This looks like a great deal for someone looking for flash & ambient light metering. True it doesn't have spot metering capability, but I don't need it. Is there another meter which has the same capabilities and costs less than the $220 which B&H charges?

-- Chris Hawkins (peace@clover.net), February 02, 1999

Answers

I'll take the contrarian view and suggest you spend $40 more--for a Sekonic 308BII. Several friends have busted Polaris meters in light use.Sekonic has a 3yr warranty and good tech support. I have a 308B and love its size and capabilities--it also uses a single AA.

-- Gary Watson (cg.watson@sympatico.ca), February 02, 1999.

Notwithstanding Gary's comments about the light plastic construction, I've had good luck with the Polaris and found it was about $20 to $30 cheaper at Camera World of Oregon (with free UPS ground shipping as well) than at B&H. It's always good to check both places. For the price it's hard to beat. I'd love to own the $450 Sekonic L508, but there are other photographic priorities in front of it at the moment. If you don't need flash metering, both Gossen and Sekonic make excellent small incident meters for under $100 that will give you good, accurate readings for the next 50 years.

-- Mark Hubbard (hubbard@humboldt1.com), February 04, 1999.