Light Meter Suggestions

[Havoc]

Wasn't the minolta line taken over by Kenko?

[jim10219]

Minolta flash meters still do a good job.

It's not a single meter. But for what you're wanting, you might consider a Minolta flash meter and a Soligor digital spot meter. That's what I did. I use a Minolta Flash Meter V and a Zone VI modified Soligor Digital Spot Meter and got them for less than $150 for the pair. The Soligor is a great and undervalued spot meter that's very accurate and runs on common 9V batters. The Minolta Flash Meter V that I have is also very accurate and has lots of useful features like the ability to measure the mix of ambient and flash light. Plus it's an incident meter, which gives you a totally different approach to metering. And, of course, it too runs on easy to find AA batteries.

So the upside is you get two accurate meters that do pretty much everything you could want. The down side is, it's two meters to carry if you have a need for both. However, I rarely need both at the same time. I basically just use the spot meter for landscapes and the incident for studio, portraiture, and flash work.

[Drew Bedo]

Minolta flash meters still do a good job.

My Minolta IVf, a digital read-out meter, does incident readings of ambient light, stropbes, and combined ambient/strobe lighting. With a 9deg +spot" attavchment it does those three modes of metering of reflected light. Works with the strobes triggerted by the shutter or as an off-camera trigger with the strobes connected to the meter. If you can find the right Sinar probe in a complete set, it can do focal-plane metering in camera.

There are other functions and features. The manual may be found on-line.

Bought in the 1990s, it still works fine.

[esearing]

Sekonic L-508 has spot and retractable incident lumisphere. Two ISO settings, Memory and averaging, EV mode, flash modes (cord or cordless). 1-4 degree spot zoom. Dip switches on back let you adjust different features such as 1/2 stops.
Around $200 used. Mine has great battery life. Its a good general purpose meter.

[DrTang]

I have a Minolta III flashmeter that also does amibient


it's a zillion years old..can be had for like 75 bucks now a days...I think I paid 300 years ago

and it still works perfect


what isn't perfect is the 8(I think) button batteries it takes..but they last over a year

[William Whitaker]

I like my Luna Pro SBC which is actually my backup to a Zone VI-modified Pentax digital Spotmeter that I purchased new in 1984. The Pentax Digi is my favorite even for small format chromes. But the Gossen is a good meter and seems quite reliable. It was purchased used a few years back. Don't recall what I paid, but they seem to show up on Ebay for prices well within your constraints.

[Luis-F-S]

Or go old school with a digital Pentax spot meter.

I have both and tend to use the Pentax because it just seems more intuitive with the ring than the newer options.

Also don’t listen to anyone saying use an app on your iPhone. It’s ok in a pinch but you really need a spot meter.

+++1 Pentax digital with a Zone VI dial, for strobes, I have a Minolta Flashmeter III. Other than for strobe use, the Minolta never leaves the safe. My backup to the Pentax Digital is, you guessed it, a second Zone VI modified Pentax digital meter!

[DrTang]

now how is he gonna meter them strobe portraits with all those spotmeters everyone is suggesting?

[ricolm]

I have a Sekonic L-558. Its brightness difference function is very handy.

[mdarnton]

I have owned several spot meters (still do) but never found them too useful, especially with strobes, which is most of my work these days, and they're too large, too. I guess they are necessary for zone system metering, which I've always found to be an unnecessary complication that didn't improve anything for me. And I don't mind doing calculations in my head. My current fave is a Luna Pro F, which uses a 9V battery (easy to find). Fifty bucks all day long on ebay. If you didn't want flash, the Super Pilot SBC is dandy, too, for trips out without strobe.