Light meter suggestions (I found one I like)

MCB18 · Oct 21, 2023

Looking for light meters to use with cameras that don’t have in-built ones. I really like the look of the old needle driven ones. but, both the ones I have gotten (Gossen Luna Pros) have had issues that make them unusable. Not sure where to go from here, figuring you guys might have some suggestions. Budget is $100, preferable less.

And no selenium, please!

Anon Ymous · Oct 21, 2023

The Sekonic L208 could be a good choice. The only "shortcoming" it has is that it measures down to EV3. That's like a badly lit room. Obviously, it's more than enough for the vast majority of the cases. It might be within your budget bought new, certainly when used.

Jamie Gray · Oct 21, 2023

There's a huge market that's recently opened for hot-shoe mounted light meters. They are small digital devices with retro styling. Might depend on your location which one you can purchase. The TTArtisans might be the most accessible. The good thing is they are around $100

Anon Ymous · Oct 21, 2023

By the way, the L208 can be mounted on a hot shoe and does both incident and reflected. It certainly is tiny.

Jamie Gray · Oct 21, 2023

Anon Ymous said:
By the way, the L208 can be mounted on a hot shoe and does both incident and reflected. It certainly is tiny.

Very useful with the EV readout. For anyone calculating zone system it can really speed things up.

Alan9940 · Oct 21, 2023

I've been very happy with my Reveni Labs tiny meter:

Reveni Labs Light Meter — Reveni Labs

From Reveni Labs: An Extremely Small Digital Light Meter Orders typically ship on Mondays. Order cutoff is Sunday night. Don’t forget accessories! Does your camera have a thick shoe? You may need to order a Riser for thick camera shoes Do we ship to your country? Check here! Ple

www.reveni-labs.com

guangong · Oct 21, 2023

Gossen Digisix is small and accurate, but has no off switch and eats batteries. My Luna Pro F is frequently too big, almost as large as some of my cameras.
The Sekonic selenium meters are small and accurate...and don’t need batteries, so you might give them a look. I bought a brand new one from Hong Kong. The tiny meters that fit into accessory shoe are another choice.
Besides meters, there are also small cardboard exposure calculators. They are frequently more practical than meters for night scenes, etc.

Chuck1 · Oct 21, 2023

The sekonic l158 is small cheap and doesn't use batteries, you can use it with a gray card in representative lighting conditions just as well as a spot meter
(Although much slower)

Alan Edward Klein · Oct 21, 2023

I use a digital Minolta IIIf for ambient readings including flash. They take and store three readings to average. They're under $100. However, the 10 degree reflective spot attachment adds another $60 if you want reflective readings.

Alan Edward Klein · Oct 21, 2023

The Minolta IVf is a little more expensive but has on on-off switch and it;s reflective spot is 5 degrees.

chuckroast · Oct 21, 2023

Alan9940 said:
I've been very happy with my Reveni Labs tiny meter:

Reveni Labs Light Meter — Reveni Labs

From Reveni Labs: An Extremely Small Digital Light Meter Orders typically ship on Mondays. Order cutoff is Sunday night. Don’t forget accessories! Does your camera have a thick shoe? You may need to order a Riser for thick camera shoes Do we ship to your country? Check here! Ple

www.reveni-labs.com

I really like mine - in fact, I have two. One has permanently assigned duties with my Leica IIIf, the other is for "other' non metered bodies.

My only complaint is that these eat batteries even when off. Apparently, there is some current draw to keep the meter booted and ready to go.

MCB18 · Oct 21, 2023

To be clear, I’m looking for a light meter that uses a needle to display the reading. I would love a Luna Pro, as it would literally do everything I could possibly want (it can measure down to a stupidly low light, as well as very bright light), but with my experience with them, it seems like they may not be super reliable. I’m honestly thinking about getting one off eBay, as I have the spot attachment for it which seems very useful, but before I pull the trigger I was hoping to get other suggestions. If any of you guys have a Luna pro and it has worked well for you, or if you have had a bad experience, please let me know! Also, any other suggestions for older style, CdS meters are welcome!

EarlJam · Oct 21, 2023

I've been very happy with my LunaPro SBC. Not particularly compact, but very accurate, easy to use (null meter method), and runs on a common 9v battery. Pricing seems to have stabilized around $75 for "EX" rated meters, interestingly exactly what I paid for mine a decade ago.

BrianShaw · Oct 21, 2023

MCB18 said:
To be clear, I’m looking for a light meter that uses a needle to display the reading. I would love a Luna Pro, as it would literally do everything I could possibly want (it can measure down to a stupidly low light, as well as very bright light), but with my experience with them, it seems like they may not be super reliable. I’m honestly thinking about getting one off eBay, as I have the spot attachment for it which seems very useful, but before I pull the trigger I was hoping to get other suggestions. If any of you guys have a Luna pro and it has worked well for you, or if you have had a bad experience, please let me know! Also, any other suggestions for older style, CdS meters are welcome!

I don’t know what your experience has been, but I find LunaPro to be highly reliable and, perhaps, the best meter I’ve ever used. Mine has been in service since about 1985 and was bought used. Outfitted with cell adapters it is nearly invincible. Recently bought a SBC as a backup. I like it a lot too. The null metering is faster and extremely easy to use. It’s big, though.

MCB18 · Oct 21, 2023

BrianShaw said:
I don’t know what your experience has been, but I find LunaPro to be highly reliable and, perhaps, the best meter I’ve ever used. Mine has been in service since about 1985 and was bought used. Outfitted with cell adapters it is nearly invincible. Recently bought a SBC as a backup. I like it a lot too. The null metering is faster and extremely easy to use. It’s big, though.

The one my great grandpa used and I inherited didn’t work, and unfortunately repairing it was substantially more than one on the internet would cost.

So, I bought one recently off eBay. I noticed that it was reading about half a stop over what my Nikon would give me, and I knew that was an accurate reading. Decided to try and adjust the zero and after following the procedure outlined in the manual, nothing would work anymore once the battery was put back in.

Basic troubleshooting didn’t fix it, so I decided to try to open the meter to see if it was something I could fix. Seemed simple in the video I watched! Long story short, I absolutely shouldn’t have done that because it made everything worse… ah well, lesson learned there I guess…

BrianShaw · Oct 21, 2023

Understood… once broken it’s just not worth, or even possible, to fix them in an economical way.

Given the difference between how the various metering systems work it’s nearly impossible to get 100% the same readings. Most of the time that difference doesn’t really make a difference. I shoot film and do an eyeball analysis of the negative to determine if I’ll trust a meter in real usage. Most important is to fully understand their capabilities and characteristics. Metering patterns, for instance, and how the meter is pointed can make a difference… sometimes more than that 1/2 stop.

The zero adjust is just to ensure that the needle is correctly aligned. It’s not really to offset readings although it somewhat can seem to do so. If you haven’t already, read ever word of the user manual!

And don’t feel alone… I opened up a favorite meter to install a diode to get rid of the mercury cell requirement. I completely failed. Still have a few pieces of it to remind me that DIY is often risky.

For the relatively low price you might want to consider shopping around for a good deal on a good Luna Pro and learn to work within its characteristics and capabilities rather than seek absolute agreement with other meters.

Paul Howell · Oct 21, 2023

I have a Gossen SBC as well, no issues with accuracy, matches my Minolta 9, my main walk around meter is a Weston Master VI, no batteries, it is within a 1/2 stop of my Minolta, as I don't shoot much color and test my film camera and meter combos works well for black and white. Other is a Gossen Pilot, mine is later model made in Japan, in most lighting matches my Gossen, but would revert back to the Gossen if I were shooting in low light.

Sharktooth · Oct 21, 2023

If you really want the older needle style, then the Sekonic L428 meter is a great one. There are lots of attachments available for them, and it uses the newer style batteries (LR44). It's a very solid meter, but is heavier than most.

It uses a silicon blue cell (SBC) so the sensitivity is very high. It's primarily an incident meter, so to me it's better than the Luna Pro since it has a bigger dome that can be rotated. The Luna Pro is probably the better choice for reflective readings. The biggest drawback for the Luna Pro is the need for battery adapters, since it uses the "no longer available" mercury batteries.

To me, the needle style meters that still make sense are the selenium ones, since they don't need batteries to function. I always have one for backup. For everyday use the more modern digital meters are light, fast, and usually use even easier to find AA batteries.

choiliefan · Oct 21, 2023

If you can find a good condition Spectra Combi II it may fit your needs.
Photo Research was a leading manufacturer of meters catering to the needs of Hollywood's film industry.
All of their products were rugged and exceedingly accurate.

Chan Tran · Oct 21, 2023

Alan Edward Klein said:
The Minolta IVf is a little more expensive but has on on-off switch and it;s reflective spot is 5 degrees.

Both the Minolta IIIf and IVf are 40 degrees reflective. The spot attachment is an option on both. On the used market the spot attachment tend to cost more than the meter. I do think the Minolta Autometer and Flashmeter line are very good and price is reasonable.

Kodachromeguy · Oct 21, 2023

Sharktooth said:
If you really want the older needle style, then the Sekonic L428 meter is a great one. There are lots of attachments available for them, and it uses the newer style batteries (LR44). It's a very solid meter, but is heavier than most.

I agree that the L428 is a well built and accurate meter. The silicon cell avoids the memory problem that some CDS cells have. The 428 is a big beast.

Kodachromeguy · Oct 21, 2023

MCB18 said:
To be clear, I’m looking for a light meter that uses a needle to display the reading. I would love a Luna Pro, as it would literally do everything I could possibly want (it can measure down to a stupidly low light, as well as very bright light), but with my experience with them, it seems like they may not be super reliable

Beware, most CDS Luna Pros are old, and needle instruments suffer bumps and vibration. If you want one:

1. Look for a black case model. These are newer. Some grey plastic ones suffer from crumbling plastic.
2. The black Luna Pro S is the latest model.
3. Some late Luna Pro S models came with the adapter for the silver batteries.
4. The Luna Pro SBC uses a silicon cell. Really, it's a more sophisticated light meter.

wiltw · Oct 21, 2023

Not talked about much simply because Minolta exited the light meter business, selling their line to be sold under Kenko brand name, and so the name has not been visible to most for almost 20 years...

Minolta Autometer and Flashmeter line...the two latest models of each line

Autometer IVf and Vf
Flashmeter V and VI

Very accurate, amibient and flash incident metering
with reflected light capability with optional disk
with 5 degree spotmeter capability with optional spotmeter attachment

At one point it was the dominant brand, and Sekonic eventually had to revamp its lineup to somewhat mimic the Minolta.

Chan Tran · Oct 21, 2023

wiltw said:
Not talked about much simply because Minolta exited the light meter business, selling their line to be sold under Kenko brand name, and so the name has not been visible to most for almost 20 years...

Minolta Autometer and Flashmeter line...the two latest models of each line

Autometer IVf and Vf

Flashmeter V and VI

Very accurate, amibient and flash incident metering
with reflected light capability with optional disk
with 5 degree spotmeter capability with optional spotmeter attachment

At one point it was the dominant brand, and Sekonic eventually had to revamp its lineup to somewhat mimic the Minolta.

Minolta exited the exposure meter business but they are still very much in the light meter business with their luminance and illumiant meters as well as color meters.

Color, Light, and LED Measuring Instruments

Konica Minolta Sensing Americas provides color, light, and LED measuring instruments to help you meet quality and operational goals more efficiently.

sensing.konicaminolta.us

blee1996 · Oct 21, 2023

My Gossen Luna Pro SBC is reliable, accurate, and very sensitive. The Luna Pro SBC uses a common 9V battery and seems to last forever. And I think you can find one in good working condition within your budget. Later I moved onto Sekonic L308 because of the flashmeter capability, plus being smaller.

Recently I got the Sekonic Digiflash 2 slightly more than $100. So tiny and has the analog dial, but I hope the battery will not die on me when I most needed it.

I think a usable meter has to have good incident metering mode, otherwise I might as well use my lightmeter app on the phone.

Light meter suggestions (I found one I like)

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