Which Light meter is better?

Risbill1 · Jul 2, 2012

I am trying to decide between a new Sekonic L-358 and a lightly used L-508. I don't see using the pocket wizard feature of the 358 but the 508 is no longer in production. Anyone have a suggestion as to which one to buy. The 508 I can get for around $200 and the 358 is $309. The 508 has a spot meter built in. As I shoot more and more in studio and outdoor with studio strobes I can see how useful a meter would be instead of "Chimping" my way through.

tirediron · Jul 2, 2012

Either one will be just fine for you. If you think you'll use the spot-meter function (you've already got a good spot meter built into your camera, so...), then go for the 508, if you can scrape up the extra $$ I'd go for the 358 as strobe trigger function is VERY useful and while you may not use it now, you probably will in the future. Another good line is the Minolta Flash series; the III, IV, and V are all EXCELLENT meters, and can be found used for ~$100 - 200.

Risbill1 · Jul 2, 2012

tirediron said:
Either one will be just fine for you. If you think you'll use the spot-meter function (you've already got a good spot meter built into your camera, so...), then go for the 508, if you can scrape up the extra $$ I'd go for the 358 as strobe trigger function is VERY useful and while you may not use it now, you probably will in the future. Another good line is the Minolta Flash series; the III, IV, and V are all EXCELLENT meters, and can be found used for ~$100 - 200.

I had a Minolta Auto Meter IIIF and it just didn't give me the control I wanted. Not to mention the fact it ate $6 batteries like candy. I am leaning more towards the 358 mainly because it is still in production. Don't think the spot meter is that big of a deal for most portrait work anyway. I shoot mainly models right now and the 358 will calculate lighting ratios.

unpopular · Jul 3, 2012

IMO the only meter worth having is one that can do incident and spot, more adjustable the spot the better. But. That's just me.

I really liked my Gossen Starlite, automatic zone readout was nice, even if a bit redundant. It's still one of only a few pieces of gear I wish that I kept.

Risbill1 · Jul 3, 2012

unpopular said:
IMO the only meter worth having is one that can do incident and spot, more adjustable the spot the better. But. That's just me.

I really liked my Gossen Starlite, automatic zone readout was nice, even if a bit redundant. It's still one of only a few pieces of gear I wish that I kept.

Just don't see where I would ever use a spot meter in flash photography.

unpopular · Jul 3, 2012

... did I not read the OP before replying again?

It may be useful though for outdoor, mixed light, to get a good idea of the contrast ratio of within the ambient-lit portion. For example, you could spot meter a distant hilight to see if it would blow out at a given shutter speed; clouds for example. IDK though, I never did much with flash.

Thoughts?

Risbill1 · Jul 3, 2012

Thanks for all the advice. I think I have decided to go with the L-358. I can get a spot meter attachment for it and since it is still in production I would think support for it will be better. Plus the 9 reading memory storage and the flash percentage calculation features will be quite useful.

table1349 · Jul 3, 2012

Risbill1 said:
Thanks for all the advice. I think I have decided to go with the L-358. I can get a spot meter attachment for it and since it is still in production I would think support for it will be better. Plus the 9 reading memory storage and the flash percentage calculation features will be quite useful.

If you are serious about a spot meter you might as well look at the L-785D. Has the built in spot meter as well as other functions. By the time you end up paying for the spot meter attachment for the L-358 you have just about invested as much as the L-785D would cost since the 1 degree spot meter is 299.95.

Risbill1 · Jul 3, 2012

gryphonslair99 said:
Risbill1 said:

Thanks for all the advice. I think I have decided to go with the L-358. I can get a spot meter attachment for it and since it is still in production I would think support for it will be better. Plus the 9 reading memory storage and the flash percentage calculation features will be quite useful.

Click to expand...

If you are serious about a spot meter you might as well look at the L-785D. Has the built in spot meter as well as other functions. By the time you end up paying for the spot meter attachment for the L-358 you have just about invested as much as the L-785D would cost since the 1 degree spot meter is 299.95.

I would agree that if a spot meter were important then the 758 is a great meter. I can't justify paying $600+ for a feature I may never use. Not to mention the fact that my camera has a spot meter built in. I could probably get by with one of the much cheaper units like the Sekonic L-308S but for a few more dollars the 358 gives me way more options. Again I can't really see where a spot meter would benefit me in the work that I do. I mainly shoot glamour, fashion portraits and Boudoir both in and out of the studio. I could see needing a spot meter for landscape or architecture photography but not sure where else I would really need it.

The only reason I am considering spending money on one is the time it will save me and the repeatability of setups especially if I need to do a re-shoot. If you know what all your settings were before you should be able to get the lighting right much faster. I assume that is the case.

Mike_E · Jul 3, 2012

The Minolta Vf is still being made by the same company that has made them from the IV on (Minolta stopped making their own at the III and just attached their name to these) called Kenko.

Kenko KFM-1100 Auto Digi Meter - For Ambient and Flash KFM-1100

unpopular · Jul 3, 2012

The only issue with in camera spot meters is that the spot angle is relative to the lens you have on it, and the spot size is fixed relative to the image magnification.

In practice, if you metered using 200mm focal length and shot routinely with a 35mm focal length, then the in-camera spot meter would be great, out performing even the hand-held spot meters. While these new 'hyperzooms' permit that kind of arrangement, they're not the best lenses to actually shoot with.

But spot meters are expensive, and if you don't use one much now you may not use one much in the future, despite that I think you probably should.

Question: Can you even use a spot meter function in flash mode? I don't think my Starlite did. If you can, then I would still recommend a spot meter.

Risbill1 · Jul 3, 2012

unpopular said:
The only issue with in camera spot meters is that the spot angle is relative to the lens you have on it, and the spot size is fixed relative to the image magnification.

In practice, if you metered using 200mm focal length and shot routinely with a 35mm focal length, then the in-camera spot meter would be great, out performing even the hand-held spot meters. While these new 'hyperzooms' permit that kind of arrangement, they're not the best lenses to actually shoot with.

But spot meters are expensive, and if you don't use one much now you may not use one much in the future, despite that I think you probably should.

Question: Can you even use a spot meter function in flash mode? I don't think my Starlite did. If you can, then I would still recommend a spot meter.

Yes the Sekonic L-758 can do spot metering with flash. Not sure about the 705. I have never used a spot meter and since I shoot people I can just walk up and take an incident reading. Where in portrait photography would you "need" a spot meter. The diffuser dome on the 358 can be lowered for more precise incident and even reflective metering.

unpopular · Jul 3, 2012

I don't know if "need" is the right word exactly. I just think it's a bit easier to read exactly how much light is being reflected off the subject at any given spot. You can meter one area and know it's going to be exactly 2 stops brighter than where you set exposure, and another area 3 stops darker.

I never really liked incident metering once I understood reflective metering. Incident metering is kind of like saying "yep, it's right!" and not really understanding why it's right, and what can be done to make it better. Then again, I probably don't fully understand incident metering because I prefer reflective metering.

But using a spot meter does take practice. It's not as nearly straightforward.

Risbill1 · Jul 4, 2012

unpopular said:
I don't know if "need" is the right word exactly. I just think it's a bit easier to read exactly how much light is being reflected off the subject at any given spot. You can meter one area and know it's going to be exactly 2 stops brighter than where you set exposure, and another area 3 stops darker.

I never really liked incident metering once I understood reflective metering. Incident metering is kind of like saying "yep, it's right!" and not really understanding why it's right, and what can be done to make it better. Then again, I probably don't fully understand incident metering because I prefer reflective metering.

But using a spot meter does take practice. It's not as nearly straightforward.

But reflective metering is affected by what the person is wearing and the tone of there skin so if they are wearing something particularly reflective your readings may make there face too dark. I guess to each his own, what one person likes the other one may not. I still think the 358 is a better meter and if I need to do spot metering well we will figure that out when the time comes. Thanks for all the info though, now I have to research spot metering more since I have only seen spot meters used for landscape photography.