Gossen doesn't make that many exposure meters any more

[RalphLambrecht]

Gossen seems not making high end exposure meters any more. They only have a few models now. B&H sells the Mavo spot and the Mavolux but those are light meter and not exposure meter as they don't display in f/stop, shutter speed or EV.

Maybe it's because Gossen meter are build well and last a long time. My Lunastars are all 40+ years old and still work as well as they ever did. The last meter I bought was a Sekonic andthat only because I wanted the feature of being able to analyze the flash duration more closely.

 

[loccdor]

The used market of fully functional meters is killing, making it difficult, to sell new meters

The solution that has been tried for this for other markets was a program to buy back the old, still useful product significantly above market rate, fill it with concrete as to make it unusable. It helps if you say the old product was damaging everyone's lives in some way. Then the newly made products sell in greater numbers and at higher prices.

My Gossen Digisix from 2010 is still going, fits in a shirt pocket, very handy. Sometimes the battery contact gets a little loose and I have to reseat it. Thin plastic, wouldn't want to drop it, but never have. I recently acquired a Minolta Spotmeter which is a bit bigger and more featureful. I also have a Gossen Lunasix that doesn't see much use as its both bigger than and lesser-featured than the Digisix, although it does take a more common battery and could handle more abuse.

 

[Chan Tran]

Maybe it's because Gossen meter are build well and last a long time. My Lunastars are all 40+ years old and still work as well as they ever did. The last meter I bought was a Sekonic andthat only because I wanted the feature of being able to analyze the flash duration more closely.

Sekonic, Minolta meters last as long as Gossen. The fact that Gossen doesn't make that many meters because the market is too small now. Kenko already got out of the business altogether. Yet Gossen still make luminance and illuminance meters like Konica Minolta still do today. However, there is a market for small, hot shoe meter like the Reveni.

 

[mshchem]

The solution that has been tried for this for other markets was a program to buy back the old, still useful product significantly above market rate, fill it with concrete as to make it unusable. It helps if you say the old product was damaging everyone's lives in some way. Then the newly made products sell in greater numbers and at higher prices.

My Gossen Digisix from 2010 is still going, fits in a shirt pocket, very handy. Sometimes the battery contact gets a little loose and I have to reseat it. Thin plastic, wouldn't want to drop it, but never have. I recently acquired a Minolta Spotmeter which is a bit bigger and more featureful. I also have a Gossen Lunasix that doesn't see much use as its both bigger than and lesser-featured than the Digisix, although it does take a more common battery and could handle more abuse.

Yes, now having a brief period of lucidity, I bought a digisix when these great little meters first came out. Little devil! Works great. Years later I bought the Digisix F.

 

[reddesert]

I suspect that the market for basic light meters has been declining since cameras started getting exposure meters built-in, and the market for advanced light meters has declined as the practice of professional photography has changed (meaning, professionals do different kinds of work and use different kinds of cameras than they did 25 years ago). That also means there are more advanced light meters floating around on the used market.

One of the few photography items I've bought new at full price was a Gossen Luna Digital F about 25 or more years ago - basically the same thing as the Sixtomat F2 they sell now. I've never regretted that. I have other meters (because they showed up inexpensively or came with a camera, etc), but for many many applications, it is just great.