Originally Posted by
Daniel Stone
Mario,
I 2nd the recommendation of Sekonic's offerings for meters.
Personally, I use the L-358, and also have the pocketwizard module so I can wirelessly trigger strobes using PW's.
You make mention about the "Zone System". Traditionally this is done with a SPOT METER. Usually a 5degree or less(1degree is preferred by many) is ideal. I have owned a few separate meters over the past few years, and in all honesty, the ones I enjoyed the most were the following:
Minolta IVf
(f= ability to take flash readings, albeit no pocketwizard module, so manual triggering or via a PC cord connected to the meter)
this meter takes AA battery(ies), very convenient and cheap compared to the cost of CR-123's on average.
Sekonic L-358
This is the meter I use primarily now. It is a very capable meter, and Sekonic makes some accessory attachments for it, including a few SPOT meter ones to use in lieu of the ambient white dome. I use this for both work(I'm a photo assistant here in LA) and for personal work(even with a view camera), and its delivered very consistent results in the time that I've owned it.
Pentax Digital Spot
Great meter, very accurate if calibrated correctly(as is the case with ANY meter, many neglect having their equipment calibrated correctly on a consistent, regular basis!). AMBIENT ONLY, NO FLASH METERING CAPABILITY. This limited its usefulness to me in some cases, where I NEEDED the ability to meter flash, in spot mode. For ambient, non-flash use, it would be my #1 choice.
Sekonic L-778
(NOT 758/758DR)
This is one of those "got it all, almost" meters. It is a spot meter, but has a hotshoe, so if you use pocketwizards, you can just pop the PW in the hot shoe and meter away :)! I had one, and sold it, but I plan on buying another. Its BIG, but it takes AA batteries, and is a nice compliment to the L-358.
My two picks if I was getting some meters:
Sekonic L-778 + L-358
Both are available on the used market, albeit the 778's don't come up very often anymore it seems.
cheers,
Dan