Light Meter?

[Live_free]

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.

 

[Ron Evers]

I use a Gossen Lunasix, a very nice light meter. You can find them used on eBay:

lunasix light meter items - Get great deals on Cameras Photo items on eBay.com!

 

[tirediron]

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.

 

[Derrel]

Gossen, Sekonic, and Minolta all make good light meters.

 

[Kofman13]

I got my Sekonic-358 used from KEH and it's amazing

 

[Johnboy2978]

I think you'll find many recommending the sekonic l-358. I got mine for $279 new from B/H Sekonic L-358 Flash Master Meter - Silver 401-358 - B&H Photo

I takes all the guess work out of lighting. Not sure what I did w/o it before.

 

[PeteD]

Thanks for the recommendations on light meters.

 

[ulrichsd]

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.

 

[SpeedTrap]

Another vote for the Sekonic 358 here

 

[kundalini]

Another Sekonic l-358 user here.

 

[Ryan L]

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

 

[pgriz]

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.

 

[RockstarPhotography]

For inexpensive ones, i've heard good things about the polaris spd100. Although I've never actually used it.

 

[photocist]

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 ><

 

[AgentDrex]

I use a Gossen Pilot 2