Light Meter?

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What are some good light meters? I am looking to pick one up but want to make sure it is good before I do so. Thanks.
 
Like anything else, there's "nice" and there's "nice I can afford". It also depends on what you want/need. Do you want to make reflected readings, incident readings or all three? Ron's suggestion is a good one. Older Gossen analogue meters that were several hundred dollars brand-new 20, 30 years ago can often be had for <$100 on eBay and Craig's list.

My two meters are a Gossen Luna Pro F (An analogue meter that does flash, incident and reflected) and a Minolta V (digital, does all types of readings, stores, calculates, triggers flash, etc). Again, easily had on eBay for not a lot of money.

There are relatively few new meters on the market for obvious reasons. Sekonic is probably the biggest name these days, and of their line I would suggest either the L358 (~$400) or the L308 (~$350) for their versatility (In that they will perform all three types of standard readings) and reasonable price.
 
Gossen, Sekonic, and Minolta all make good light meters.
 
I got my Sekonic-358 used from KEH and it's amazing
 
I have a Sekonic Studio Deluxe II (L-398M) that I've had for about 10 years now.

Amazon.com: Sekonic L-398A Light Meter (Black): Camera & Photo

Its analog so it always works and doesn't need batteries, but if I was going to buy now I'd probably consider digital. I think there are some advantages to digital when using strobes.
 
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I have a Minolta IVF and a Minolta V both work great. I was just about to list the IV on ebay. 150 shipped if your interested.

If I was buying new, it would be the Sekonic 358
 
Used to use the Gossen Lunasix Pro for many years, and after it was stolen a few years ago, replaced it with a L-358 (after asking advice on this board). It was an excellent choice and also added a good flash meter to my arsenal. After a year of experience with it, I'm still learning all the things it can help with.
 
For inexpensive ones, i've heard good things about the polaris spd100. Although I've never actually used it.
 
If you get an older meter, make sure the batteries are not discontinued. I purchased a Gossen Lunasix 3 only to find out they dont make the mercury batteries anymore, and the adapter is 4x what I paid for the meter ><
 

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