For decades I've been using a Sekonic L-308B and found it to be a super accurate meter, compact and very easy to use. The only thing, that I just learned to accept, it is a shutter priority meter. You set the shutter speed, it shows you the fstop. And then I always have to change to the fstop I am shooting at, to then read the shutter speed. I have an even older Sekonic L-328 that works the same way and just assumed all digital meters work like this. Obviously for flash metering this makes sense, but for ambient light readings, especially for a mostly landscape shooter where I know what ~fstop I want, it wasn't ideal.
Well I discovered Sekonic has an update to this same meter, a L308X-U with aperture priority mode! It's awesome to use. You set the fstop you plan to shoot at, it shows the measured shutter speed and the % you need to offset the fstop for perfect exposure. As you all know, most of the old mechanical shutters are in one stop steps and infinitely variable fstops, so this mode is ideal. But there is also a custom setting that allows you to have it display 1/2 and 1/3 stop shutter speed measurements for cameras that allow that. It has a shutter priority mode as well if you want that. It also has a backlight on the display for night shooting plus always has the ISO displayed, which is nice. This likely is all just a firmware update, but it's worth buying a new meter to get this feature to me.
I'm just really excited to finally get a meter that works with me after all these years, instead of me having to work around the meter.
Well I discovered Sekonic has an update to this same meter, a L308X-U with aperture priority mode! It's awesome to use. You set the fstop you plan to shoot at, it shows the measured shutter speed and the % you need to offset the fstop for perfect exposure. As you all know, most of the old mechanical shutters are in one stop steps and infinitely variable fstops, so this mode is ideal. But there is also a custom setting that allows you to have it display 1/2 and 1/3 stop shutter speed measurements for cameras that allow that. It has a shutter priority mode as well if you want that. It also has a backlight on the display for night shooting plus always has the ISO displayed, which is nice. This likely is all just a firmware update, but it's worth buying a new meter to get this feature to me.
I'm just really excited to finally get a meter that works with me after all these years, instead of me having to work around the meter.