What's your favourite Light Meter?

[amateriat]

After having a years-long (actually a couple decades) chip on the shoulder about handheld light meters (yeah, getting that Canon F-1 rather early on spoiled me, too), I bought a my first handheld, a used Sekonic L-428 for $50 a year and a half ago, and (eventually) most all the add-on goodies for it, including a spot attachment. Does about everything I need, even in pretty dim light (it was one of the first to use SBCs). Neither the biggest or smallest of handhelds – bigger than a 398, but not monstrous, and very well-built. But the metering built into my Hexar RF bodies is pretty tough to beat under most conditions.


- Barrett

 

[clarence]

I find street shooting easier with a handheld meter, so you don't have to alert your subject to the camera as early.

I'm using a Leningrad right now. Simple and effective.

Clarence

 

[StuartR]

I love the L-358, but it is probably a bit of an overkill for a small handheld meter. It is great in the studio. The readings are very accurate, the flash meter works really well, and so does the wireless triggering when you are using a pocket wizard. It's really well designed too -- the scroll wheel and metering buttons are in the right place, there is a huge display which lights up automatically in low light. The swivel head is nice, and it converts from incident to reflected...you can even buy spot attachments for it. It's weatherproof. In three years of moderate use, I have only needed to change the battery once (though the wireless transmitter eats the battery a lot faster). Anyway, it's a great investment if you need a sophisticated do it all meter:

 

[peter_n]

Nice meter. It presumably uses shutter speed priority metering. Does any modern lightmeter use aperture priority? I think in terms of DOF not shutter speed.

That Calculight XP I linked to above went for $35, a brilliant price. I hope someone here got it.

 

[StuartR]

You can switch it Peter. It does both.

 

[benjaminlr]

I have a Lunasix 3 with the spot meter adapter

It is a very good light meter and I have found myself using it even with my bessa r2.
It is just always right

 

[colyn]

Weston Master V with Invercone incident light attachment.

I like the Weston Ranger 9 myself.

 

[physiognomy]

I have a Lunasix 3 with the spot meter adapter...It is a very good light meter and I have found myself using it even with my bessa r2...It is just always right

Hey Ben,

I just got a Lunasix 3 myself... Need to order a battery adapter though & I want the spot attachment (just lost an auction on ebay)... Looking forward to using it, but I'm not sure if it's size will stop me from carrying it around... Maybe it will end up in the Rollei kit.

Peter

 

[ghost]

if sekonic could raise the build quality of the l-308s to l-558 standards, that would be great.

 

[Chris Lynch]

They're not that hard to come by. There's one for sale on eBay right now. Looks excellent and might go for $50-60.

ok, i suck at life.... i searched and did not find that. hahaha
if somebody see's one going for cheap- snag it for me! cuz i'm obviously the king at not finding what i'm looking for. hehe

what's the story on the calcu-flash?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Quantum-Calcu-F...goryZ708QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

i dont need flash metering, but will it also whomp at available darkness levels?

 

[peter_n]

You can switch it Peter. It does both.

Awesome! 😎 Thanks for the info Stuart! Think I'll stick with my Calculight for awhile but its good to know a modern one that uses aperture priority metering. 🙂

 

[peter_n]

[snip] what's the story on the calcu-flash?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Quantum-Calcu-F...goryZ708QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

i dont need flash metering, but will it also whomp at available darkness levels?

No. The measuring range of the Calcuflash is in that eBay advert; from 3EV to 24EV at 100ASA.

You need the Calculight XP; it reads down to -7EV at 100ASA.

 

[Chris Lynch]

ewwww 3EV.... every camera i've owned metered darker than that! haha

 

[Trius]

It's not all that compact, but my Minolta IIIF is a workhorse for ambient incident as well as very accurate for flash. It drains batteries whether in use or not, so I take the battery out if I'm not using it.

For spot, I have a Soligor Digital that needs service; maybe not as rugged as a Pentax, but it is accurate. Not sure I'd try and carry it on a plane, though...

I have a Weston Master IV, with Invercone. I like the size; not super small but very nice build quality and feels good in the hand.

For small I may get a Sekonic Twinmate, but with all of the above I'm not sure I really need it. If I could only have one, it would probably be the Twinmate, as the Weston is not great for low light.

 

[T_om]

Sekonic L358 hits the price/feature sweet spot for me. Even has a spot attachment if you are so inclined.

Tom

 

[amateriat]

And, so, just as I was extolling the virtues of my Sekonic L-428, I retreive it from its case to find the metering head seriously damaged; how, I haven't a clue (whatever it hit, it was pretty hard, but I wasn't there). Given the trouble I went through tracking down the attachments for it (particularly the spot-metering attachment), I wasn't in a great mood last night. A quick check on the 'Bay netted me a clean, but untested, used L-428. I'm crossing my fingers it checks out. At least it was cheap ($30). (Picture care of Obligatory Digital Camera™)


- Barrett