Looking to get a Light Meter.

[Shutterman]

Hi I am looking to get a light meter and was wondering if anyone has any idea's I have assigned myself a budget of 120.00.

I have been looking and come across the model below that would fall into the budget has anyone got one or used one of these. Would be good if anyone has any views on this bit of Kit,

Sekonic L-308 S Flash Mate - Flash/Ambient Light Meter

Thanks alot in advance..

Nigel

 

[andrewc]

They pretty good. You could possibly look at the L358 from the reputable Ebay sellers in Hong Kong.

 

[dazzajl]

There are several bits of kit that come under the heading of light meter. I can see why you might want a 1% spot meter, or under certain circumstances a flash meter might be a good toy. For the most part though, a light meter is about as useful as part of a digital kit as a film leader retriever gismo.

 

[CT]

I sort of agree with Daz as far as digital is concerned - most of the time you just wont use a meter. There are exceptions though. Think about the camera on a tripod where you want to take two or more exposures, perhaps one for the sky and one for the foreground. Without a separate meter, you'd have to take both readings before you put the camera on the tripod and either remember them or make a note, and there's always the possibility of the light changing in the meantime. Taking a pano shot with a view to stitching later would be a similar situation too. With the hand held meter you can take your reading right before the exposure with no risk of moving the camera.

I'd always want a meter of some sort in my bag. The L308 is probably as much meter as you'll ever need, and more than you'll need most of the time, but it's nice to know you have a tool that can meet the occasion should it arise.

Erm...