What's a good buy on a simple light meter?

[sully75]

I'd like to have a couple of light meters to leave in the bag with certain cameras. I'd like to find something that's reasonably priced (cheap) and decent. I never really find anything, which is surprising, because it seems like a light meter is more expensive than a camera with a working light meter.

I'd like to avoid selenium cells and mercury battery issues. Mostly I'd like to slip a battery into it and have it work.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Paul

[domaz]

Spot meter or incident? You can get Minolta Autometer's III/IV fairly cheap if your patient. Be on the lookout for a Sekonic L-488 too- they are kind of ugly and 90s looking so they don't go for much, but they are accurate meters.

[Gem Singer]

Check out the selection of pre-owned spot meters at www.KEH.com

Minolta F, or M spot meters use only one AA battery.

[sully75]

I was thinking cheap reflective meter, not a spot meter.

THanks for the suggestions though!

[BetterSense]

A spot meter is the only kind of handheld reflected meter that is useful. I can guess well enough to make wide-area reflected meters useless.

[Matus Kalisky]

I guess that it may not be cheap enough, but I have made a good experience with Gossen Digisix (one of the very few items in photography I have bought new). It is a small, light and reliable light meter with digital LV display and analog dial that shows you quickly all possible shutter speed/fstop combinations. You may be able to get used one around $100. It is an incident meter with ability to meter reflected at about 30 degree angle.

[Rick Moore]

The Gossen Luna Pro SBC and Luna Pro F meters (at least the later ones of this model) use a regular 9 volt battery, are durable, and service is available if needed. I've seen them both go for under $100.

Although you said you did not want a meter with a selenium cell, I have two Weston Master V meters that I really like. Both work perfectly, and each cost $25. One even included the Invercone (for incident metering) for that price. I keep one in my bag at all times in case the battery fails in my main meter, or for when I want to do incident metering. Service for these meters is still available from Quality Light Metric in Hollywood.



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Rick

[cdholden]

http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm

No batteries, but the bourbon consumption seems like it could incur higher costs.

[Kevin Crisp]

My personal choice for the back up meter has been the Weston Master V. Buy it for $10 with a dead cell on the auction site, have Quality Light Metric replace the cell and calibrate it and you're in business for years. I've zoned mine with stickers although the existing dial is kind of a zone dial anyway. The Inver-cone attachment makes it an incident meter. But you don't like selenium meters.

The Luna Pro was the pro journalist's tool for decades, they are readily available used. After a calibration they don't need mercury batteries.

Some of the digital Gossen models use standard 9 volt (radio type) rectangular batteries and that might do it. The current tiny little Gossen digital meter (digi-six or something like that) used lithium cells and is quite accurate and reads reflected and incident light. It weighs a couple ounces.

There are lots of choices.

[Paul Kierstead]

I'm quite fond of my digisix, though they aren't dirt cheap and don't seem to come up used often enough.