Rayt
Nonplayer Character
I have 5 various generations of Sekonic L-308 scattered around just in case I needed one in a hurry. It fits in my back pocket or hangs down my neck. I can’t use anything else.
What is the most reliable, easiest to use, hand-held light meter?
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38Deardorff
Well-known
R, 5 ?? Do we need to stage an intervention ?
Rayt
Nonplayer Character
I have a habit of forgetting where I put things and usually leave the meters in the last camera bag used so it’s easier to just have one in every camera bag. You don’t want to know how many shutter cables and ground glass loupes I own.
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boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
I have a Seknoic L-208. It is simple enough that I can use it with ease. It is a simple point and shoot and works for direct and incident light.
38Deardorff
Well-known
In a few words, Gossen Digisix. I have a larger meter (Pentax Digital Spotmeter).
I have to admit, at first the Digisix was a frustrating puzzle. But every many hours of use....like a new iPhone or computer i have the keystrokes internalized.
It's tiny, works well, and there's room to sneak a spare battery in the case.
Sometimes I use the Leica MR4 meter, but i have it in my pocket.
If I'm using LF or full MF kit, i don't mind having a bigger meter, but if I'm travelling or working with a single camera & lens, I don't want to carry a lightmeter that's bigger than my camera.
I have to admit, at first the Digisix was a frustrating puzzle. But every many hours of use....like a new iPhone or computer i have the keystrokes internalized.
It's tiny, works well, and there's room to sneak a spare battery in the case.
Sometimes I use the Leica MR4 meter, but i have it in my pocket.
If I'm using LF or full MF kit, i don't mind having a bigger meter, but if I'm travelling or working with a single camera & lens, I don't want to carry a lightmeter that's bigger than my camera.
Attachments
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
The later ones are bayonet mount and are pretty tight; they don't fall out.
hilltime
Well-known
I have a Sekonic L-308 and a digital Pentax Spotmeter along with about 30-40 other vintage meters, mostly selenium. Most are accurate as compared to the known correct setting, but my favorite is my Zeiss Ikophot T. My second is that gorgeously appointed Zeiss Ikophot # 1329, leather bound with gold foil print and hanging gold chain. Such a classic and downright accurate…another a Werra green to match the green of a good amount of their cameras…
Love these classic pieces of 60-70 yrs old.
Love these classic pieces of 60-70 yrs old.
hilltime
Well-known
Bolo Kukus
en vacances...
Another old thread returned from the deep, good one! We cannot get enough of these...
I have four or five (as usual I've lost count) Gossens and no less than 15 Westons, the latter picked up on Ebay at drop dead prices. Also a dozen or so odd-bod brands picked up here and there, often from charity shops where they usually languish unloved in dumper bins as nobody in country towns seems to know what they are. So I pick them up dirtily-cheaply.
Of those Westons, eight or nine (here we go again) read exactly the same, but the problem here is that they are all consistently half a stop under. Which is okay by me as long as I remember to make the necessary mental calculation and adjustment when I set my camera with the meter reading.
Four or five of the others read spot-on. But again a basic problem with this ancient tech is those Westons are generally useful on sunny days or when it's cloudy bright outside, but otherwise it's too much mental effort to make all the calculations on the dial and adjust accordingly.
Now and then I go thru my collection and discover another Weston has popped up to the next avatar. It then goes on the wall as an ornament. Friends who visit say they are fascinated by them but typically nobody has a clue as to what they are. One of life's mysteries to non-photographic minds...
I use them with my old German folding cameras and my three Nikkormat FT2s, which means I no longer have to buy new batteries for the latter beasts. So win-win for me, as long as I remember the films I'm using are long expired (and yes, refrigerated throughout their long lives), which involves yet another mental adjustment-calculation to guesstimate the slower ISO setting. Oh, well.
I have four or five (as usual I've lost count) Gossens and no less than 15 Westons, the latter picked up on Ebay at drop dead prices. Also a dozen or so odd-bod brands picked up here and there, often from charity shops where they usually languish unloved in dumper bins as nobody in country towns seems to know what they are. So I pick them up dirtily-cheaply.
Of those Westons, eight or nine (here we go again) read exactly the same, but the problem here is that they are all consistently half a stop under. Which is okay by me as long as I remember to make the necessary mental calculation and adjustment when I set my camera with the meter reading.
Four or five of the others read spot-on. But again a basic problem with this ancient tech is those Westons are generally useful on sunny days or when it's cloudy bright outside, but otherwise it's too much mental effort to make all the calculations on the dial and adjust accordingly.
Now and then I go thru my collection and discover another Weston has popped up to the next avatar. It then goes on the wall as an ornament. Friends who visit say they are fascinated by them but typically nobody has a clue as to what they are. One of life's mysteries to non-photographic minds...
I use them with my old German folding cameras and my three Nikkormat FT2s, which means I no longer have to buy new batteries for the latter beasts. So win-win for me, as long as I remember the films I'm using are long expired (and yes, refrigerated throughout their long lives), which involves yet another mental adjustment-calculation to guesstimate the slower ISO setting. Oh, well.
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Godfrey
somewhat colored
DownUnder ... I see you are as good at accreting Stuff as I am. 😉
G
G
peterm1
Veteran
I still have an older Sekonic. In my film shooting days, when shooting with a Leica M3 I would pretty much invariably just take one incident light reading when first going out of doors then put it away after setting the aperture and shutter speed values accordingly. If the light changed as I wandered about I would remember to just open up or stop down - seldom much more than one stop as I was almost always using negative film and that did the trick. No need to obsess. No need to take frequent readings. These days I shoot digital so my Sekonic mostly sits on a shelf.
PRJ
Another Day in Paradise
I have so many I can't keep track to be honest. My favorite meter is typically a Gossen Luna Pro Digital. Nice and small. Going from memory, I also have a Pentax Digital spotmeter, a non digital Pentax spotmeter whatever that is called, a Gossen Luna Pro, Gossen Luna Pro SBC (one of the best IMO), Sekonic L-358, TTArtisan hotshoe meter, Weston IV, a couple of Zeiss Ikophots I just found yesterday in a drawer. I used to buy old light meters off Ebay years ago. Don't remember what happened to all those. Maybe they are around here somewhere. I keep different meters in different bags. Pentax Digital goes with the 4x5. Sekonic goes with the digital gear. Etc.
Sanug
Well-known
I like to keep it small and simple.
Gossen Sixtino with Adox Golf
Gossen Sixtino with Adox Golf
WoodallP
Pragmatist Barnack lover
I have a love-hate relationship with my Digisix 2. It’s great to use but not so great when it wakes me up in the middle of the night because I accidentally switched on the alarm clock functionality! Putting an alerm clock on was not a great idea (I suppose they are off the shelf chips and they couldn’t avoid it).
571514m3
Established
This is a little jewel, right? I wonder when it was made.
A few years ago I came across one and bought it for A$40. It had never been used, the gold chain was perfect, the leather case without blemish and it measured the same as my Digisix2. A perfect little do-everything light meter. I guess if selenium cells are kept in the dark they do not degrade.
Occasionally I look at it and smile. If I had the right camera I could use it. A Contax, or Ikonta?
Anyway, I am not using it. >>Contact me if anyone wants it and is willing to pay the postage. <<
Would be nice to know it gets used for the first time decades after it was made!
dexdog
Veteran
I have used a Gossen Digisix in the paast. Works well and is small enough to keep in a shirt pocket with the strap around my neck
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Mcary
Veteran
Have a Sekonic L-308 and Sekonic L-208, both of which I find simply and easy to use.
wlewisiii
Veteran
I find myself using my L308 more again since I got into using my Nikon S4, especially as I've been learning the foibles of Kodak Pro Image. 100ISO negative, not quite as bad as a slide film but less latitude it feels like than the usual negative film. So, I've been metering a bit more.
hilltime
Well-known
I’ll take it if postage is in the US. I’m in Florida.
I’d say they were made from the mid 50’s through early 60’s…
I’d say they were made from the mid 50’s through early 60’s…
571514m3
Established
I'm in Australia. A postcard overseas is A$3. It will probably be A20...as a guess.
Interesting info here:
