Hand Held Meter for Mamiya 6MF

[hans_bernhard_beykirch]

I am looking for a hand held meter for my Mamiya 6MF. On the short

list I have the Seconic L-508 and L-408. The most important difference

seems to be the angle of the spotmeter. The L-408 has a fixed 5 degree

and the L-508 a zoom 1 - 4 degree.

 

Will I need the 1 - 4 degree zoom for nature and landscape photography

with the lenses covering 50 - 150 mm or is the fixed 5 degree

sufficient?

 

Regards

 

Bernd

[geoff_murray1]

Hi Bernd,

I have been using an L-408 up until recently with good results but I have now purchased an L-608 which is a far superior meter. It supplies much more information and the option of 1 to 4 degrees spot is very useful.I thoroughly recommend the L-608.

 

Geoff

www.geoffmurray.com

[david_henderson]

I believe the one degree feature of the 508 makes a very big difference. A 5 degree angle will cover a large amount of territory and whilst you'll be able to meter big areas like sky and foreground accurately, you won't be able to make judgments about small areas of the frame, and this is particularly important when trying to ensure highlights don't burn out.

 

I do have two areas of concern with the 508. First I've had two of these and on both the paintwork identifying the buttons has worn away with constantly slipping the meter back into its case. It's ok once you've memorised what the buttons do. Second the ability to get a reading in very low light (I'm talking night and low light indoors here, not a dull day) isn't good. If you're working a lot in extreme low light conditions I'd suggest something a little more sensitive would be appropriate.

[paul_owen]

L508. Superb. had mine snce they were introduced and am

VERY happy. Only problem is that they use a single AA battery

which does run down quickly in very cold weather. A Lithium

battery should help though. I haven't had any problems with

lettering wearing off. If you think that this may be a problem then

it is probably the case with all meters, most have lettering on

them! Solution - a strip of clear sticky-back plastic film.

[roger_michel]

for landscape photography, such a meter will generally be no more useful than a good, simple averaging meter. is there some reason why you are resistant to purchasing a good one degree spot meter (the pentax digital spot). only with a good spot meter can you measure accurately your high and low values in a complex distant scene. maybe there is some sense that spot meters are for zone types. nothing could be further from the truth!! doesn't everyone need to know the subject briteness range of their scene?? doesn't everyone need to know whether thet are going to record detail in their highlite and lowlite areas??

[roger_michel]

implicit in my comment (although i ralize now it should have been explicit) is the fact that the sekonic's "spot" function -- whether nominally one degree or not -- is by no means a true one degree spot. the true angle of acceptance is vastly larger -- four or five degrees at best. don't believe me -- test it in the store versus a dedicated, properly baffled one degree spot. and for those who will disagree with my recommendation, please indicate in what respects a multimeter can outperform a dedicated one degree spot meter for outdoor, daytime landscape photography?? (i concede the flash issue obviously.)

[kevin_lackey]

Hi Bernd, so far you've gotten pretty good advise about the 508, and Roger also makes a valid point about the Pentax spotmeter.<P>

 

However, I'd like to throw another name into the mix...<P>

 

I'd take a good look at the Gossen <a href="http://www.bogenphoto.com"> Starlite </a> meter. Few people would argue Gossen's rep about building quality light meters. The Starlite out performs the 508 and 608 in low light readings, is more comfortable to hold and simpler to use. It's also priced to match the 508 and beats the 608 by about $225 at <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com"> B & H Photo. </a>

[vartan_grigorian]

I agree with Roger that the true acceptance angle of the Sekonic spotmeters appears larger than claimed. I think this is mainly due to flare in the optics. Despite this I own an L408 and find it to be adequate. I did have to apply a 1/2 stop correction to the readings, and I don't think I'm the only one to find that it underexposes by 1/2 stop as it comes out of the box. It is versatile in that it offers incident and flashmetering as well. If you mainly do landscape and nature photography then I must admit that a Pentax spotmeter would be quite a bit better.

[vartan_grigorian]

One more suggestion; if you are planning to use the camera handheld you may not always want to use a large lightmeter. I'm not sure if the 6MF has a hot shoe, but if it does you could buy the Voigtlander light meter that is intended to slot into a hot shoe. It won't be a substitute for a spotmeter, but could be useful for those times when you don't want to carry a lot of kit.

[roger_michel]

i echo vartan's praise of the voigtlander shoe meter. i use one frequently on many different cameras, and yet for some reason never mention it here. as vartan says, it mite be the perfect solution if you want something fast and portable. i should also add that in my own PERSONAL AND HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE (and probably wrong!!) opinion, after a spotmeter, the second most useful type of meter in the world is a simple averaging meter. you know exactly what it is measuring in any given scene, and then you use your own knowledge of light (backlighting effects, etc.), your equipment, and your expectations of the final result to zero in on a setting. with a little practice this takes seconds. with a complex (matrix, etc.) meter, you really never know enough about how it is measuring the light to second guess its recommendation. for years, i got consistently great exposures using only that cool little knob meter that gossen made for the blad, coupled with experience. anyway, as vartan suggests, the little voigtlander meter is an EXCELLENT compact tool. it looks nice on the mamiya 6mf too!!

[diego_k.]

If we´re talking bout the VC meter, I think that the 6MF own meter is a better choice, I have been using it for street use without any flaws, just remembering to lock exposure in AEL mode. Sometimes when in doubt I use a sekonic, 308B and is consistent with the on camera meter. I used it some times for landcape, and by eliminating the sky with your finger works wuite well.

 

The VC is more sutable for mounting on top of the speed grips of bronica cameras (as far as I see), but the again, the price is just a bit unader of a metered prism AEII.

 

Diego K.

[anthony_harrison]

You say nature & landscape, but of course you might have other photographic interests too, now or in future. I advise getting the most powerful & versatile meter you can afford, which rules out the Pentax (I know it's popular with keen USA hobbyist photographers) and the Gossen Starlite. After years of using a Minolta Spotmeter F professionally, with some reluctance I went over completely to the Sekonic L-608 following an extensive trial, and I thoroughly recommend it. Unlike the 508 it has readings visible in the viewfinder, and its ability to switch between spot and incident modes is enormously useful. The Minolta was renowned for its accurate one-degree field of view, extremely well baffled, but I must say my work has not suffered from using the Sekonic (always on its one degree setting) as a substitute - it certainly does not over-read to anything like three or four degrees as someone suggested. I suspect Sekonic rushed the 508 into production to test the water, since they brought out the much-improved 608 not too much later; Gossen is an excellent brand (mine is 40 years old, bought new in Germany!) but I don't think the Starlite is a pro-spec model; if you want a pure spotmeter, get the Minolta or the Gossen Spotmaster.

[roger_michel]

there are many good one degree spot meters on the market -- and i have always been impressed with minolta's products. they are much underrated. however, the pentax digital spot is far more than a "hobbyist" device. it is used almost universally in the usa (and perhaps elsewhere) in the television and motion picture industry for guaging subject briteness. indeed, i think the only reason why pentax still makes the digital spot is the steady demand from the tv crowd (tv cameras blow out above a certain lite temp). it is unquestionably a professional grade tool.

[richard_freedman1]

Interesting to read that someone else's 508 meter's white silkscreen printing wore off; I thought I it was just something I suffered with. Interestingly, the silkscreening on my 408 meter, which is older, looks practically like new. Has anyone had any experience with the 608 regarding this matter?

[martin_davidson1]

I use both a pentax spotmeter (bought second hand) and a sekonic 308; I didnt set out to buy this combination, but now I have it, it works really well -- and saves you using the (to me) pretty unreliable Mamiya meter. If I only had one? I'd stick with the Pentax -- if only because it makes the process of thinking about exposure, so clearcut, which has been an education in itself.