Best Bang for the buck in a light meter?

[neil poulsen]

How is the Adorama (Soligor) Digital Spot Meter?

Personally, I'd be careful about buying a Soligor spot meter. I suspect many photographers own and like these meters. But my first spot meter was a Soligor, and the circle in the viewfinder didn't match the actual sensitive area. I took it back and bought a Pentax V. (W/any meter, check for this by bringing the viewfinder circle near a dark or very bright edge. Keep an eye on the reading as the circle gets close to the edge. Then, turn the meter upside down and repeat with the same edge.)

I don't think it's about which brand/model to get. I pay pretty close attention to EBay, and members occasionally list a really excellent meter at an excellent price. For example, my Pentax Digital 1 degree spot purchased on EBay cost me about $129. A few months ago, I bought an excellent Minolta Spot meter (older model) for a really great price in the FS/WTB forum.

[HMG]

I love my Minolta IVF. But verify the serviceability of Minolta meters as Minolta sold their meter business and I think they no longer have factory service. But if there are 3rd parties who service them (like Quality Light Metric) then you're OK.

[Kirk Gittings]

Speaking of apps, I like Pocket Light Meter for iPhone: there's a free version. It's reflective-only however, but in a pinch it's great.

The Luxi app for iPhone is also free, and you can buy an incident attachment for approx. $20.00. (I haven't tried it)

The Lumu looks nice but costs as much as some light meters.

I tested this on an Iphone 4 a couple of years back and found it suffered horribly from flare-making it unreliable IMHO, but maybe this was the phone itself? The camera in the 4 itself was very flare prone as opposed to the 5s and later. What are you using it on?

[Ken Lee]

I tested this on an Iphone 4 a couple of years back and found it suffered horribly from flare-making it unreliable IMHO, but maybe this was the phone itself? The camera in the 4 itself was very flare prone as opposed to the 5s and later. What are you using it on?

I have only used the Pocket Light Meter in a pinch, on my iPhone 4.

I have noticed that the "spot" it measures is more of a wide blurry spot than a small discrete spot: perhaps that's the same thing as flare.

[Jim Jones]

Late model Weston Master. Send it to Quality Camera in LA to bring it up to standards.

Or an earlier Weston Master, GE, or Norwood. I still use a Weston Master II. Dollar for dollar it was a better investment than almost any other meter, and more compact. If it's too dark to use the Weston, it's too dark to be out making photographs.

[CropDusterMan]

Hard to beat an Autometer 4F

[Ari]

Minolta IVf or Sekonic 308s, either can be had for under $200 and they are reliable, solid, and compact. They each use one AA battery.
I bought my IVf in 1997, and it's never steered me wrong.

[Bill_1856]

Or an earlier Weston Master, GE, or Norwood. I still use a Weston Master II. Dollar for dollar it was a better investment than almost any other meter, and more compact. If it's too dark to use the Weston, it's too dark to be out making photographs.

When I was a kid, I spend my money on a GE DW-68 (long gone). Wish I'd bought a Weston.

[Michael Graves]

My workhorse is a Sekonic L-308 incident/reflected/flash meter. The latest version, L-308S, is available new at B&H for $199; older versions in the 308 series can sometimes be had second-hand in good condition for less than $100.

I second the L-308s. I've been using one as my primary meter now for about a year. It's small, accurate, does reflected or incident readings and can be used to measure flash.

[Kevin Crisp]

There's a rumor the Weston cells are no longer made, making it impossible to restore them when they go bad. Anybody recently tried getting quality light metric to fix one? I hope it is not true, they are very useful.

Obviously every meter ever made will eventually get mentioned in this thread. (The GE DW-68? I started with one of those dogs.) I have to say the one meter I have never had steer me wrong, in 42 years of use, is the original Gossen Luna Pro. I had QLM convert one to modern cells and calibrate it and it is still a great meter.