Good lightmeter for LF.

[Graeme Hird]

The Gossen Starlite does it all, simply and accurately, but it is more of a meter than the original question was asking about. I don't think Chris should be lead astray from his original question just because there might be a better meter available for the price. If he only wants a spot meter, the Pentax meters seem to be very good at that function.

Oh, and that lovely radio function requires an extra outlay, doesn't it?

Cheers,

 

[Christian Olivet]

For LF B&W work forget the bells and whistles and go KISS simple.
Go for the Zone VI pentax digital. It works. Period. End of story.

I agree completely. Solidly built, comfortable in your hand, simple, and it never makes a mistake.

 

[Amund]

How about a Nikon F100? Seriously, I`m using mine at the moment as a meter for LF. I`m new to LF and haven`t sunk my teeth into the Zone system yet.
I have a nice little Sekonic L-208 that I use mostly for incident readings, but the Matrix meter in the Nikon is shockingly good, save for very contrasty scenes and backlightning..... I use the spotmeter in the Nikon in those situations and can place the tones in a "zonelike" way. The F100 is also loaded with film, just in case....

That said, I`ll probably at some point buy a "real" spotemeter, and try to learn the Zone system....

 

[Ted Harris]

Wellllll, I use both the Pentax Digital Spot and the Sekoinic L-778 (also a 718 in the studio for incident metering). It is a real toss-up getween the twometers. I do like the abilities o fthe L 778 to aid in doing zone work with the three tirangles, I also like the 778's ability to work as a spot flashmeter, and every once in a while the variable 3 degree/1 degree spot is nice. Having said iall that the Pentax Digital is one of those truly elegant do one thing and do it better than anybody else sort of tools. It fits well in the hand, it is compact, it has a nice bright red led readout in the window. You just hold it up to your eye and sweep it across the scene watching the readings change and then do the calcs in your head.

If, OTOH, you get really complex about your Zone calculations then theire are other meters that may be easier to use ... any of the SEkonics or Minolta spots. Finally, if you don't mind BIG and I really mean BIG, then the Gossen UltraSpot II is the hands down winner for sophisticated operation.

Finally, My Pentax Digital Spot is at least 10 years old (maybe older...I can't remember) and it has definitly been through it all and taken it. Never had to havce it serviced, i tjust keeps tickin ... oh yeah the Pentax and the Sekonic remain within 1/3 stop of each other whenever I check them.

 

[dancqu]

Has Pentax quite making their spot meter?
I see B&H has none for sale. Dan

 

[photobackpacker]

I have used both the Zone VI soligor and the Zone VI Pentax Digital. I gave the Soligor away to a beginner. It was inconsistent despite being recalibrated.

The Zone VI Pentax Spotmeter and the unmodified Pentax Spotmeter are bothe excellent. The unmodified will read at lower light levels than the Zone VI so if you like early-morning/late evening shooting - go with the unmodified.

Calumet will check calibration on your meter for a price. I have been told that the best in the country for calibration and repair is Quality Light - Metric Located in Hollywood. Their number is 323-467-2265. I have no idea what they charge.

Zone VI used to advertise that you could meter through the filter with their meters and get perfect filter factor input. In my experience, that is not the case. Since I quit trying to approach filters that way and began to apply published filter factors I have elminiated a lot of inconsistency.

If I had it to do over, I would not pay the extra for the Zone VI modified unit. Ebay has both units pass through consistently.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[Graeme Hird]

I have used both the Zone VI soligor and the Zone VI Pentax Digital. I gave the Soligor away to a beginner. It was inconsistent despite being recalibrated .....

Such cruelty! Didn't you like the person you gave it to? It's hard enough getting good exposures when everything is working properly, but to give a novice a wonky light meter? Probably scarred for life ...

 

[ChrisC]

That's alot for all the replies everyone. I've been away for the last two weekends partly shooting, so I thought I'd struggle on and see what I can do with the meter I've got, and taking alot more time to do the readings.

Results were still mixed though, and I think investing even in just a better incident meter will help me out alot. I'll do some reading on the pros and cons of both types, and hope that I've got the money to do something about it by that stage

I think I'm also a little off with my development too, and I need to start being more critical with that to help me learn. I'm also going to start tray developing, partly to allow greater flexability with learning, but also because the way I've been doing development has resulted in alot of scratches (and of course, it's on the better shots too :rolleyes.

Once again, thanks alot for all the thoughts and suggestions. It's been greatly received, and after reading through this whole thread several times, should help alot in getting me to some form of solution.

Chris.

 

[photobackpacker]

Such cruelty! Didn't you like the person you gave it to? It's hard enough getting good exposures when everything is working properly, but to give a novice a wonky light meter? Probably scarred for life ...

True but notice I said give. This is a beginner with whom I am working and can provide some back-up. The Sol was not so bad as to be unusuable but it was frustrating because it was just inconsistent enough that if you were trying to get close to the edges of the envelope, it would let you down. : )

 

[dancqu]

Has Pentax discontinued their spot meter?
It is not listed at B&H. Dan

 

[photobackpacker]

I don't find it on B&H either. Calumet lists both the spotmeter and the Zone VI spotmeter as well.

It is still featured on the Pentax website.

 

[hortense]

For years now, I have used a color corrected Pentax Digital Spotmeter. It was done in the days when Zone VI Studios was still in business. However, you can purchase a color corrected one from Calumet. A couple of years ago, I had mine check for color acccuracy.