Which spot meter to chose, Pentax or Sekonic

[paul_prowse]

<p>I thought that I had made up my mind to get a pentax digital spot meter so that I

could get into Zone system exposure techniques, but speaking to someone recently about

my dilema that I use a lot of studio flash and didn't know how I would utilise the zone

system in the studio due to the pentax not measuring incident light (at least I think it

doesn't?) - they suggested the Sekonic L-558R which does every thing including incident

flash spot metering (which would be a big plus for me!) and will display EV

numbers so that translation to zone system is possible.</p>

<p>To me the Sekonic seems to be the front runner now, but I need to know if it will be

easy to use the zone system with this? To me one of the main reasons (other than it's a

dedicated spot meter) that people chose the Pentax is that you can put the zone numbers

on the dial at the top of the meter for easy reading, and I expect that this is the meter that

Ansel Adams

chose.</p>

<p>All I really need to know is will I get sucessful Zone System Exposures using the

Sekonic L-558R, if the answer to that question is yes then that's the meter I would

favor).</p>

<p>Kind regards all</p>

<p>Paul</p>

[ronald_moravec1]

I bought the Pentax over the other ones availble 3 years ago because you don`t have to remove it from your eye to see the reading. It only does one thing, but it does it well.

[evan_clarke1]

Hi,

Consider the Gossen Ultra spot, it is great..Evan Clarke

[barry_wilkinson1]

They are both very good meters. If you want a simple meter for ambient light spot metering using the ZS, buy the Pentax. however, if you want flash metering, the Sekonic is your best choice of the two.

 

Barry

[leonard_evens]

I had been using an old Pentax analog spotmeter for years, but the difficulty of getting batteries for it finally convinced me to get a new spotmeter. I tried out all the alternatives and settled on the Pentax Digital. I found the displays for the others made it awkward to use the Zone System. You can get a Zone System scale to paste to the Pentax dial calculator, or you can make one yourself, as I did. Then it is easy to transfer your readings for shadows and highlights and place them at the appropriate zones. I found doing anything comparable very hard and on-intuitive on the other meters.

 

I would suggest getting a separate meter for flash applications, and to use as a backup for the Pentax. I plan to do that when and if I start doing any significant amount of work with flash.

[john_burns1]

I've used several over the years...Luna Pro, Pentax analog, Pentax digital (Zone VI modified)...and now use the Polaris Dual 5. The Dual 5 is light, very accurate and has multiple capabilities...normal reflectance readings (f-stop and EV mode), incidence, and flash. If you are ok with the 5 degree spot, then I highly recommend it. If you insist on or need a 1 degree spot I'd favor the Penatx digital. There's lots of posts on the +/- of the modification by Zone VI sold through Calumet...decide for yourself. THe Dual 5 is written up and sold by fineartphotosupply.com, Anthony Guidice's operation in Rochester, NY. He also describes the Dual 5's easy use with the Exposure Formula methods I first saw written up in AA's books.

John

[luciano_capitanio1]

IMHO Gossen Starlite (and Gossen Spot Master II) are by far better to manage Zone System. They have a specific function for Zone System and they are very easy and accurate to use.

[ellis_vener_photography]

<I>All I really need to know is will I get sucessful Zone System Exposures using the

Sekonic L-558R, if the answer to that question is yes then that's the meter I would

favor).</I><P>The answer is yes.<P>If the question is WWAAUIHWAAPT (What Would

Ansel Adams Use If He Were Alive And Photographing Today), then I suspect he would be

using the meter made by whatever company was sponsoring him. <P> You can of course

use the L-558R in spot mode with flash if you want to extend your use of Zone System

methodology into the studio. Whether using it as a spot ("reflected") or an incident meter,

the L-558 / L-558R can store up to nine measured values.

[tim_elder1]

Some people I know prefer the Pentax spot meter because they prefer a meter with

only one function. The Sekonic meter you mentioned does spot metering from one to

four degrees, and I think the 558 is one of the Sekonic meters that displays exposure

information in the spot meter viewfinder -- the 508 does not.

 

Tim

[paul_prowse]

<p>Thanks for all the response - I think that I am prefering the Sekonic, I'll find a way to

utilise the zone system to this meter now I know it will work with this.</p>

<p>One last question to clear before I dip into my bank account. Looking at the Sekonic

Website it says that the metering distance of the 558D has a 1? Spot lens, metering

distance 3.3ft ~ (1m~) - not sure what this is implying, does it mean that it will only meter

things that are 3.3ft away successfully or does it mean that anything further away the spot

degree will increase? What is the metering distance of the Pentax?</p>

<p>Would the sekonic still meter a landscape sucessfully? I'm not sure I fully

understand what this meter distance means for spot metering can someone help me out

here?</p>

<p>Kind regards</p>

<p>Paul</p>

[paul_prowse]

Also can someone explain how the spot meter works with strobe flash? - Thanks!!

[ellis_vener_photography]

1.) (per your spot with flash question) What do you want to know?

2.) Per the angle of the spot question - -of course it will accurately measure light on

objects that are more than 1 meter away.

 

The exact quote is "1?(degree) Spot lens, metering distance 3.3ft ~ (1m~)"

 

I suspect but can't confirm tonight, that what this means is that if you were in the center

of a sphere with a radius of 1 meter, the size of the spot being measured would equal a

circle with an area of 1 degree. Enlarge or contract the sphere and the size and hence the

angle of coverage of the area measured relative to the size of the sphere would contract

or expand in an inverse proportion.

[www.graemehird.com]

I second the Gossen Starlight.

 

Zone system spot metering with strobes is no issue with this meter.

 

Cheers,

Graeme

[ken_hughes4]

I thought about this same question years ago when I was purchasing a new meter, but think about it, when you are in the studio you are in total control of the light--you really don't need a spot meter in the studio.

[www.graemehird.com]

Ellis,

 

I think if you are less than 1 meter from the object, it will be out of focus and thus the meter will measure some tones which are outside the target circle shown in the finder.

 

1 degree is a radial measurement - it might be the height of a person at 50 metres or the height of a mountain at 10km. The "sphere with a radius of 1 metre and you at the centre" analogy doesn't apply.

 

Cheers,

[www.graemehird.com]

Sorry Ellis, I reviewed your answer and I'll withdraw the comment about the anology. The focus issue is reason for the distance of 1 metre though.

[paul_prowse]

<p>Graeme,</p>

<p>Thanks for your repsonse, having looked at the starlight (I downloaded the manual) it

looks really good. A couple of questions on it, is there any information displayed in the

viewfinder of the spot meter - manual not clear on this point. Also are you sure that it will

spot meter strobes? Again from the manual I'm not too clear on this (but the sekonic 558

manual isn't clear either on this aspect).</p>

<p>In regards to wanting to know how spot metering with stobes works - it's just that

this is news to me and not sure I have my head around it. Do I set up my studio heads and

model the light as I want then with a sync cord attatched locate the area I want to meter

through the spot viewfinder and press the button and measure. The meter will then

measure the correct amount of exposure for light reflecting from the surface for the

strobe? - I think that being able to zone system with studio flash will really open up some

of my photography espically the times where I blow out highlights when I use multiple

flashs - I'm really excited!!!</p>

[mark_blackman1]

Paul,

I use the gossen ultra-spot. It has a built in zone system and flash metering. It works exactly as you suggest, set up your strobes for the shot, connect the sync cable to the meter and hit the button. It will spot meter off the subject and give you an appature reading. I seem to remember it will do other fancier stuff with ambient light as well, not something I've used.

[www.graemehird.com]

Hi Paul,

<p>

Just for the sake of the archive (repeating what I sent in the email):

<p>

1) Yes, the spot meter functions when in "flash" mode, in the same way as in ambient mode. So using the zone function works fine. It's a great meter for using the zone system - as you've seen from the manual.

<p>

2) There is no information in the viewfinder. I've never found this to be a disadvantage, since it only takes a second to pull your eye from the finder to the screen. Don't let this minor annoyance sway you from getting this fantastic meter.

<p>

I'm never going to need another meter, and if I happen to break or lose this one, I won't hesitate to buy another.

<p>

I bought mine online from Robert White (http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/). I'm pretty sure they're the cheapest around and definitely reliable. I received mine less than a week after purchasing it, sent from the UK to outback Australia. It was nearly half the price I'd be able to get it for in the Aussie photo suppliers.

<p>

Cheers,