rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Having an incident meter (to me) is just an essential part of doing portrait work, like a carpenter asking if he should buy a hammer...of course!

Also, a meter takes you from the realm of "that looks good" (and maybe a surprise later on) to "I'll make the shadows 2/3 of a stop darker than the key light"

You go from guesses to lighting recipes that you can repeat and in doing so, you get really good at making certain recipes!

Sekonic makes good meters, I'd look for a used one because people get rid of them all of the time. I have a Sekonic L358 and it's an awesome meter. You can find them for under $200.00 used on Ebay.

Here is an L-308 for $110.00 buy it now.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Excellent-Sekonic-Flashmate-L-308B-Light-Exposure-MeterFrom-Japan-132/202630277044?hash=item2f2db4a7b4%3Ag%3AA8MAAOSwgdtcSFLA&LH_BIN=1

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

If you can find an older Minolta IVF for a decent price I think you would probably be happy with it. Mine seemed to be accurate in incident and flash mode. I gave it to my granddaughter a couple of years ago.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Somebody here on the forum is selling an L-358 right now.

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-584720-1.html

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Yeah, those other light meters only give you amateurcentage.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Those statements are somewhat in-congruent.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

I will add that I think the newer meters with the touch screens are easier to use than ones with more buttons and combination of buttons. That is another reason I went to the 858 from the 758.

penndragonn

New here. Retired NJ Law Enforcement
Have small in home studio. Never used a light/flash meter. All done manually. How do you measure flash with a meter that doesn't trigger the flash? I'm somewhat confused. I'd like to simplify my portraits but I've watched tons of YouTube videos but most show triggering strobes and flashes wirelessly with these $600 Seconic flash meters. So, how do I trigger a flash with a meter without wireless?
Signed

Perplexed. Aka penndragonn

williejoha

Have not used my Sekonic in years. With the Canon flashes I use now, no need for it.
WJH

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

[quote=CO]If you're using a speedlight, your camera and flash can do TTL metering. It's not absolutely necessary to have a light meter.

I agree. You will need to take test shots using a flash meter so if TTL is not to your liking make an adjustment. What's the difference.

Save your money. Its just an old carry over when photographic equipment was dumb. Now its the photographer.

CO

I have the Sekoinc L-478DR. It also has a touch screen. I can make changes quickly. It was the first one to have the touch screen. Now the new L-858 has it also.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

If I am using my 600rt Speedlites I can set the meter to wait for a flash. Then I use my Canon camera top transmitter in my hand to trigger the Speedlites and take my readings.

You can get modules to trigger several brands of lights that go in the meter but they don’t have one that triggers the Canon Speedlites.

BebuLamar

Well none of the lightmeter app I know can measure flash. The OP was looking for a meter to measure flash so the lightmeter app doesn't apply. I do have 2 flashmeters but I only use for film. I don't need them when I shoot digital. In a portraiture setup where you have time to measure flash and adjust I can simply guess at the exposure, shoot test shot and adjust. Doesn't take me any more time.

David Kay Loc: Arlington Heights IL

A speed light on the camera is not the best thing to use for good portraiture shots. I would not shoot a portrait without my light meter. I also use it for shooting barns and other stationary objects. Don't leave home without it.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Just joking. I was making light of the fact that you stated he needed a flash meter and in the next post said no flash meter is needed for digital.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

$240 is one of the more affordable flash/incidence meters. Many of them run $300 to $600.

That said, there currently are the Sekonic L308 that costs about $219, and the Gossen Digiflash 2 selling for $184.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?setNs=p_PRICE_2%7c0&Ns=p_PRICE_2%7c0&sortType=default&ci=900&fct=fct_lightmeter-type_1792%7cflash&srtclk=sort&N=4077634543&

If you shop used, you might find something more affordable, but be careful. Some older flash/incidence meters dating from the days of film have limited ranges that makes them a bit less convenient for digital.

Some years ago I bought a used Sekonic L358 for around $200. It is a recent-enough model that's been updated with ranges appropriate for digital. It also can be set up to show 1/10 stop, 1/3 stop or 1/2 stop increments, and more. The L358 is a now-discontinued model similar to the L308, except that the L358 can optionally be fitted with radio modules for certain wireless triggering systems. I've got modules for Radio Popper and PocketWizard systems that fit the L358. Now the least expensive flash/incidence meter I'm aware or that has wireless triggering is the Sekonic L478 that starts around $365. In addition, it doesn't use interchangeable modules. Instead it's dedicated to work only with one system or another.

Brands I'm familiar with and comfortable recommending include Sekonic, Kenko and Gossen. I'm not as familiar with them, but Shepard/Polaris seem fine, too.

In the past I've used several Minolta models, too (IIIF and VF). Some of these later were sold under the Konica-Minolta name, after the two merged in 2003. In 2006 Sony bought the photography division of Konica-Minolta, but spun off the light meters to Kenko, who still manufacture them today.

The old Minolta, along with Sekonic, Gossen and others from the same time period, are examples of meters that were originally designed for use with film, which have limited ISO ranges by today's standards and may have some other limitations. They certainly can work, just aren't as ideal for use with digital as a modern meter might be. KEH has more than 20 used flash meters:

https://www.keh.com/shop/search/?q=flash+meter&productFilter=category%3Alight%20meters%3B%3BinStock%3Ayes

(Years ago I had one of those Wein meters KEH is asking all of $14 for... VERY basic.)

Adorama and B&H have some, too:

https://www.adorama.com/l/Used/?sel=brand_Minolta&searchinfo=flash%2Bmeter
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?sts=ma&setNs=p_PRICE_2%7c0&Ns=p_PRICE_2%7c0&sortType=default&usedSearch=1&srtclk=sort&N=0&Ntt=flash+meter[/url]

There also a bunch of flash meters on Amazon... though a lot of them are brands I've never heard of. I'm also a bit wary of buying on eBay, though sometimes there are great deals there.

EDIT:

penndragonn,

While radio/wireless triggering is convenient and eliminates some wires that people might trip over... all flash meters I'm aware of without that feature have a PC socket for WIRED triggering. You just need a long sync cord, which you may be using anyway, to connect to your camera. The sync cord needs to be long enough that you can take the flash reading right where the subject will be located.