Has anyone come across any information on the soon to be released Sekonic L-608 light meter? I understand it was shown at photokina 2000 but Mamiya America is h ush hush about any details yet.For you world travelers out there or just plain p eople with connections in other parts of the world, do you have any scoop for us in this forum. Thanks a bunch Andy Hall
I could speak shortly with a representative of Sekonic about this light meter at the Photokina (it was not possible to actually see the meter there). It is very similar to the L-508 (which I am using). Regarding its sensitivity, it is listed to be the same as the L-508 (unfortunately not so good in spot meter mode).
Otherwise, it has more memories to store the light readings (16 instead of 3), and a new grey housing. A very nice feature compared to the L-508 is that it has a display of the measurement in the viewfinder.
I have scanned and uploaded the sekonic L-608 brochure to: http://www.cs.kau.se/~nicke/private/photo/file/
Cheers, Niklas
It also has a PocketWizard Radio slave option that can be plugged into the back near the battery. This will enable wireless operation to the strobes. A VERY nice feature for those who know what a pain the sync cable can be.
Since its being distributed by Mamiya/Sekonic in the U.S. you can bet your boots it will be sold at a high markup in the U.S. market.
Check with www.robertwhite.co.uk who has a top-notch reputation.
Even current midline models such as the 308bII sell for US$100 less than in the United States at B&H.
The back cover of Camera Arts has a full page ad for the L-608; there is an introductory "offer" -- the $90 radio trigger module is available for $25. I shoot with strobes, so this appeals to me. Can anyone comment on how this meter compares with the Gossen Starlite (obviously more bells and whistles -- see the 2 page .pdf on the Sekonic.com site) -- but what about down to earth things like entering a filter factor? I tend to like Gossen ergonomics. A trusted friend and pro shooter told me that the Starlite is very accurate. Best, Paul
i used the 608 last week. the pocket wizard trigger is very nice but seems to eat up the batteries (3 batt. changes in 5 days). for some reason the custom function for half stop shutter speeds will not allow readings to the tenth of a stop, only in thirds. while this is no concern for lf it is a pain when shooting daylight on an rz67. the 508 is better in this regard. the flash/daylight analyze function (a la minolta V) is a welcome addition, as is the readout in the spotmeter. the spot's lowlight sensitivity remains poor. it's a bit bulkier than the 508 and about $300 more (mac pricing).
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