Looking for a light meter

kelox · Dec 20, 2005

I am looking for a light meter. I don't really NEED it, but I can see it's usefulness in the future. Since I own the 7D from KM, I was looking at their branded light meter(just staying loyal to my brand whenever possible). I was at a local shop yesterday looking for items to put on my X-mas list and saw a Sekonic meter. I didn't buy it, I wanted to do a little research on it first. So far I've seen good things about them. I also see the one I might get over at Adorama. I was looking at the L-358. This is the info on it;

NP Finder; Non-parallax spot viewfinder attachment with ordinary waterproof structure

There are three types of NP finders with angles of coverage of 1, 5 and 10. Since the single-lens reflex method is employed, it is possible to measure as aimed without parallax. Measuring range (refelected light)

Ambient: NPF 1º EV5 EV24.4
NPF 5º EV3 EV24.4
NPF 10º EV2 EV24.4

Flash:
NPF 1º F8 F90.9
NPF 5º F4.0 F90.9
NPF 10º F2.8 F90.9

Now the 5 and 10 degree are both $139.95, but the 1 degree is $159.95. Can someone explain how would I truly benefit from jumping up to the 1 degree meter?
I would love to hear what anyone thinks of this meter/brand of meter.
I would also love to hear what you all are using and why?

Big Mike · Dec 20, 2005

The 1 degree meter is more of a 'spot meter'...which means you can more accurately meter specific areas.

DocFrankenstein · Dec 20, 2005

If you're willing to shell out the $$ for the 358 then and the spot meter attachment, you'd be better off getting the 558 from the start. The price difference is like 50 bucks.

It can spot meter from ev1 or ev-2 and that's a huge difference.

kelox · Dec 20, 2005

So, in the course of investigating a little further, it seems the price listed is not for the meter it self, it's for some "attachment". I found the same meter on other sites and it's going for about $260-$280 on them. Am I correct in the way I am reading this? Any help is greatly appreciated.

DocFrankenstein · Dec 20, 2005

kelox said:
So, in the course of investigating a little further, it seems the price listed is not for the meter it self, it's for some "attachment". I found the same meter on other sites and it's going for about $260-$280 on them. Am I correct in the way I am reading this? Any help is greatly appreciated.

358 lightmeter is roughly 300 give or take

And 150 for the 1 degree attachment. You're reading it right.

It's better to get 558 from the start