Spot meter recommendation

P

PhotoGog

Guest
Hi RFF

I would like to buy a spot meter to use with my medium format gear. I have only ever owned a Gossen Lunasix 3. I would prefer a spot and incident meter in the one unit, that way I can sell the Gossen to subsidise the new purchase. Looking for recommendations along these lines:

1) A new meter on the market that costs no more than US$400

2) A used meter that has proved reliable for less than US$250

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
You're going to have a hard time finding one in your price range. You can get a used Sekonic L-758 or L-558 for $300-$400. Both are discontinued and replaced by the L-858, which is $599.

I have a Sekonic L-758, and I love it. I would not hesitate to buy another if mine died. If you can't afford the new L-858, get a used L-758. It'll cost you more than you wanted for a used one, but less than you wanted to pay for a new one.

There are a couple of older Sekonics with incident and spot built in, but I would avoid them.

The L-508, which I used to have, was a good meter but it had poor lowlight capability in spot mode. I think EV+3 was the lowest it went, and most spotmeters meter down to EV+1. The L-558 and L-758 also meter down to EV+1 in spot mode. The other problem with the L-508 is that it does not show spot reading in its viewfinder; you have to take the meter away from your eye to look at the big LCD on the side of the meter. Its a real pain. The newer Sekonics have the readings display in the finder.

Gossen also made two spot-incident meters, the Starlight and Starlight 2. I would not buy one; both were plagued with reliability problems and had poor lowlight capability compared to the Sekonics, and they were very expensive. Gossen will not repair the original Starlight at all anymore, while Sekonic still services the L-558 and L-758.

The New Sekonic L-858 differs from the older models in two ways. One, it has a touchscreen. I do not particularly like these on meters. I have Sekonic's color meter, the C-700U, and it is a pain to use. Second, it has much greater lowlight capability than ANY other meter made today! That interests me, and despite the touchscreen, I'd buy one if I had the money. It meters down to EV-2 in spot mode and EV-5 in incident mode.
 
My recommendation would be the Sekonic L-858D but it's above your budget...

You might check out the Kenko KFM-2200 which comes in at around USD 480.00 list price
 
shimokita said:
My recommendation would be the Sekonic L-858D but it's above your budget...

You might check out the Kenko KFM-2200 which comes in at around USD 480.00 list price
Click to expand...


Oh yeah, I forgot about the Kenko. I used to have a Minolta Flash Meter VI, which is the same thing. Kenko bought Minolta's meter division and slightly changed the outside appearance of the meters, but inside they're the same. It was a great meter, too. I think the Sekonics I recommended have better lowlight capability in spot mode, though. That's the one thing I didn't like about my Minolta.
 
If you want a spotmeter, the Pentax digital is the way to go. I see you want both....but I'd go with the pentax and then buy a cheap used incident meter. In my case I use the Pentax and a Digisix 2....both bought used.
 
I own a Sekonic 758 as well and it's an excellent meter but really prefer using singular application meters like my Pentax 1 degree and Minolta IV.
 
Bill Clark said:
Would this work?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EEJY4S...argid=kwd-276110316617&ref=pd_sl_98uxy9mpkr_b

Can’t beat the price! Several are listed with this link.
Click to expand...


No. Those are absolutely worthless for photography. They're for industrial use, and read out in Lux, a unit of measure for light. You have to do math do translate that to camera settings. Also, it has a flat, or nearly flat, diffuser. For photography, you want a round hemisphere diffuser for incident light work.
 
Bill Clark said:
I figured it was too good to be true!
Click to expand...


The fact that industrial meters can be sold so cheap shows that photographers are being screwed by manufacturers. Modern digital meters are cheap to make. That said, companies like Minolta, Sekonic, and Gossen do make industrial lux-meters that cost FAR MORE than photographic meters. So, maybe the cheap ones aren't that good even for non-photo use?
 
I know it's clunky, but...............

I know it's clunky, but...............

Dear pfd,

You can buy a working Canon EOS Elan, or Nikon 8008S for $ 8.00, it know because I've done it 4 times to get metal mount nifty 50's and 28-80 USM's. I never paid more than $ 50.00 and often got two lenses which I sold. In essence, the cameras were free, but I figured $ 8.00 was a fair figure because I bought both a working an Elan and an 8008S for that figure. Add a cheap 28 -105 lens and a battery and for $ 25.00 - $ 30.00 you have yourself a spot meter.

It's certainly not handy, but it'll work just as well and keep a pile of do-re-mi in your pocket.

Just a thought.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg, PA 🙂
 
I'll throw in my 2 cents and also highly recommend the 1 deg Pentax digital spot. Great meter. For low cost incident meter the Sekonic L-398 or even a good working 20+ year old L-28C. But, my favorite incident meter is the 1970's Spectra.
 
The Pentax Digital Meter, while a good meter, is very overpriced because its been fetishized by large format landscape photographers who wish they could be Ansel Adams. The meter was discontinued over a decade ago, and the oldest ones are 40 years old now. I would not recommend buying old meters of any kind.
 
I agree that the Pentax 1 degree digital spot meters are expensive, but they're good and I've been very happy with mine. The older analog version is just as accurate and cheaper than the digital. Their disadvantage is that the analog meter might cause trouble, but I had one of these for years and it didn't miss a beat. There is also the Soligor Spot Sensor; they're getting a bit old now, but they are accurate and can be found very cheaply.
 
pepeguitarra said:
Anything wrong with that?
Click to expand...


No, but owning the same gear Adams used won't make you a great landscape photographer anymore than owning a Leica will make you the next Cartier-Bresson. Given that the Pentax meter's price is greatly inflated because of such silliness, and that there are much more capable meters available for less, I cannot recommend it as a good choice.
 
I wholeheartedly second Chris's recommendations. I still have both digital and analogue Pentax spot meters and a Gossen (a monster, and not easy to use) and I have had on extended loan from the manufacturers both Minolta and Sekonic. I also have an SEI Photometer.

The truth is that it doesn't really matter much which one you use, because they will all give the same results once you have learned how to use them, so it's a question of convenience and reliability.

The idea of using a camera as a spot meter is however a non-starter as far as I am concerned: the spot is simply too big.

Finally, a lot of LF users are saved by the ability of negative films to tolerate quite massive overexposure without significant loss of quality.

Cheers,

R.
 
Gossen Luna Star F

Gossen Luna Star F

Both the Gossen Luna Star F, which I use, and the Luna Star F 2 have an optional 5' spot attachment. Both meters can be found for $200 and under.
 
The pentax spot meters are highly reliable. I've seen the analog version for $100 and if you watch the fora, the digital for as low as $250. There are several places that service them. considering we're on a forum where people are calmly chatting about dropping $9k for a Leica M10 body without lenses....$250 or $300 doesn't seem outrageous for a product that is small, and easily pocketable or can be worn on the hip...& offers years of trouble free service.
 
Many thanks Chris, and everyone else for the advice. Sounds like the L-758 is the way to go. Will just have to save up more coin and keep using my old Gossen until then. Your advice is very helpful as I was eyeing a used L-508 but had not noticed that the EV rating is so poor. Money saved.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

WoodallP
Bangkok camera browsing suggestions requested
Replies
3
Views
131
WoodallP
WoodallP
H
first steps with the KEKS M Meter
Replies
11
Views
932
hilltime
hilltime
R
Service on Minolta Flash Meter 6?
Replies
0
Views
622
ranger9
R
hilltime
Zeiss-Ikon Ikophot T meter
Replies
9
Views
1K
KoNickon
K
stephen_lumsden
L-398 and other options
Replies
14
Views
2K
stephen_lumsden
stephen_lumsden
Back
Top Bottom