Need a meter for street shooting - lightweight, no-nonsense, accurate

[g_guhan_gunaratnam2]

Hello,

 

I need a meter. for the type of shooting I do, I won't be able to take readings

at the subject, towards the camera. So I'm looking at a spot/ambient meter.

I'd like somethings small, quick to use and read, solid and accurate.

 

I have a Sekonic L558R and it is overkill for what I want to use this new meter

for. Need a simple meter, don't expect it to do all the work for me in

difficult lighting situations, but as much of the work would be great. Money

isn't a huge issue (within reason).

 

Any help is appreciated

 

Thanks

[g_guhan_gunaratnam2]

Ok, I'm starting to remember why I hated shopping for meters before. I'm only looking for a simple reflected light meter! Ohhh

 

Does a Sekonic L-398 only do incident, or does it also do reflected?

[johnmarkpainter]

A little Gossen Digisix or a Sekonic 308 is all you need. For street shooting there are

basically only 3 readings to take. Full Shade, Partial Shade, Full Sun. Then you can shoot

for an hour or so before you need to meter again.

 

jmp

[nicholas_rab1]

I use a Digisix for street/travel shooting with a TLR and C41 film. Very accurate, easy to use, and extremely small. Downsides are that it is cheaply built and overpriced for what it is. No spot meter.

 

I wish I had bought the digiflash instead, as that would have come in handy for times I didn't have my flashmeter.

 

You can also get a flash shoe attachment for it, I used to use that with my old Fuji GSW69. Works pretty well, though the shape/bulk is a little odd.

[dave k]

I, too, use a Gossen Digisix and agree that it is overpriced. It has too many functions other than metering that I never use. But it has been useful and is small and light for travel.

 

Dave King

[ellis jordan bojar]

My low-profile is the Sekonic L-208 Twinmaster, which fits in the change pocket on my

jeans. It matches my L-558, so I assume it's quite accurate, or at least that Sekonic meters

all match readings. I use the 208 a lot with my Holga, and it's an excellent back-up in case

something goes wrong with your electronic gear. I bought mine "like-new" for about $40 on

the 'Bay.

[sandeep_singh_brar]

Incident light meter is the way to go. Lighting conditions don't change much outdoors once you take an incident reading on a sunny or cloudy day, you should be good to go for quite a while before needing another reading. Much faster and easier than using a reflected light meter in my opinion.

[OCULUS New York]

Forgive me if I am missing something, but street shooting, to me, equals have everything pre-set and grabbing what you can. Until you are used to a particular lens and film, and filters and your own sense of lighting, ANY basic meter (and certainly the one that you already have) will get you literally/figuratively "on the block."

 

Thereafter, it's your eye and a steady hand that count.

 

Relax and have fun,

Ray Hull

[a_petkov]

I've been using the Sekonic 308 for almost 9 months now - lightweight, small, reliable, operates on 1 regular AA battery.

[poul]

for the price of advanced light meter, you can get a small superzoom digital camera, which will give you much more info, including histogramm. i use canon s2is as my light meter, much better, but there are even smaller and cheaper superzooms.

[trex1]

I picked up a Gossen Sixtomat recently for around 70 bucks, and I am now a big fan. The

ergonomics are a little odd, but it is very effective, so I recommend the Sixtomat. Also the

suggestion to take three readings sounds very helpful, and I look forward to trying it out next

time.

[mike_earussi1]

An old Gossen Lunapro with a 7 1/2 degree spot meter attachment sounds like it would fit your requirments. Cheap, reliable and simple to use.

[simonpg]

G, I have the same Sekonic for serious shooting.

 

My other "super compact - convenience" meter is the Voigtlander (Cosina) Meter II. I recommend this for such "convenience" shooting.

 

This is just perfect for street shooting and even more serious shooting - a hot/cold shoe mount device that is the smallest around with aperture and shutter dials on top that operate in match diode 3 diodes at the back where the button is located too to active a reading.

 

This I use on all my classic cameras as well as my Hasselblad 6x6 kit when convenience is paramount. It is very acurate but of course one should always factor in backlighting etc where applicable.

 

On the camera is so convenient - can't lose it and you can keep your eyes open to the diodes while looking through a viewfinder.

 

They are also quite reasonably priced.

[gary_watson]

The Sekonic L398 makes a nice retro fashion statement but has some serious limitations:limited low-light accuracy; fiddly two-handed operation and real bulk for its size, thanks to a large on-board magnet.I love the little 308--next to the 398, one of Sekonic's longest running designs--whose ease of use, accuracy, flash-metering capability, and low price make it a bit of a Swiss Army knife among meters.The 308's compact size makes it near-perfect for street shooting.

[prashanteju]

gossen pilot II.

[blue_sun408]

I would also suggest the Sekonic L-308B. A very accurate, light-weight, ambient/reflective/flash meter. Great battery life (uses 1 "AA") which seems to last forever, and reasonably priced.

 

Or try to find a used Gossen Lunasix 3 with spot attachment (15 - 7.5 degrees) with an "ok" ambient slider function.

 

I use both, but lately for the kind of shooting I do I prefer the little Sekonic in most situations.

[blue_sun408]

Oops!

 

Meant to say "incident" not "ambient" : )

[jean_fran_ois_juteau]

Gossen Pilot... so small fits in a pocket. cheap, pretty tough and well protected in it's hard

shell + nothing is more easy to use... of course no spot metering.