Learning the Zone system is an excellent way to learn about exposure, but unless you are shooting sheet film (large format) and doing the developing and printing yourself, you won't use the Zone system in its full methodology.(posted 8822 days ago)Nevertheless, it's a good way to understand your exposure decisions even when you are shooting 35mm. Your question leads me to think that you should (1) do a lot more reading about use of exposure meters, and (2) start with a decent, inexpensive, analog (dial, not digital) meter. The analog dial gives you more information for *learning* exposure. I personally selected an updated version of the Gossen Luna Pro model that I used back in the early 70's. A used Luna Pro will go for $100 or less on eBay. It's an established workhorse from a company that stands behind it's product.