tom said:
Good to see you again Vincent.

re: left hand ... pretty easy to use with left hand. I sometimes have to do so as well with the camera in my right hand. Just use left hand index finger (as opposed to right hand thumb) for the button manipulations, piece of cake. Ergonomically very easy to switch off between left/right hands.

re: reflected reading ... you are correct, you have to point the meter at the reflected area, slide the incident dome to the right, take the reading, and then look at the LCD. Sounds long, but it takes literally all of an extra 1-2 seconds.

cheers

Tom,

Many thanks for the quick and detailed reply. I'm very glad for knowledgeable and helpful people like yourself to keep the spirit of the "old" RFF alive.

As to the L308S: I've never handled one, but on paper it looks like a good candidate to replace my recently departed Digisix. Would you recommend one over the other?

Thanks,

Vincent
 
I've got a Sekonic L-308S and I like it.

My two-cents worth: for about the same $ the
Sekonic does flash and incident as well as reflected.
Incident is almost always the more accurate mode
for general photography but this does reflected too
and the Gossen does not do flash.

You can't put the Sekonic on the camera but that
and their size differences are less relevant than
differences in utility.
 
Vincent,

I've come to really prefer the 308S over my hotshoe meters like the VC (which I assume is somewhat similar to the digisix in size). The 308S is small enough to fit easily into pants pockets. Love the battery life and availability. Auto-power off is also a great feature.

The point of an external meter for me is to take a series of general readings in the area I'm interested in, and then put it away until I see a major light change. I find I work much faster this way (as opposed to taking a measurement every time on a hotshoe meter). In fact, I prefer to use a handheld even with the M6TTL, as I find the in-camera meter distracting when lighting is fairly consistent 😉

I think you will like it. One other possibility is to look for a used Gossen Luna Pro Digital, which is essentially Gossen's equivalent for the 308S. They no longer make the Luna Pro Digital though.

cheers
 
f8&go said:
...You can't put the Sekonic on the camera but that
and their size differences are less relevant than
differences in utility.
I've used both and prefer the Sekonic because it's easier to handle and read. For me, the larger size contributes to its greater utility.

Richard
 
I considered both of these meters prior to my purchase and I ended up going with the Digisix. It's smaller than my cell phone, which I really like.

My major complaint about the Sekonic is shutter priority.. I just don't think in shutter priority. As I've begun to memorize the EV chart my metering gets faster and faster. I find myself referring to the analog dial less and less. All I need to see is the number on the LCD and I already know what the exposure is because the values are always the same no matter what ISO you're using. Really great system, I think.

There are some negatives reviews of this meter out on the net but after actually using it myself I think they are pretty bogus. I have never had a problem with the meter switching modes on me while it's in my pocket and even if it did it doesnt take any longer than a second to get back to the metering mode. Never had any problem with inconsistent readings.
 
joey said:
Both light meters have the same price tag. Both are quality light meters.

Sekonic can also be used with flash. Convinient AA Alkaline battery is used to power it.

Gossen's advantage - it is smaller; I think it can be mounted on hot-shoe.

Could someone comment on these two light meters please?

Thanks
Try the Sekonic L-208 Twinmate. It's analogue, very easy to set and read, and comes with a hotshoe mount. Also does incident and refleted metering. My favorite by far.
See it here:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=8146&A=details&Q=&sku=200224&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

/Ira
 

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