Light meter suggestions (I found one I like)

[chuckroast]

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 have rehabbed a number of old Luna Pros to accept modern batteries. They are fine meters, and I still use one regularly to calibrate light on the baseboard of my enlarger.

That said, almost all modern spot meters are considerably better. The Luna Pros exhibit nonlinearity toward at the end of the range. That is, the top of low range, does not match the bottom of the high range. Their angle of acceptance is very wide and the "spot meter attachment" isn't terribly useful.

I do like the Luna Pro a lot and have 3 or 4 of them kicking around here. But when I'm serious, I use a Sekonic 408 or a Pentax Digital Spotmeter (the Zone VI version) for much better repeatability and precision of measurement.

 

[MCB18]

I have rehabbed a number of old Luna Pros to accept modern batteries. They are fine meters, and I still use one regularly to calibrate light on the baseboard of my enlarger.

That said, almost all modern spot meters are considerably better. The Luna Pros exhibit nonlinearity toward at the end of the range. That is, the top of low range, does not match the bottom of the high range. Their angle of acceptance is very wide and the "spot meter attachment" isn't terribly useful.

I do like the Luna Pro a lot and have 3 or 4 of them kicking around here. But when I'm serious, I use a Sekonic 408 or a Pentax Digital Spotmeter (the Zone VI version) for much better repeatability and precision of measurement.

I’ll admit I’m looking into getting a Luna Pro F, but I think I mentioned that my great grandfather used this type of meter, so it would be cool to use the same type of meter he did. I understand there are caveats, but that’s just part of the deal. If I wanted perfect pictures and exposure, I’d shoot digital.

I’m probably pretty dumb for looking at these old meter’s when my phone can do almost the same things for no cost, but I like the idea of having an actual light meter for no other reason than it makes me happy.

If you have a Luna pro that’s working and you are willing to mod it to take 1.5v cells, I’m not opposed to buying it from you, assuming it’s less than simply buying a Luna Pro F.

 

[BrianShaw]

The advantage of Luna Pro F, of course, is the f part. If you will use a flash meter it could be a good option.

There are advantages to using an old skool meter instead of a phone app… but you probably know that already.

But this attitude, “If I wanted perfect pictures and exposure, I’d shoot digital.” has got to go. Completely unacceptable!

 

[MCB18]

I have no clue how to use a flash meter, but maybe it’s useful?

 

[awty]

I fixed up a couple of Gossen Luna's I bought , made mistakes and fixed. There really not that complicated once you know.
I generally just use a digital meter, but left it behind, turns out the Luna was more accurate. The digital isnt as easy to fine tune.
This thread maybe some help to problem solve.

Gossen profisix light meter repair.

So this way of calibating then is very different from that of the Lunsasix 3. low, linearity, high versus offset , slope Which is off set and which is slope and what do they do exactly? The middle trim pot marked in red is for the battery test.

www.photrio.com

 

[BrianShaw]

I have no clue how to use a flash meter, but maybe it’s useful?

Do you use flash, especially studio type strobes? If so, it’s useful and easy to learn.

 

[Sirius Glass]

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.

I too had and liked the Gossen Luna Pro SBC and I still have and use the Sekonic L308S light meter.

 

[MattKing]

FWIW, the Profisix (Luna Pro SBC in the USA) was, for its time, extraordinarily sensitive to low light levels.
The Lunasix F (Luna Pro-F in the USA) adds flash metering capability, but isn't as sensitive as the Profisix in low light.
There are a bunch of accessories for both, and some of the accessories for the older Luna Pro meters will work on the newer ones - actually more on the Lunasix F than the Profisix.
I had and happily used a Profisix for many years, including the flash metering accessory. After selling/giving the combination away, I bought a used Lunasix F which serves as a backup for my Digiflash.

 

[MCB18]

I think I might go with the Luna Pro F, as it seems like it will work well for my use cases (which consists of simply getting an exposure somewhat correct).

There’s one in Denver being sold by the guy who I bought my enlarger from, I’ll message him to see if it’s accurate. If it is, I’ll almost certainly go that route. If not, I’ll keep looking.

 

[BrianShaw]

“Somewhat” correct? What do you consider the source of absolutely correct exposure information? Not picking on you and genuinely curious.

For most metering situations, the Luna Pro F will give you great exposure information if used correctly, plus gives the expanded capability of flash metering if that is or becomes an interest.

 

[MCB18]

“Somewhat” correct? What do you consider the source of absolutely correct exposure information?

For most metering situations, the Luna Pro F will give you great information if used correctly, plus gives the expanded capability of flash metering if that is or becomes an interest.

I will be happy if it gives me decent pictures.

 

[BrianShaw]

I will be happy if it gives me decent pictures.

If it’s in good condition you’ll have no problem then! Hope that one works out for you.

 

[Castrillo]

I have a Gossen Lunasix F for more than 30 years. I bought it second hand from a photographer friend who had also bought it second hand. It still works perfectly.

Anyway if you don't need a flashmeter, I have to recommend a spot meter, it is the only one that will give you tonal range information.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

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!

be aware that with requests like this, all you get is people promoting what they already own themselves. all name-brand light meters are good these days. Just select a brand and pick what you prefer from their offerings. Your budget is too low for a new light meter. You may be restricted to the used market, but that is not a problem. light meters last a long time unless somebody left the batteries in there to leak.

 

[Hassasin]

I have to agree, any light meter will do, take a pick. Classic, modern, if needle needs to swing instead of digits flicker, then choices is already narrowed down. Lots of great old selenium meters, small and somewhat larger, some feel better in the hand than others. Looking at prices, all will take you down to $50 or below.

 

[Chan Tran]

I will be happy if it gives me decent pictures.

A correct meter is a correct meter but it doesn't necessarily give you decent pictures. I pick the meter that is correct not one that give me decent pictures.

 

[MCB18]

be aware that with requests like this, all you get is people promoting what they already own themselves. all name-brand light meters are good these days. Just select a brand and pick what you prefer from their offerings. Your budget is too low for a new light meter. You may be restricted to the used market, but that is not a problem. light meters last a long time unless somebody left the batteries in there to leak.

I mean, that’s what I was looking for, good meters people have owned for a long time and still work. I understand that the big brands are going to be more represented in this type of answer, but I’m ok with that. They are big names for a reason, they clearly aren’t bad products.

I went with Gossen just because I like the way they look, and again, partly due to the fact my great grandfather, who I got most of my gear from, used their equipment.

 

[Hassasin]

Just keep in mind the size of Luna Pro F. It's great meter, but not exactly pocketable.

 

[MCB18]

Just keep in mind the size of Luna Pro F. It's great meter, but not exactly pocketable.

Hah! That isn’t an issue for me. The RB67 definitely isn’t pocketable either, but I still love it. Go big or go home, right?

 

[Bill Burk]

I thought I would share my latest eBay purchases. My current rabbit hole.

I am amassing a stockpile of Weston II meters for conversion and calibration.

Until now I was rating the Selenium cells as “standard” or “weak”. The OB McClintock microammeter is going to help me quantify how good or bad the cells are.

To date I have not found one cell that can bring the needle to 32 candles per square foot on my 100 Foot Lambert standard light source. Lots of them reach 25, making me think factory calibration is 25 (does anyone know?).

I have found the Weston II has a heart of gold that makes each one worth about twenty bucks scrap.

 

[mrosenlof]

my needle favorites: Gossen Luna Pro SBC and the Sekonic L-398A. The Sekonic needs no batteries, it's Silicon, not Selenium, but works very much like its Selenium predecessors.

 

[Bill Burk]

The conversion to ASA involves cutting a chip in the speed window and epoxying to a shim of brass on the other side and painting to cover the cut mark.

Original calibration was done by sorting and matching components to be “just right”. I found one meter had a black cardboard “gibbous moon” insert - so some may have left the factory with a little extra.

I proved the concept of enabling calibration by means of a small potentiometer accessible under the nameplate on the back.

I “need” to find a means to overdrive the needle to the 40 candles per square foot mark so I can calibrate it down to 32 and so future owner has room to calibrate.

I might wind more wire on the coil to make it happen. I think that would be easier that replacing the springs with a set providing less tension. I also found that a small supermagnet will raise the needle (so I assume Weston also carefully selected magnet strengths).

 

[mrosenlof]

And I remembered two others that I own.

The first is Pentax analog Spot Meter V. CdS cell (I think, nope Silicon Photo Diode!) needle reads an EV number in the viewfinder, calculator wheel to shutter/aperture in the side. A friend gave me this a few weeks ago and I've used in a lot in that time. It's big and heavy as light meters go.

Second is Sekonic L-208 Twin Mate. New at B&H for $129, a bit over the OP's budget, but not by a lot. This one hasn't really clicked with me, not a lot of use. But now that I've remembered it, it might be my choice for an upcoming trip to Japan. Just basic functions, reflected and incident. Feels "plasticky" to me, but works fine in my limited experience.

 

[Bill Burk]

And I remembered two others that I own.

The first is Pentax analog Spot Meter V. CdS cell (I think) needle reads an EV number in the viewfinder, calculator wheel to shutter/aperture in the side. A friend gave me this a few weeks ago and I've used in a lot in that time. It's big and heavy as light meters go.

Second is Sekonic L-208 Twin Mate. New at B&H for $129, a bit over the OP's budget, but not by a lot. This one hasn't really clicked with me, not a lot of use. But now that I've remembered it, it might be my choice for an upcoming trip to Japan. Just basic functions, reflected and incident. Seems to work fine.

Those are two very good meters!

If you haven’t already, learn the Zone System and put a sticker on the Pentax Spotmeter V. One thing you can do with this meter, that’s a more joyful experience than you get with the digital meters… you can hold down the trigger and “scan” the scene to see how the light varies.

I would love to put circuitry similar to the Sekonic Twin-Mate in a Weston II because it uses analog to digital circuit from the sensor to the computer and then digital to analog circuit to drive the needle. This kind of circuit could allow what I am trying to achieve - full scale calibration.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

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 have a Luna Pro F if you want to purchase. It works but I don't use it. Make me an offer off line if you're interested.

gossen luna pro f - Bing

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