azted wrote:
I have been on the cusp about buying a light meter. I only shoot mirrorless, but I am expanding my use of off camera lighting, by purchasing more flashes, strobes, stands, and electronic transmitters. I would like to hear the professionals talk about this topic prior to spending more of my decreasing amount of cash on equipment! (I have purchased several books on the lighting topic)
Sekonic, Minolta, and Gossen are top names in flash meters. They generally will function as incident and reflected continuous light meters, too, so they're pretty versatile. I have an old Gossen Luna Pro F and a slightly newer Minolta Auto Meter IIIF, that have stood the test of time. The Gossen is simpler, the Minolta is more versatile.
You should probably talk to a pro at the counter of a top camera store and view some typical options. Whatever meter you buy, you will likely need to calibrate it to YOUR equipment (so the meter provides the right exposure information for YOUR sensor and lens combination). This calibration could be a simple adjustment on the meter, or an EV offset of some sort that you add or subtract from each reading.
It doesn't matter what camera system you use. Light is light, and you'll meter it the same way with a given external meter regardless of the camera.
You can minimize your expenses on lighting gear by learning the basics of studio light control and manipulation. Learning to determine lighting ratios on 3D subjects, control specularity, control diffuse highlight intensity, control the diffuse highlight to shadow edge acuteness, and control the diffuse highlight to shadow ratio will go a long way to informing which tools you need for a given situation. Understanding all these terms, their ranges, and their uses is really a prerequisite to a trip to the camera store or web browser.
Reflectors, scrims, diffusers, umbrellas, and soft boxes come in many sizes, styles, and transmission characteristics. Lights can be flash, HMI, LED, CFL, FL, incandescent, or window daylight. There is a broad range of tools available.