External Meter to Supplement 35mm & MF Gear

[joel_turner]

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this. I currently have

an Elan 7E which has a partial spot mode, 9.5% to be exact. I'm

considering buying an external spot/incident meter to supplement for

critical exposure use. For landscape use, it becomes very annoying

to remove the camera from the tripod during changing light situations

after carefully setting up a composition to take a spot reading. Also

with a 24mm lens and a 9.5% spot, there is no such thing as a spot

reading. I also end up on many occasions to try to read the contrast

of a scene having to throw on my 70-200 or 300 so that the partial

metering mode becomes more practical. I am also in the process of

buying some used medium format equipment that will most likely not

have a built in meter so the purchase will serve a dual purpose. The

better metered prisms are ridiculously expensive, as much as a stand

alone meter and comparing feature to feature less functional. While a

higher end film body would achieve my goal, I do not anticipate

spending any more money on a film body in 35mm. My next step up would

be a Canon D60 or equivalent however a cursory check shows that the

D60 has the same 9.5%spot.

 

 

 

 

I was wondering if any of you do use an external meter for any of your

35mm or MF work, and if so, do you have any opinions or suggestions?

I've been looking at a Sekonic 508, Gossen Starlite or Minolta Spot F?

I would like to keep new purchases under $500.00

 

 

 

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

 

--Joel Turner

[leif_goodwin8]

<P>

I am in the same situation as I use a Nikon 28mm F2.8 AIS lens on an F80. I have looked at cheap ambient analogue meters but they seem so nastily made I can't force myself to buy one. Yuck. I quite like the look of the Sekonic L308B2.

</P>

<P>

Joel: A UK photo magazine recently tested some meters. (I almost feel shame at purchasing one of these vacuous magazines.) The Sekonic L-358 and L-508 were both rated as a best buy with very good build quality (9/10). The L-358 can take a 1 , 5 or 10 degree spot attachment: add 50% to the price. The Gossen Starlite was rated as a 7/10 for build quality.

</P>

<P>

<A HREF="http://mysite.freeserve.com/ukfungi/mainpage.html">Leif</A>

</P>

[david_henderson]

I think the thought process you've been through above is entirely

logical and so is the conclusion. I 'm very happy with a Sekonic

508 for medium format landscapes despite the fact that I have a

prism for my slr system and integral metering in the rangefinder.

I do think that if you're using two systems it helps to use one

exposure method on both if you can.

 

As I say I'm happy with my 508, but I'm sure that others are just

as good. It's more a question of which one suits the way you

want to work than "best".

[e.j.]

I love the Sekonic L358 - its great because you can configure it for aperture or shutter priority. In other words you can select the desired shutter speed and it gives you the aperture or the desired aperture and it gives you the correct shutter speed. Many meters can't be switched back and forth like this.

[billballardphotography]

I have to agree with the Sekonic 508. Mine has become an invaluable friend; so much so, that I no longer use the in-camera meters on my EOS 3 bodies!

 

Best regards -

[danny burk www.dannyburk.]

While it's pricier than the 508, the Sekonic 608 has a feature that I consider invaluable. It's a secondary ISO dial that can be used to adjust for filter factor, exposure- or bellows compensation, etc. It's very easy, and eliminates the in-your-head process that makes mistakes so easy to do. Example: say that you're using a polarizer and spotmetering a white subject. Dial in 2 stops for the polarizer and another 1.7 for white: no mental figuring needed. Add bellows compensation or another factor to this, and it's even more difficult to keep track of things mentally. I used to use a Minolta Spotmeter F, but much prefer the 608. Robert White in the UK has them at a good price.

[joel_turner]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm basically deciding between a used 608 or a new Starlite. The cost is equivalent. As I live in NYC I'll probably just go to B&H handle both and make a decision.

[ShunCheung]

I'll give you a different answer. I also happen to shoot 35mm, DSLR, and medium format, but my situation is different because my F5, F100 and Contax 645 bodies all have a good spot meter; the Nikon's matrix metering is of course excellent and the Contax has a center weighted meter which is also fine. For a while I considered an external meter as well but came to the conclusion that it simply isn't necessary.

 

So my suggestion is that you may be much better off spending that $500 on upgrading your 35mm film body. Or if your Nikon AI-S lens cannot meter with the F80/N80, upgrade (or for some people downgrade :-) ) to an AF lens with a built-in CPU chip or just add a chip to the AI-S lens. For DSLRs, you might not need precise metering unless you shoot action. Just take some test shots; if the exposure is not quite right, adjust and reshoot.

 

If you upgrade your camera, there could be a lot of other benefits. I think in many cases it beats spending $500 on a separate hand-held meter. Obviously your mileage may vary. If you mainly shoot medium format and your camera doesn't have a good meter built in, you may benefit a lot from a separate meter.

[christian deichert]

Danny, you've piqued my curiosity. I use a Minolta Spotmeter F and have never had an issue. What about the 608 do you prefer over the Spotmeter F?