Hi i'm in the hunt for the most compact light meter i can find that has incident, reflective, ambient and spot metering. So far i have looked at the 408, what do you think about it and is it good for reading low light conditions, are there others to consider? is spot metering really essential?? thanks,

-- sparkie (sparkie@mailcity.com), April 11, 2002

Answers

The Sekonics seem to be as good as they come. There is a Gossen meter which does all three (Starlight?). Although a Gossen man myself I didn't like this one at all. It didn't seem to be intuitive.

-- Tim Franklin (tim_franklin@mac.com), April 11, 2002.

Had one for about a year. Simple to use, relatively compact, fairly comprehensive in features. Probably the only one that's weatherproof. The spot is a little wide (5 degrees if memory serves). Once I learned to trust the M6's on board meter I got rid of the Sekonic... one less thing to fiddle with.

is spot metering really essential??

No more essential than a zoom lens. It's just a convenience.

-- Anon Terry (anonht@yahoo.com), April 11, 2002.

The L-408 IMO is the best meter I have ever used, bar none. Very compact, very rugged. Most handheld meters seem to be designed primarily for incident reading in a studio, with reflected reading a poor afterthought: no viewfinders, huge domes on rotating turrets that break off. And most spotmeters are huge. The 408 is just perfect except for I wish it had a lighted display.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 11, 2002.

I've had one for a couple of years, and it's pretty rugged (no swiveling incident dome to snap off) and weather-resistant. It also runs on a single AA batt---just pop in a lithium AA and it seems to go forever. There's also a battery-strength meter that flashes on the display every time you fire it up.

I did have to lock in nearly a one-stop (plus) adjustment to the thing to get the 'chrome exposures I liked. Right out of the box, it underexposed everything quite a bit.

-- Chuck Albertson (chucko@siteconnect.com), April 11, 2002.

I have an L-408 and use it quite a bit. it comes with a neck strap. I attached a gray card to the end of the strap and cut the card so that it was just large enough to cover the field of the 5 degree spot when held at arms length. The card is only about 3" x 4" so it fits inside the meter pouch. Don't underestimate the flash meter function, either. If you buy a new flash and want to test it with your camera on manual (like an M6 or older), have a subject hold the meter programmed for flash and set the meter at 1/50th sec (you'll probably have to live with a 1/60th setting). When you shoot the flash toward the subject, the meter will record your prefered f-stop for that distance. The more you use it, the more you'll understand about exposure control. Cheers, Pat.

-- Pat Dunsworth (pdunsworth@aryarch.com), April 11, 2002.

in the beginning i found the buttons a bit stiff, but you get used to that. never regretted getting it. the form is a bit weird, you can't really say whether it is made for the left or the right hand. the meter does more than i need, like multiple readings, but probably if you really know what your doing it is a great tool. very recommended.

-- stefan randlkofer (geesbert@yahoo.com), April 11, 2002.

>>> is spot metering really essential?? <<<

I hardly ever use my Pentax Digital Spotmeter... I've got the smaller Sekonic, the L328 and it gets used about 99 percent of the time, and of that, 99 percent of the time as an incident meter (flash or daylite, or more commmonly, a mixture of the two).

I've been VERY tempted at getting the newer L358, which B&H has on special for $214. That would do everything but the spot metering. I like it for its backlit display (a great help when shooting in my darkened makeshift studio space.

-- Charles (cbarcellona@telocity.com), April 11, 2002.

Geez, I could see getting one for longer than 1 sec. exposures. Is there a way to do this with the M6's meter? Probably not...

-- James (snodoggydogg@hotmail.com), April 11, 2002.

Sparkie - If spot metering is down the list of your requirements, and if Incident, general reflective and flash are your priorities, I'd suggest a Sekonic 308B. The incident bubble slides back to provide a reflective meter reading that's the equivalent of an "averaging" meter for a 50mm lens. You can slip that little beauty into your shirt pocket - - - and it is accurate. I use ours for all my chrome shots with an M4.

-- George C. Berger (gberger@his.com), April 11, 2002.

james, just set the speed at 1 sec or greater (1/2, 1/4...), stop down to meter, then do the math to get to a speed longer than 1 sec at the wider aperature that you want to use.

-- Steve (leitz_not_leica@hotmail.com), April 11, 2002.

Hi, hello George,

I have just bought a Sekonic L308 BII for my Rollei twin lens and my Leica M6TTL: I would try to use the Sekonic as flashmeter with multi flash units. Unfortunatelly L308 don't propose "1/50" as synchro- speed camera; if I choose 1/60 I suppose I must open 1/2 stop more on aperture ring. Your advice should be appreciated, if I clearly explain myself :-( Alain

-- alain.besancon (alain.besancon@chu-dijon.fr), April 12, 2002.

I've never found the difference between 1/50 and 1/60 to be that difficult using the 308B. If you consider the difference between 1/30 and 1/60 to be a full stop, then (theoretically) 1/50 would approximate a 1/2 stop difference. I just mentally adjust the reading on the 308B to open an additional 1/2 stop. You notice how the 308 B gives you a readout of the basic f stop, and the semicurcular display tells you how much to close down between the displayed f stop and the next one up the chain,( e.g, from f/4 to f/56 or from f/5.6 to f/ 8). Rather than stopping down in accordance with that display, I reverse the process and open up a half stop from what the cemicircular readout suggests. If the meter indicated f/4, and the semicircular display indicated that I should stop down 1/2 f stop for proper exposure, I just leave the exposure set at f/4. If the semicircular display says that I'm "right on" at f/4, then I open up a half stop between f/4 and f/2.8. Seems to work OK Cheers, George

-- George C. Berger (gberger@his.com), April 12, 2002.

George, many thanks; your answer seems to me to be very clear and precious, but I must play now with my dictionary! Again, thanks, Alain

-- alain.besancon (alain.besancon@chu-dijon.fr), April 13, 2002.

I had one and exchanged for the 508. It is a good meter, but I preferred the zoom spot of the 508 and the dual ISO control. The 508 is a little larger. If I had my time again I would prefer one with an analog dial. But there is not really one which hasthe smae features. I don't particularly like the way the main aperture reading only reads out full stops. Also the markings rub off very easily. But both meters are very capable.

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), April 17, 2002.