Opinions Sekonic L-208 Light Meter?

<p>I really like the Voigtlander VC II light meters. I had two but lost one during a recent trip.</p>

<p>I'm looking at the Sekonic L-208 as a replacement. I realize it's bigger, but the price with free shipping from Amazon is almost half of the Voigtlander.</p>

<p>Can anyone give me their first hand opinion regarding the Sekonic L-208 meter?</p>

<p>I own and I've used the L-208, the VC-II and the Gossen Digisix, all in the same league. I'd say that the VC-II has no equivalent but the Leica-Metrawatt MR Meter, the VC been the winner by far. The L-208 is a lovely meter, very classic looking and equivalent to the Gossen Digisix (that's digital). Both the Sekonic and the Gossen are extremely ugly when mounted on an M3, not so with the VC that looks very natural. Of course all of them are very accurate, the VC takes only reflected measurements, the Sekonic and Gossen also take incident measurements (my Sekonic seems to be a little off in this mode). My advice is buy another VC unless you intend to use it as a pocket meter, if this is the case, buy the Sekonic. </p>

208 is a daylight meter.

<p>Wai-Leong Lee,</p>

<p>What do you mean, "208 is a daylight meter"? Isn't the Voigtlander VC-II a daylight meter too?</p>

<p>Well, there are two similar meters that may be getting confused. The DigiSix (the one I own), is a daylight reflective and incident meter, and the DigiFlash is the same, but adds flash readings. I really like my DigiSix, and bought it after deliberating about the same issue of buying the VC or 208. I'm generally a Sekonic guy, but I really love my Gossen. I think the 208 is only a reflective meter (might be wrong), and the VC is only reflective, though both are "daylight" meters, which is to say they are not flash meters.</p>

<p>It means it's not good for low light us; ain't sensitive enough.</p>

<p>Specs in the manual: EV 3-17: at 100 ISO lowest light reading is 1/2s at f2. The Gossen Digisix is 0-18 at ISO 100 and I think the VC II is EV 1-20.</p>

If you are looking for a shoe-mounted meter, go for the VC Meter II, which is excellent and fits Leica Ms like a glove. If you are looking for a low-cost, working handheld meter primarily for incident reading, but capable of reflected readings as well, go for the Sekonic L-308s. I looked at the L-208, but preferred the digital readout of the 308, its ergonomics for incident readings, and the single AA battery of the 308 is one you can get absolutely anywhere in the field, even in the boonies.

 

Apart from the VC Meter II, I haven't seen any other shoe mounted meters I like. Quite often, if I am working with M2's I just carry the Sekonic 308s handheld because I rely primarily on incident readings anyway.

<p>I own the L-208 and a Digi-Six, but not the VC. I like both meters, but if you want to set ISO in small, precise, increments, the L-208 is not for you: the ISO scale is tiny with "coarse" calibration intervals. Other than that, it is a great meter. I would second the suggestion about Sekonic 308 series meters, as they are really versatile, but they are in a larger size class than the ones you asked about.</p>

<p>The Sekonic L-300 series meters are excellent. I have an L-358 flash meter that triggers Pocket Wizards. It's reliable and accurate.</p>

<p>I nearly bought a L-208, but it's a bit bigger than I like for a shoe-mounted meter. My choice - especially for use with cameras with the old, or non-standard shutter speeds - is the <em>hand-held</em> Sekonic L-308s - it's <em>excellent </em> - it reads-out in 1/3rd or 1/2 stop increments.</p>

If you absolutely need a meter, just swing for this one. Later on you can look for more sophisticated gizmos, but in a pinch

this one gets you out of the hole. I have one, and have used it with my Mamiya C220 and my meterless Leicas. In the

end, I learned to guesstimate exposure, so I haven't used it for a while...

 

But, again, it's not a bad meter (with its limitations) to have.

<p>I had one on a MF camera's hot shoe. It's a useable meter but better in a pocket imo. There is some slack in the dials, so i got into the habit of always turning the line-up needle to the left: if going the other way it gave a half stop differnt result. I found some inconsistency between its incident and reflectd measurements (comparing to very good meters that is). </p>

<p>I prefer analog dials to digital output, but I replaced the meter with the Sekonic L-308 which, although bigger, is thinner so feels no more bulky in the pocket.</p>

<p>For Ryuji Suzuki's opinion, look here:</p>

<p>http://silvergrain.com/labs/L-208</p>

<p>I have a DigiSix. It is accurate and handy, but every once in a while the screen lies to me and tells me that the battery is dead when it isn't. So I have to pull the battery out, put it back in, and reset the meter. I used to have the L-208. It was okay until the needle spring unsprung. A digital meter avoids the problems of cheap mechanics.</p>

<p>I also have the VC Meter II, which I keep on top of my M3. It is terrific. For serious metering, however, you might need the real deal. I still have an old restored Weston Master V and a Gossen Luna-Pro F which fill the bill; the Luna-Pro is about as good as you can get. If all you want is a small, sturdy meter that gives accurate reflected readings within a conservative ISO range, the VC is the one to get.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for all the recommendations. I'm still weighing all the pros and cons of the meters mentioned and also researching them.</p>

<p>I have an old Minolta V flash meter from my professional days. It's a good meter, but is about the size of a TV remote. Unfortunately, I never bothered getting the reflective light attachment because my readings were exclusively incident. Now that I'm shooting mostly landscapes, I wish I had invested in the spot reading and reflective reading attachments. Of course, now the meter is discontinued and Minolta has gone out of business.</p>

<p>I'm hesitant to get another Voigtlander meter because both the one I have and the one I lost are a little loose in the accessory shoe of my M bodies. That's how I lost one. One minute it was on my M2 and the next minute it was gone. Spent a good hour looking for it along a 30 meter stretch of path with no luck. I never stepped off the path so someone must have picked it up before I noticed it was missing.</p>

<p>So now, I'm thinking a corded compact hand held meter is probably the answer for me. I just need to figure out which one.</p>

<p>Here's the trick, Robert: layer a couple of pieces of clear strapping tape into the accessory shoe of your M bodies. The VC Meter II will fit tightly but can be removed without scratching the metal. The tape will lift out without leaving residue.</p>

<p>I've owned the VC11, as well as various Westons, and sold it in favour of the 208. I don't use it on the hotshoe, but I started finding that a limitaiton with the VC anyway, in that you couldn't, of course, use it with an external finder. In your pocket, the VC loses its ASA setting, and the batteries can drain. The 208 is more versatile - the incident light capability is really handy, but more importantly it's really quick and intuitive to use - the wheel control is much more practical than the LEDs of the VC. THE VC is prettier, but otherwise the 208 is perfect for a small meter.</p>

<p>Frederick is right-on in both instances: VCII superb on top of the Leica; Sekonic L308B a wonderful handheld. I use both.</p>