The least expensive most accurate incident meter???

Hello Rui,

Thanks very much for your considered suggestions.

Also may I compliment you on your blog and the work I see in it ... absolutely beautiful and I particularly like the black and white portraiture ... just fabulous!

Cheers ... Keith :)
 
Gossen Luna Pro or Luna Pro SBC. The SBC will cost more, but I think the SBC cell is worth it. Both are known for low light use. Prices will vary on ebay as will quality, and the cost/quality isn't always sync'd. The Luna Pro is smaller, but used to use the mercury battery. It will have to be calibrated, an adapter used, or wein cells.

Seconics should be good. I have had a Seconic L28c2 for many years, and like it. It works in fairly low light, but has its limitations. I think the new ones will work in less light.

As with other aspects of photography, everything is a tradeoff.
 
i use a gossen scout 3 for large format stuff . it's small and inexpensive has done the trick for me for a number of years .
 
Hi Kieth,

I do like my sekonic L398, but it is struggling a bit for LV's beneath 6, so it might not be your best choice for indoors metering. If you want accurate, I think most Sekonics and Gossens will do. But if you are looking for used meters , be aware that some older meters were built for mercury batteries, which I think are banned now (by tree-huggers?) in most of the world.
I've just found myself a used Lunasix F for 20 Euros, which is a joy to use, very accurate, measures reliably to LV -1, operates from a 9v battery and does flash too. It is a big brick to hold, though; bigger than a small camera.

Greetings,
Dirk
 
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Keith, I have a black Lunasix 3 that was given to me by my cinematographer teacher...its a great meter, robust, not too big and very accurate (the only downside is the mercury batteries but Gossen make an adapter for it)....however if you do get a weston i think i might have a spare invacone for a V or IV lying around somewhere that you can have...ill have a check tomorrow
 
Keith,

Meters are calibrated between 13.5 - 16% (gray cards are 18%.)

It´s difficult to find a meter that is completely linear, and color response varies, as flash/ambient exposure + you have to factor in your own EI, light transmission problems, ...

Perfect exposure is a myth!

Regards,
RLouzan
 
rlouzan said:
Keith,

Meters are calibrated between 13.5 - 16% (gray cards are 18%.)

It´s difficult to find a meter that is completely linear, and color response varies, as flash/ambient exposure + you have to factor in your own EI, light transmission problems, ...

Perfect exposure is a myth!

Regards,
RLouzan
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Ain't that the truth. I noticed when I was shooting last week I could go from one room to the next and get exactly the same reading off the back of my hand for incident light but the results were so different when I developed the film. The room with the dark walls and floor produced incredibly high contrast negs while the other room with light walls and floor gave quite flat results by comparison but skin tones on the subjects looked much the same in either room over all.

I have a night time gallery opening to shoot in a few weeks for QUT where I know the light is going to be very tricky so I think I'll have to lash out and get a sekonic ... which means I'll probably have to sell something to cover the cost. I don't think I'd trust an older second hand meter and I doubt that there's any one in Oz who fixes older meters!
 
Keith, The Gossen Super Pilot will serve all your needs and not stretch your pocketbook. Just the right feel in the hand too. You might find one cheap. They come with a neat "real" leather case too.
 
The least expensive most accurate incident meter???

Hello Keith,
Just read your answer. Thank you very much for your nice compliment on my blog.
I will post some more BW soon, but I don't master scanning...
It is a pity you live so far away. I wouldn't mind lending you the meter for you to check it if you like, or even use it on that important galery opening.
I know what it is to be broke...
Hope you find a good alternative soon.
Greetings,
Rui
 
sekonic l-308s. even cheaper and no fussing around with the stinkin' lumigrid for reflected readings.
 
My trio, pleased with all three.
Weston Master V, overpaid on ebay.
Minolta Auto Meter IV: flash, incident, spot. Paid average & got a screaming deal on my Speed Graphic from the same person.
Gossen Luna-Pro sbc: Incident and lowest of low light reading. Good deal at another forum.

Good luck.
 
personally, I hate the way the dual range dial work on the Super Pilot... though it is a handsome unit.

whitecat said:
Keith, The Gossen Super Pilot will serve all your needs and not stretch your pocketbook. Just the right feel in the hand too. You might find one cheap. They come with a neat "real" leather case too.
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The older versions of the Sekonic incident meters (derived originally from Brockway) can sometimes be found for less than $50 in good shape. Make sure they have a "HIGH" slide otherwise they are nearly useless. Spectra is another good one, but technically somewhat complex (more Cine work oriented).
 
This is probably a little off topic but my Gossen Sixtomat CDS was the cheapest light meter I ever bought ($6 at a flea market). I use every day and it's very accurate even at low light levels. I just have to compensate by 2 stops for the silver oxide cells.
I think I'll buy the Gossen digisix one of these days. It looks nice.
 
If we are talking cheap: how about getting a Kodak Grey Card and taking a reflected reading from it?
 
I have a Minolta Autometer but it's so huge that I never use it anymore. It was great for studio type shooting. Now I use a pair of Weston Master V's, recently overhauled by QLM and they match one another exactly. I always make incident readings. The Westons aren't as sensitive in low light as more modern designs but there are ways around that, such as determining the difference between a reading off a grey card vs. a white card (you wondered why grey cards were white on the back side?) or taking an incident reading close enough to the light source to get a reading, then determining that distance and the distance from your light source to the subject. This allows you to use "guide numbers" just like you do with a manual flash.
 
Merkin said:
I am personally a big fan of the gossen digisix. It is very small, very accurate, has a number of neat features, and you can get an adapter that allows you to attatch it to your hotshoe. It is a bit more than the Sekonic, but more reliable in my opinion. Of the three people I have known with the small sekonic meter, two of them were miscalibrated.
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Ahem. My Digisix is off bij 1 1/3rd of a stop. Easy to adjust if you know how, but 'homing in' on what was ok cost me a few rolls of slide film...
 
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