i_jarvis Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Hi, Sorry if this kind of question gets asked a lot..... I have recently purchased a 500CM Hasselblad Medium Format Camera. Up until now, I have always used the inbuilt lightmeters in my cameras, I have never used a separate hand-held lightmeter before. I know very little about them. I will mainly be taking indoor portraits. Could someone recommend a good lightmeter that isn't too complicated to use. I'm willing to pay about a hundred pounds for one. Does any one know what the new Sekonic L308S is like? Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks, Harley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bueh Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 The Sekonics are excellent. The one you listed will do a great job. I myself have the heavier, more expensive L-508, because I found the L-308 a bit too tiny and plasticky for my liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Sekonic is just fine. The small and easy thing is to learn how to use a handheld meter. I know you will manage it very well. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkka Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 The 308 is an excellent meter, especially for portraits. Small and light is good if you need to carry it around at all. The single AA battery lasts a long time and is easily available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplumpton Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Harley, If I was involved like you in portrait photography, I would first consider an incident light meter, which you could use to balance your light sources. I think the Sekonic L-398 (the model number, if memory serves me) is a reliable, accurate and batteryless reasonably cheap meter. Alternatively, it seems that a good spot meter (Minolta F spotmeter, available for about $250 US on eBay or Photo.Net) might be a good option, as you could measure different light values placed on your subject's face (flash or ambient). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny_spinoza Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Your best bet, as other have said, is an incident meter that can also ambient plus flash. I have an older sekonic, and it works great. You really don't need reflective readings for indoor portraits. In general, getting both an incident and reflective capability in a single light meter will usually be more than just buying an incident light meter. My Sekonic has both a built in spot meter and incident, but it wasn't cheap. Check keh.com for used lightmeters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_stockdale2 Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 Another vote for a versatile light meter that includes incident as well as reflected, and flash metering without cables. I like the Minolta Auto Meter IV F. The trick with reflected light readings is to know the angle of acceptance and to point it to the right part of the subject. If you've been used to a computer driven multi segment meter in a modern SLR you will need to learn how to read your meter. It's not complicated. It's simpler in a way, since you don't have to learn how to outsmart your SLR meter. In case you're tempted to go small and compact, I would definitely not recommend the Sekonic L-208 which I have found inconsistent and inaccurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_evans4 Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 I have the Sekonic L208 as well as a Norwood-inspired big, no-battery Sekonic incident meter. I use the former much more than the latter. To me, it seems consistent and reliable -- for what it does well. What it doesn't do well is meter in rather low light, and that's why I wouldn't recommend it for your purposes. As for the latter type, at least in my part of the world used examples in excellent condition are numerous and pretty cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwrtertbsratbs5 Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 I'm partial to light meters with meters - digital readout seems awkward to me. I owned a digital Gossen for a bit. But I sold it because I had to use a button to toggle between equivalent exposure combinations. It's much nicer to glance at a dial and be able to see all combinations at once. Take a look at the Gossen Luna Pro. Inexpensive and accurate in low light. It meters flash, too. And so easy to use: push a button to meter, turn the dial to the null position, and then read the dial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_gleason1 Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 I'm with Robert --- I still like my decades-old Luna Pro. Solid and reliable, easy to use. Not hard to find these, either. The Luna Pro vari-angle attachment is pretty easy to find, too. That will get you down to a 7.5 degree view of things. Not quite a spot meter, but often close enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary_watson Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 The Sekonic 308 is near-perfect for its size/features/cost.The old selenium Sekonics have a baked-in problem with low-light readings.The older Sekonics like the 318 and 328 are also worth a look if you're buying used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauren_macintosh Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 You have two options either Gossen or Seconik both good brands Now My suggestion and I have Both, is find a good Seconik L358 just saw one for sale around 175.00 at one of the forums i check out : I like mine very much! good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_vedel Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 Hi all Dos anyone have experience with the current top of the line Sekonic light meters: L-558 and L-758D. What is the difference between the two. Does the L-558 do anything the L-758D does not, or does the L-758D include all the features and functions of the L-558. How do these two light meters compare with the smaller models that have been recommended on this thread. I acknowledge they are more expensive than the budget, but I prefer to pay once and get all I need. I have always used the spot meter built in my metered cameras (Contax Aria, Contax 645 and Nikon D200). I find that if I point the spot meter at an area that I think is the right to meter the exposure, and by locking the metering (this sucks on the Nikon D200), use this metering for the exposure, I get much better results, than if I rely on the average / weighted metering system in the camera. I often find something that is 18% grey in the same direction as the subject and point the spot meter on that area for the exposure metering. I am looking for a light meter that will allow me to explore the lighting profile of the subject on more detail, include incident light metering and have flash metering ? especially the ratio between natural and flash light. Furthermore when the camera is on a tripod it is more practical with a hand held external light meter if you want metering of different areas to investigate the contrast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrjacobs Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 For indoor portraits you need a flash meter. I'd add my name to the list to recommend the Sekonic 308s. Lightweight and very accurate. Great for portrait work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harvey_edelstein1 Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Sekonic L358, has incident dome and the digital display lights up with a blue glowing display in low lighting automatically. It also can do wireless flash firing when used in flash metering mode. This is a great reasonably compact flash unit that can figure out the averaging of many readings and other computations. It has a lot of features for the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosmini sukardi Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 I second Harvey's note. Just purchased the Sekonic L358 and very pleased with its handling. Very simple and handy - surprisingly un-daunting for someone who is new to lightmeters. Like you, I am a new user of the Hasselblad 503cw and learning to use a lightmeter for the first time. Gd luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_schwartz6 Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Another vote for the L-508 -- expensive, but easy to learn how to use, and capable of pretty much anything you'll ever need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldy Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 "Another vote for the L-508 -- expensive, but easy to learn how to use, and capable of pretty much anything you'll ever need." Sorry if I missed that detail David Schwartz, but is the L508 anincident+reflective+flash meter?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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