Light Meter For A Leica M2

[louie_caracas2]

Hello, all. I bought an M2 a few months ago. Now, I need a light meter. I

have narrowed down my choice between a Sekonic L308S and a Gossen Luna Digital

Pro F.

 

I already searched the archives. I can't get information whether the Luna Digi

Pro F uses double A (AA) battery. I am aware that the Sekonic L308 uses a

single (AA)battery.

 

Now my questions are:

 

1. Does the newer Luna Digital Pro F use "AA" battery?

2. Which light meter is preferable in the field? Thoughts & experience will

help.

 

I certainly appreciate your replies. Thank you. Danke. Gracias. Merci.

 

Louie Caracas

[wai_leong_lee]

308s is smaller and hence better in the field, you can carry in your shirt pocket or around your neck, but is "tuned" for digital, whatever that means. 308B II (its predecessor) was the same size but apparently not so tuned.

[pc_b]

Hi Louie,

the B&H page suggests that the Gossen uses AAs.

I have a Luna-Star F (9v-bricks), it's built like a tank and I love it. The Sekonik is way

flimsier, though not flimsy as such!

Besides, you'll have to carry around spares dedicated to each piece of equipment* anyway,

so which battery your lightmeter might need becomes irrelevant.

 

* not for the Luna-Star, as it tells me when there is only a day's worth in the battery...

 

Cheers, Peter

[adrian bastin]

Louie, excuse me answering this with no knowledge of either of these meters but, having bought a few meters over the internet I have always been surprised by their size - one way or the other. I now use a moderately sized meter - which is good because I often just don't bother to carry it at all and get along fine with the one in my head - have to bang it to get it to work sometimes, though.

[fred_c1]

Drop the "Luna" from the Digipro: http://www.gossen-photo.de/english/foto_produkte.html

 

http://www.sekonic.com/products/products.asp?ID=3

[peter_white2]

It's no longer on the Sekonic website, but the L 408 is still available. It's small, and gives you flash metering, incident metering, as well as a very fine 5 degree spot meter with viewfinder. I've been using one for years. It has a nice digital readout. I think it's the perfect meter.

[Rich B NYC]

Louie,

 

I've been using the Sekonic L308BII (predecessor to the L308S) for a couple years now and find it very accurate for both ambient light and flash measurements.

 

Its 1/10 stop scale is really useful when shooting chromes.

 

I'm not sure exactly how the L308S differs from the earlier model. I would hope that Sekonic has included an option for basing the exposure on f stop in addition to shutter speed only. I've found that to be a bit of a nuisance, but not a real issue.

 

One caveat is that the L308BII is plastic. Not polycarbonate, but actual plastic. I don't use mine professionally and have been fortunate enough not to drop it, but there is a potential for damage there. Perhaps the newer model is built a bit better but I doubt it based on the prices being almost identical.

 

Rich

[john_shriver]

Yeah, those are both pretty big. Those are almost big enough to be "studio" meters. What's ideal for the field is what isn't a burden. So don't ignore the Gossen DigiSix and the Sekonic L208. Although both are probably more fragile than the larger ones.

 

Of course, I should talk. My favorite meter is a classic (CdS) Gossen Luna-Pro, with the convertor for silver cells. Does fit in a pocket, and superb ergonomics, which digital readout meters don't seem to have...

 

If you want to avoid any battery problem, there's the Sekonic L398, a true classic.

[leica ron]

I have the 308s and it reads exactly the same as my girlfriend's 308bII. The only real difference I can see is that it has a much better display layout.

 

And, during its 'boot up' the 308s screen stays blank, while the 308b had "b.c." on the display.

 

For metering LTMs or my M3 it's a perfect companion. The meter is small and accurate. I also like the fact that I can do incident or reflective metering with it thanks to the slide away dome.

 

The Sekonic website says "precise calibration for accurate digital exposures." Which to me is marketing blurb for 'the meter is accurate'.

 

IMHO the 308s is the right tool for the job, just as my Minoltas are excellent for studio lighting and my Pentax Spot is excellent for large format B&W.

[Rob F.]

My Luna-Pro Digital F does use a single AA battery. I consider it to be shirt-pocket size(though it leaves no room for anything else in the pocket). I don't see why anyone would think it's too large for field use. If you want to see something too big for field carry with a Leica, check out a Luna-Lux or a Spectra Professional P-251!

[george_b1]

I've used almost every type of meter available since 1943. Finally settled on the Sekonic 308. Accurate, uses one alkaline AA battery, and has excellent repeatability. You can switch from incident to reflective metering with the flick of your finger on the dome. And it does fit into your shirt pocket. Unless you have a proclivity to abuse your meters, the plasatic case should be no problem.

 

George (The Old Fud)

[Rob F.]

To Illustrate:<div></div>

[louie_caracas2]

THANK YOU everyone for your quick and informative replies.

 

I would also check out the Gossen Digisix and Sekonic L208 as suggested by J. Shriver.

 

Cheers!

[jim_jeblee]

My M2 is my most used camera, I love it! The exposure guide inside the film box is my most used 'meter'. Works great outside if your using print film, I don't shoot much slide film. When light gets a bit trickier I use a Gossen Digisix, very small, cheap, but I need my glasses to see it in low light and no off switch so battery lasts about 2 weeks unless I take the battery out. I use a L 408 when I need more control or very tricky light & a Gossen Ultra spot for stage work. If you want small & light, about the size of a compass, look at the Digisix, if small is not that important the a 308 or 408 would be better. Or you could just buy several like many of us here. Good luck, Jim.

[feli]

Another vote for the Sekonic 308

 

I also use a VC meter II on my meterless M cameras

[al_kaplan1]

With all those meterless M2, M3 and M4 bodies in use why doesn't somebody come out with a new modern meter that couples to the shutter dial like the old Leicameter M, MC and MR that Metrawatt used to make?

It'd be nice to have something that took a modern battery.

[richard_s.]

Hello Louie <br>

<br>

Both light meter use a single AA battery.<br>

<br>

Both are of similar size and weight.<br>

<br>

The Gossen is newer, with better specs. and has IMHO better ergonomics.<br>

<br>

Sekonics L-308 <br>

<br>

Sensitivity EV: 0 - 19,9<br>

Exposure times: 1/8000 - 60 seconds<br>

Sensitivity Flash: 2.0 - 90<br>

Flash sync: 1/500s - 1s<br>

Measuring angle without dome 40°<br>

Size: 63 x 110 x 21 mm<br>

Weight: 80g<br>

<br>

Gossen Luna Digital Pro F (Sixtomat flash)<br>

<br>

Sensitivity EV: -2.5 - 18<br>

Exposure times: 1/8000 - 60 minutes<br>

Sensitivity Flash: 1.0 - 90<br>

Flash sync: 1/1000s - 1s<br>

Measuring angle without dome: 25°<br>

Size: 65 x 118 x 19 mm <br>

Weight: 95g<br>

<br>

<br>

The Gossen has higher sensitivity (good for low light situations), <br>

a larger range of exposure times, <br>

a narrower angle for measurements without dome.<br>

<br>

Ergonomics follows Gossen standards and are very good and intuitive. <br>

ISO number is permanently displayed (avoids surprises).<br>

Has a large "analogue" scale of aperture values (excellent for contrast

measurements).<br>

The light sensor is in the front of the device, the shadow of the

photographer doesn´t fall on the sensor, one can read the

display and make a measurement (excellent again for contrast

measurements).<br>

Horizontal keys change modes. Available and chosen modes are shown on

the top of the display. No need to guess,  which comes next.<br>

Vertical keys change values like time, aperture, film sensitivity, etc.<br>

The central key makes a measurement.<br>

Small size, flat, fits in a shirt pocket.<br>

<br>

IMHO the Gossen is the better light meter.<br>

<br>

[vinay_patel]

"With all those meterless M2, M3 and M4 bodies in use why doesn't somebody come out with a new modern meter that couples to the shutter dial like the old Leicameter M, MC and MR that Metrawatt used to make? It'd be nice to have something that took a modern battery."

 

Funny you should mention that, but Leica and did have a few prototypes made of a coupled Leicameter with silicon cells and an L.E.D.-readout. It was in the late 70s or early 80s, and it never went into production.

[Troll]

Consider a Leicameter MR, or MR4. They are superb!

[vinay_patel]

That they are Bill, but not unequivocally. First off they have to be in good running order and many of them aren't and only some inoperative ones are fixable. In any case they will need to be recalibrated for a 1.5 volt battery or used with a 1.3v air cell. The Criscam adaptor which works so well in other cameras is not a good option with the MR meters because it is thicker than a PX625 and puts a lot of pressure against the fragile sliding battery cover. Once the meter is running and calibrated, the low-end sensitivity is adequate but not in the ballpark with modern meters. It is also somewhat slower to react, must be manually switched from high/low range, and is hard to read in very dim light. If a separate viewfinder is needed, the meter has to be removed and used as a hand meter. Finally, and probably of least importance other than for those with valuable collector-quality cameras, great care has to be taken attaching and removing them to avoid marring the top plate.