Thinking of Getting Hand-Held Meter

Also note, Gossen sells the DigiFlash in lieu of the DigiSix. The form factors are identical. The only difference is that the former has the addition of flash metering.
 
Another happy user of Sekonic L-308s. At first I was concerned with the shutter priority. But in practice, it was easy enough to cycle through the different combination until i find the Aperture value that I want. Use incident mode almost exclusively. Great size, price for the feature set.
 
wgerrard said:
Thanks for the quick education.

I just watched a video on the Sekonic 398. Looks like it might work with one hand. Anyone using it that way? Also, are there low-light issues with it? (By "low light" I mean after sunset, not dark of night.)

Mike, Doug: I know what you mean re; eyes and eyeglasses. I wear progressive lenses in my glasses. Legibility of small print gets better as I bring it closer to my eyes, and then gets worse quickly once it gets too close. It's easier for me to read with no glasses at all.
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The 398 would be hard for me to read in fading light, I'm pretty sure. Sounds like we have similar vision concerns (I'm probly worse off). I've moved to LCD output from analog and would like the not-quite-as-big-as-it-looks L-358 for its auto-illumination. (I wish the L-308 had this feature.) Carrying a flash-light to be able to see the meter readout frustrates me in use, not to mention that using one thwarts pupil acclimation to low light levels.

Hope this helps.

Btw, no relation to seller, but a 308s just showed up in the classifieds.
 
helenhill said:
I have the CV Meter II in black...😎
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I've had a silver one for a couple of years, and it's on my M2, too. Nice little thing.

But, I want to see what this incident metering business is all about. I've actually ordered a Sekonic 398A, being in a bit of a retro frame of mind lately. I figure as long as I can read my watch -- little grey numbers on a black background -- I should be able to read it. Googling around about its low light ability showed it seems to be good for the lowest light I'm likely to shoot in.
 
Talking about backlit meters: For years Timex has sold inexpensive watches and clocks that light up their displays for several seconds when you press a button. Maybe that technology might be incorporated into meters.
 
I went through this decision a year or so ago and chose the L308-s after exhausting myself considering the alternatives! 😀

No regrets at all ... it does everything you need and is very easy to use one handed and not being able to select an aperture is no disadvantage IMO.
 
bill, yes, that timex concept would work well for me, simple and only when needed. the higher end digi meters auto-illuminate below a certain threshold. but they're not cheap or compact.
 
I just bought a used L 308B and love it. At first I was put off by the fact that you have to hold the meter vertically to take a reading, unlike all of my other meters that were held horizontally, but got used to that pretty quickly. It's smallish, very light, and does a fantastic job in low light. It's definitely a one hand meter, and whether or not you need aperture or shutter priority is not a big deal to me, as I can very quickly toggle up and down. The readout is great and easy to see at a glance.

I used the older CDS meters for years, and still like them if I'm outdoors, but I couldn't trust them inside, so the L 308B has done what I bought it to do. Nice meter.
 
Sekonic 308-s here. I actually bought mine to use with a video-DSLR but have been using it more with my M6, to check the M's meter and re-learn metering and exposure. One handed operation is easy. Ditch the neck cord.

I must admit to admiring the Gossen Digisix, though, as it is about half the size of the Sekonic. The only thing I don't love about the 308 is its size: it's just a little too bulky to shove in the pants pocket and walk around with for any amount of time. It starts to look awkward.

"Sir, is that a light meter in your front pocket or....."
 
Earlier this summer I looked hard at the L208 and the DigiSix for one-handed metering. I decided that either one would work. But the Sekonic could be had for half the price of the Gossen (used, in both cases), so I bought the Sekonic. No regrets.
 
I use the Gossen DigiPro F. It's quite tall but not dense. I take a Leica M2 to evening functions and have my meter in my right inside breast pocket. It doesn't weigh down my jacket and it's easy to pull out. You can set aperture priority or shutter. The incident cone can be swiveled to face you so reading the display is particularly easy. It can be used one handed and by either hand. I don't want something smaller.
 
I have a couple of favorites. Digisix for the small size, and LunaStar F for the versatility and swiveling dome. I had an L308s for a while, and while it is a great meter, I much prefer the swivel option on the LunaStar, and the ability to set the thing to aperture or shutter priority. I acquired all of these used, for about $100 or so. Sold the L308s, kept the other two.
 
sevo said:
The 398 is and has been my main meter for daylight situations. It is easy to work with one hand (and the Weston follows the same paradigm). However the initial and early Norwoods were even easier to use, for some unfathomable reason they dropped the comfortable direct scale matching in favour of numeric readout and transfer at some point in the evolution of this meter type.

It works down past the bottom of handheld times (1/4s at f/1.4 for ISO 100). I would recommend the last two 398 variants (Studio Deluxe II or III, a.k.a. 398M or 398A) if you want to use it at the lower margin of its sensitivity, as the typography and print size on the scales was significantly improved there - the older ones are near impossible to read in low light.
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How have you found the L308 to work compared to the earlier meters? As I mentioned earlier, I have the L28c2 and i don't think it can be beat for incident; something about that big dome. It even works pretty well in lower light, but not as well as my Luna Pro or Luna Pro SBC of course. However, for some reason, I just don't have the confidence in them for incident like I do with the L28c2.
 
oftheherd said:
How have you found the L308 to work compared to the earlier meters? As I mentioned earlier, I have the L28c2 and i don't think it can be beat for incident; something about that big dome
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I don't have a L308 (which AFAIK is a small dome digital meter), but a L398 (and a L398M). The L398 is the successor of the L28c2, and very similar - indeed, the model name of either is just "Studio Deluxe" and the most notable difference is that the L398 lock button can be set to permanent unlock. The Studio Deluxe II (L398M) revamped the calculator wheel layout, the current Studio Deluxe III (L398A) is a II with the selenium cell replaced by a silicone cell. All of them still are the spitting image of the original 1940's Norwood Director, with only minor typography and design updates - to the point that Sekonic Domes and grids can be used on late generation Norwoods.
 
Why I think the Weston Master V does not fit the OP's bill

Why I think the Weston Master V does not fit the OP's bill

Ronald M said:
Any Weston Master reflective or used as incident with invercone will fill the bill.

So will a Sekonic studio Delux incident.

I have 3 Westons and one Sekonic. No batteries required ever. Easy one hand operation.

Buy a used one and send it to Quality Light Metric in Hollywood. George will calibrate it to new. You are then good to go for 20 years unless you drop it. So use the neck chords.
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I have experience with the Gossen Digisix and the Weston Master V. Well, as long as you have the invercone already mounted and the correct range (flippable "slide" in front of the cell or not) for the light you are in selected, it is true, easy one hand operation.

BUT: (and bear in mind what the OP is looking for: I'm thinking about getting a hand-held light meter. I'd like to find one that i can operate with one hand (The camera is usually in the other hand.)
- the invercone has a tendency to come off the meter when you grab the meter from, say, the front pouch of your bag. With one hand. Ok, say YOU never have that problem, the time will come where you have the invercone sitting on the meter, and you need to switch between the hi/lo-range. You need to take off the invercone, flip the "slide", and re-attach the invercone. It can be done with one hand. But it is a hassle, it takes time, it hogs your attention, and at some point you will drop the invercone. It will not break or crack the first time, but eventually...

The Master V with invercone attached is quite thick, (and the Master V is a heavy bugger, thanks to the solid construction and the hefty magnet inside) and you will not want to slip it in your pants pockets the way you can do with a Digisix or the Sekonic Twinmate.

Unfortunately, Al Kaplan is no longer with us. He had decades of experience with Weston Masters, this is from one of his threads http://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68429 , in reply to Gary E:" I am ok with the reflected readings but prefer the incident readings. The only thing is the invercone always seems to slip off the meter when in the bag.
frown.gif
"
Al Kaplan: "Put a rubberband around it. A 1/4 inch wide rubber band works great but doesn't cover enough of the Invercone to change the reading enough that you'd notice."

Put a rubberband around it... I really think that is sound advice. But it does not make for smooth one-hand-operation.


I don't want to come across as dissing the Weston Master V per se. I understand why it has such a following. (I bought mine from Ian Partridge, who refurbishes Masters with new selenium cells. And I will buy a replacement invercone for the one that cracked and splintered (yep, one hand operation in the streets...) beyond glueing.) In many ways it "matches" something like a M2 very nicely, much more than a battery dependent light meter, let alone one with a digital display.

But if you look for an easily pocketable lightmeter with true one-hand-operation, the Weston Master V, grand as it is, is not the first choice.

My five cents! 🙂
All the best, Ljós
 
gossen digiflash or sekonic 308S- what would you go for ? same price point used
mostly to be used for incident reading.
cheers
 
Reason for shutter priority on the 308S is you can set on your camera f/8 +1/2 stop (or whatever). But what if you had an aperture priority meter and it tells you to set shutter at 1/125 +2/3 stop??
 
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