In praise of the Sekonic Flash Master L-358

[eddy pula]

I bought my flashmaster 3 years ago, and its been hanging off my neck banging into my tripod for most of that time. I've been photographing people swimming in lakes and ponds, and have accidentally dipped it into the water 3 times. It still works fine. A friend of mine came over to my house to take my portrait on my outdoor patio. He left his L-358 on the ground, and two weeks later I discovered it underneath some leaves. I feared the worst but turned it on and it still works flawlessly. It had been a rainy 2 weeks. The battery lasts between 6 months and a year and costs about $6. In college I took a 16mm film class and shot perfectly exposed slowmotion film with a 40 year old bolex and my sekonic set to the motion picture setting. I am not saying we should abuse our equipment but something this rugged deserves praise. If IPODs were built this tough Apple would be out of business. They expect the customer to shell out for a new one every 2-3 years.
Anyways thanks sekonic
Eddy Pula

[BarryS]

I have to agree. The L-358 was my favorite meter of all time. I only sold mine to get an L-778 meter, which alas--I don't like nearly as much.

[Heroique]

Glad to hear the happy ending. Sounds like one of those Timex testimonials from long ago, where an astonished owner would tell a lost-my-watch story, concluding with the sing-song pitch, “It takes a lickin’ … and keeps on tickin’ .”

Like you, I once thought my lost Sekonic had suffered – but I was mistaken:

One evening at cliff edge, I fumbled my L-308s, watched it plummet a few hundred feet, then bounce between granite boulders like a pinball. Next day, I found it resting on top an 18%-gray rock under sunny-16 light, with a glint off its lumisphere that seemed to say, “No need to rush your search, I’m enjoying a 15-ev sun bath.”

Still works perfectly. :p

[Mark Sampson]

Yesterday I called Quality Light-Metric about repairing my Sekonic L-328, which is acting up. The gentleman there told me that it was the circuit board failing (for the 2nd time) and that I shouldn't fix the 328 for $150, but buy an L-358 instead. Sounds like good advice!

[Donald Miller]

I have the L 558R and I concur with your experience on your meter. Wonderful, capable devices.