Light Meter
Dec 14, 2015 11:53:50 #
Here is my old standby, the Sekonic L-28c2. Bought many years ago.
Dec 14, 2015 12:08:33 #
sirlensalot
Loc: Arizona
I own a Sekonic L-358. For what it does, it works great.
That said, unless you can buy a used one with the flash module included, you must purchase it as an extra (still sold) and it only works with pocket wizards.
Light meter only? Go for price. Light and flash meter? There are better choices if you do not own a PW set up.
The module may not be a "must have", but it is pretty convenient if you do.
If you like Sekonic, the cheaper L-308 does it all.
Minor gripe - the printing on the 358 is sometimes difficult to read and under certain types of lighting all but disappears.
That said, unless you can buy a used one with the flash module included, you must purchase it as an extra (still sold) and it only works with pocket wizards.
Light meter only? Go for price. Light and flash meter? There are better choices if you do not own a PW set up.
The module may not be a "must have", but it is pretty convenient if you do.
If you like Sekonic, the cheaper L-308 does it all.
Minor gripe - the printing on the 358 is sometimes difficult to read and under certain types of lighting all but disappears.
Dec 14, 2015 12:31:49 #
jm76237 wrote:
What light meter do y'all recommend? I've been told by two pro photographers I know the Sekonic L-358 is the "best but not made anymore". I can find used ones on Amazon, but what's the opinion here?
I only use hand-held meters (Sekonic L308, L-358; Gossen Luna Pro F, Minolta Flash Meter IV) in the studio to set lighting ratios. I use a PhotoVision One Shot Digital Calibration Target to set exposure and custom white balance for JPEGs. Outdoors, I may use an ExpoDisc for that, and indoors doing candid photojournalism, I often use a Delta-1 18% Photographic Gray Card.
A dirty little secret of digital photography is that you should calibrate your meter to your camera, via careful testing. Many, many meters are "off" (inaccurate) out of the box. If they have needles, they can become "off" after rough handling.
Many years ago, I bought a Gossen Luna Pro F that was off 1+1/3 stops, right out of the original box when brand new! Adjustment got it dead on. Our portrait lab's camera supply shop sold those to customers. We finally got into the habit of calibrating them before we shipped them (wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap!).
My L-308 was always trustworthy. My Minolta arrived +1/3 stop off.
Dec 14, 2015 12:34:41 #
amfoto1
Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
I use the Sekonic L-358... One key reason is that it can optionally be fitted with a wireless trigger (Radio Popper or Pocket Wizard... maybe others). AFAIK, the L-308 is the same, just without the radio trigger capabilities.
I've also used Luna Pro and Minolta (now Kenko) meters and they're fine, too.
It's really hard to go wrong. I prefer a simple incident meter, without any fancy spot metering gee-gaws (I have a separate 1 degree meter, if needed).
One somewhat minor thing I recommend is checking what battery the meter uses, while deciding what to buy. Some are hard to find and expensive. Others use plain old AA or AAA alkaline or other easy-to-find batteries.
I've also used Luna Pro and Minolta (now Kenko) meters and they're fine, too.
It's really hard to go wrong. I prefer a simple incident meter, without any fancy spot metering gee-gaws (I have a separate 1 degree meter, if needed).
One somewhat minor thing I recommend is checking what battery the meter uses, while deciding what to buy. Some are hard to find and expensive. Others use plain old AA or AAA alkaline or other easy-to-find batteries.
Dec 14, 2015 12:34:51 #
burkphoto wrote:
My L-308 was always trustworthy. My Minolta arrived +1/3 stop off.
My L-308 was always trustworthy. My Minolta arrived +1/3 stop off.
Actually the Minolta should be 1/6 stop off as compared to Sekonic as they are calibrated to different K factor.
Dec 14, 2015 12:45:59 #
BebuLamar wrote:
Actually the Minolta should be 1/6 stop off as compared to Sekonic as they are calibrated to different K factor.
I made them both match my target's histogram, so I could use either one and get the same results...
We had several hundred school photographers working for us. None of them had flash meters. They all used the PhotoVision One Shot Target to set up their rigs for a days' work. We used meters in our lab studios to calibrate equipment and develop lighting setups for various products... Most lights in the field were "strung" with nylon cords that represented distance to subject for desired exposure at a specific power pack output...
Dec 14, 2015 12:56:46 #
John_F wrote:
Here is my old standby, the Sekonic L-28c2. Bought many years ago.
Awesome meter.
Dec 14, 2015 13:17:48 #
photoman022
Loc: Manchester CT USA
I've used my Polaris light meter for about three years now and only have good things to say about it. I usually use it as an incident light meter, though it can be used as a reflective light meter as well. Its exposure readings are spot on.
Dec 14, 2015 13:29:42 #
CO wrote:
I only use a light meter for studio photo shoots. I use the Sekonic L-478DR. The touch screen works very well. It has a built-in PocketWizard module. When setting up lighting in a studio you can trigger the strobes with the meter, An optional 5-degree attachment is available for reflected light readings.
That would be my recommendation as well, the L-478DR to me is the best value on the market!!
Dec 14, 2015 13:35:04 #
Dec 14, 2015 14:00:36 #
John_F wrote:
Have light meter makers moved beyond selenium technolgy of old?
WAY beyond that! Selenium cells were out of date in the late 1960s.
Dec 14, 2015 14:00:43 #
Dec 14, 2015 14:15:10 #
John_F wrote:
Have light meter makers moved beyond selenium technolgy of old?
Depends on who you ask:
1) "Selenium cells do not age - but if their sealing fails (and in some cases, they are sealed with polyurethane compounds that have a limited lifetime), they soon succumb to oxidation. Apart from that, they last almost eternal, if well stored. Weston Masters and the Norwood/Brockway/Sekonic 398 series all have a reputation for longevity."
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/archive/index.php/t-83588.html
2) "Early selenium coatings had to be exceedingly high purity selenium, typically 99.9995%+ in order to have suitable photo-response. Contaminants meant poor light speed (read ASA). An unfortunate side effect of ultra high purity stuff is its tendency to get dirty/tired/contaminated with time. That results in loss of light sensitivity, until the selenium cell is perceived as dead.
http://photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00W3fB
Dec 14, 2015 14:27:25 #
Dec 14, 2015 16:35:51 #
jm76237 wrote:
What light meter do y'all recommend? I've been told by two pro photographers I know the Sekonic L-358 is the "best but not made anymore". I can find used ones on Amazon, but what's the opinion here?
I use the Sekonic L308S, great entry level meter, does incident, reflective, and flash metering. It also has trigger for flash, sorry to say it only works with pocket wizard. Great meter in the $200.00 range. Research yourself and it may do what you want.
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