Light meter suggestions?

[Nancy Giroux]

Hello,

I would like to purchase an inexpensive light meter for my son to use with a TLR I just bought him. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks
Nancy

 

[Jim Noel]

Gossen Pilot.
Small, light weight, easy to read, accurate, low in cost.

 

[sterioma]

I bought a Sekonic 308-s recently which can do both incident and reflected I use it a lot with my Leica IIIf. Fits in the pocket, and it's not too expensive.

Hope this helps.

Stefano

 

[nicolai]

The Sekonic L-208 Twin Mate Analog Incident and Reflected Light Meter is the cheapest reliable meter I've found. Also light and pocketable, and costs $95 new. I have since upgraded to a fancier one because I needed a spot meter, but I used it successfully for several years, and a friend is using it with good results now.

You may also want to show him this article, which shows you how to gauge exposure without a meter. That does take a lot of practice and isn't realistic for everybody, but it's full of useful information that will help him use a meter more effectively.

 

[Fotohuis]

Maybe a Gossen Digisix:

http://www.gossen-photo.de/pdf/flyer_digisix_gb.pdf

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

The Digisix is a very handy little meter. Even if you have another meter, the Digisix is a nice pocket-sized meter for the field.

 

[Nick Zentena]

I'm not sure what the Sekonics 308 niche is right now.

It's not a lot cheaper then a 358 but lacks some features. Unless you need flash metering cheaper choices exist.

Nancy before we suggest every possible meter -) Could you give an idea of the use? Any need for flash metering? Incident or wide angle reflective good enough? Or do you want spot? Basic budget?

The old Watsons are solid basic reflected meters. Not the smallest but small enough to fit in a pant pocket.

 

[f1.4]

A very simple and accurate meter is the Voigtländer VC Meter II.
See http://www.cameraquest.com/voivcmet2.htm
Very cheap and small.
Fits in the pocket or in the flash shoe of the camera.
An advantage is that you can take a measurement by pushing the meter button with the meter pointing in the right direction and then keep the measured value for a while to ponder over the combination time and aperture.
A good meter for teaching your son to develop an instinct for "judging" the light.

 

[Nancy Giroux]

Thanks everyone!
I'll check out all of these links. Nicolai..thanks for the article. That looks very helpful!
I currently own a Sekonic 358. I don't like letting my son borrow it because it's my only meter. I use it in and out of the studio.

He will only be shooting with natural light with a concentration on street photography.

Thanks again!!
Nancy

 

[Lee L]

One thing that I'd consider in choosing a light meter for a learner is the display. The analog displays, like the Digisix/Digiflash and the Sekonic L-208 give you an EV, then you set that on a dial and see the full range of combinations of f-stop and shutter speeds as choices the photographer can consider, all of them correct. The "digital" style meters like the L-308S show a single combination and then you toggle through them if you want another shutter speed or f-stop. For a learner, I'd say it's better to see the ranges of available choices and the concepts behind the reciprocal relations between the two, and avoids the false impression that there's a single correct choice.

The Gossen Digisix/Digiflash is the meter mentioned so far that I have some experience with. It's very light, accurate, and small enough that I take it along all the time, and have taken to using it in incident mode almost exclusively.

Lee

 

[Voyager]

Sekonic 208

I'm with Nicolai on the Sekonic L-208. It's relatively cheap, totally accurate, reads both incident and reflective modes, is as simple to operate as his TLR, and fits easily into his shirt pocket or his hand...

 

[Flotsam]

I like my Digisix. It is accurate, fast and convenient but when I bought mine I payed under a Hundred bucks for it. Now at B&H they go for $180! I think that today I would probably go for the L-208 even though it lacks the Timer, Alarm Clock and Max/Min Thermometer

 

[Chan Tran]

I like the Minolta Autometer II. The motorized scale is cool.

 

[Flotsam]

I like the Minolta Autometer II. The motorized scale is cool.

I used to use an Autometer II until it gave out. I still have a Sekonic with a motorized dial. You are right, motorized dials are cool.

 

[Nancy Giroux]

I really appreciate all of the suggestions.

Thanks so much!

 

[spiralcity]

What do you consider cheap? You can pick up a Gossen Digisix for about 160.00, you may find one on ebay a bit cheaper. If you also would like a flash meter, Gossen sells a Digisix Flash meter for around 140.00.
These are small, accurate meters. Very nice, easy to pack.