Light Meter Suggestions

[SoulfulRecover]

I've got a budget of $300 (would rather spend half that) for a light meter. There are so many options out there, I'm not sure where to really begin. I shoot mostly ambient light, portraits, but I do have strobes as well. Any thoughts?

[angusparker]

A second hand Sekonic spotmeter something above 500 as a model number (more recent).

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.

[Leigh]

I've been very pleased with my Sekonic L-558.

It does all types of lighting, averages multiple sources,
measures ambient and/or flash in incident or 1° spot.

It does everything you need.
It was replaced by the much more expensive L-758, which
has bells and whistles you'll never use.

- Leigh

[Pere Casals]

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.

Many smartphone meter apps do have spotmeter mode, I don't say that this is a Pro way to meter, but the reading is pretty accurate.

[Pere Casals]

but I do have strobes as well. Any thoughts?

If using strobes then the best meter (IMHO) it is a lightweight DSLR.

I feel using a DSLR (specially with strobes) is like in the past it was using Polaroid instant film to preview a result.

One has to get used to make the right guess from the DSLR image, of course.

[Tin Can]

Sunny 16 which I often test myself on with 2 Sekonics, an iOS app, PCB Cyber Commander, and Nikon F5.

But if you want to go crazy try adjusting your chosen meter to 2 different DSLRs. The Sekonic way...https://www.sekonic.com/netherlands/support/faqs/calibrating-your-flash-meter.aspx
I last tried that insanity in 2012. Never again.

I shot meterless Pentax H1 for 35 years, most of my chromes were good enough for me and I still have them all.

I would buy Sekonic again.

[Jac@stafford.net]

What Leigh said. The flash meter is particularly smart. It even works with flash bulbs! :) If used properly. (That is a tip for people like Randy Moe who uses such. Shoot, note the lot number, use the reading for that lot and be happy.)

[Tin Can]

I almost bought more flash bulbs today. But I am on restriction. Gotta pay Property Tax right now. Because I moved.

Next year I hope the state of ill still has Senior discount and prop tax deferral till death. They better, it the only reason I stayed here in ill.

Shot a couple flashbulbs with Bloodhoundbob last week. One popped the second did not. Bad cable. Cables are all old and bad. The bulbs work fine. New Duracell D last long even in the handle.

6 more days I get new eye RX and should see again.




What Leigh said. The flash meter is particularly smart. It even works with flash bulbs! :) If used properly. (That is a tip for people like Randy Moe who uses such. Shoot, note the lot number, use the reading for that lot and be happy.)

[Willie]

Minolta flash meters still do a good job.

[Two23]

I've been using a Minolta 4f and have been entirely happy.


Kent in SD

[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.

[Jac@stafford.net]

I almost bought more flash bulbs today.

The Sekonic L-358 produces flash-bulb reading IF you use the cord connection. The rise time of bulbs is too slow for flash meters otherwise. Take that advise to the bank.

*Other meters might do the same.

(aside - I just hate the printing on the l-358 because it is so faint, hard to read. Where was their head?)

[Johnny LaRue]

Sekonic L-308s; $200 new, about half that for a used one. You can meter ambient and strobe.
Very small and thin, accurate and only needs one AA battery.

[Thalmees]

Sekonic Zoom Master L-508, operated by only One(1) "AA" battery, and lasts more than you wish.
Mine is from late 90's, I aged but the L-508 did not! except from disappearing of some letterings!
I usually keep extra alkaline battery at the bottom of its case.
https://www.sekonic.com/downloads/l-508_english.pdf

[Greg]

Have and use many meters, but the one that I always come back to using is a Gossen LUNA-PRO F. Think I bought it in the 1980s, and outside of replacing the battery it has never let me down.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Choice of a light meter is far less important than how you apply it in practice.

[Alan Gales]

Choice of a light meter is far less important than how you apply it in practice.

Yep. The same applies to cameras and lenses too! ;)

[chassis]

Sekonic L-758DR. Incident, spot and flash capability. Excellent meter. The last meter you will ever need.

There is one for sale on the Los Angeles craigslist for $300, and one for sale on the New Jersey craigslist for $295. Rarely are they offered at that price. The OP's profile doesn't provide location information; the Los Angeles CL listing says pick up only, the NJ listing says nothing about delivery options.

[Havoc]

Choice of a light meter is far less important than how you apply it in practice.

I'd say the light itself is more important but then again, who am I kidding?

[jim10219]

As a side note, I recommend the Lithium batteries for light meters and other expensive or important gear that doesn't need the batteries replaced very often or might go long periods of time without use. Primarily because they won't leak like alkaline batteries will. But also because they hold their charge longer. I recently found a 5MP digital camera in my closet with lithium batteries that were at least 15 years old and not only did they not leak, but they still held a decent amount of charge! And I'm talking about regular lithium batteries, not the rechargeable types.

Anyway, that's what I keep in my flash meters, speedlights, wireless flash syncs, auto winders, etc.