Small digital meter?

[Sirius Glass]

I use the Sekonic L308-U for travel unless I need a spot meter and then I use the Pentax Digital Spot Meter.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I use my Iphone with a Pocket Light Meter app. The cool thing is you can record notes and geotag the location. It's pretty darned accurate.

 

[abruzzi]

While my Gossen meter has a slide-able dome, it is located on the “top” of the meter, whereas the Polaris (and others like it) have the dome on the front.

this was one thing I didn’t like about the Gossen. But I don’t think it would be a large impediment. I’m not shooting indoors or in any artificial lighting. So the light source is usually up (the sun.) With my Sekonic, I hold it horizontal when metering and turn it up 45 degrees to view the screen. It’s probably slightly less ergonomic to hold it vertically to take the reading, but maybe not...

also thanks for the mention of the Polaris. I haven’t heard of them, I’ll have to look them up.

I’ve heard very good things about Minolta meters, but no one has mentioned them. Did they make any compact digital meters?

 

[wiltw]

I’ve heard very good things about Minolta meters, but no one has mentioned them. Did they make any compact digital meters?

None that I am aware of...in the 1980s the Autometer series was the most affordable Minolta, and the Flashmeter series was aimed at the pro, but very similar sized.

 

[Samuel Dilworth]

I have a Sekonic L-358. It’s needlessly complex for the few features it has (and fewer that I use) but tolerable. A bigger problem is that it uses one of those hateful CR123A batteries, and the battery drains in a couple of months whether or not you use the meter.

On that basis I’d recommend something non-Sekonic that uses an AA cell.

 

[Ces1um]

My vote would by the Gossen Digisix (or Digiflash) 2. In any case, whatever you decide, do not buy a Sekonic L-208 TwinMate. It is a piece of junk even after being calibrated by Sekonic.

What's wrong with yours? Mine works like a charm.

 

[AgX]

This is the Luna Pro SBC with the Luna Sphere attachment. I can't tell if the Luna Sphere provides better readings than the built-in small sphere.

Off topic, but as you hinted at it...:
The only idea behind this attachment (Profi-Lux) seems to yield both the features of right-angle metering and the alternative use of a diffusor sphere and a disc in one attachment.
As there are not further sensitivity statements given by Gossen, one can assume that its sensitivity is the same as for the meter itself.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

A smartphone with the cheap, small and usefull LUXI attachment, as allmoste evrybody has one in his pocket...

 

[removedacct3]

What's wrong with yours?

Compared with other stand-alone light meters (Sekonic, Gossen and Pentax) it is inconsistently 1 to 2 stops off. One or two stops off is something you can adjust to, it is the inconsistently part that is annoying and renders the Sekonic L-208 Twinmate meter pretty useless. All the others meters, including my old, now defunct Gossen Profisix, agreed within 1/3 stops.

 

[abruzzi]

A smartphone with the cheap, small and usefull LUXI attachment, as allmoste evrybody has one in his pocket...

Yeah, but I'm on the verge of ditching my smartphone for a dumb phone since I'm sick to death of these things.

 

[runswithsizzers]

View attachment 239134[...] While my Gossen meter has a slide-able dome, it is located on the “top” of the meter, whereas the Polaris (and others like it) have the dome on the front. The means that when you are facing your subject, you can meter by holding the Polaris up in front of you and meter the light that’s coming from behind you, hitting your back, your meter, and your subject. With a Gossen, you’d have to turn around to face the light source, meter (which may include having to then center a needle or adjust to illuminate a central LED), then turn again to face the subject. [...]

I agree, the "front" facing sensor of the Polaris and many Sekonic meters is more ergonomic for incident readings than the "top" sensor position of Gossen's better analog meters.

However, I have found that it is not necessary to turn around and face the light to get an incident reading with my Gossen Luna-Lux SBC. Instead, I hold the meter out towards the subject, but with the incident dome facing back towards me. I can push the red metering button while holding the meter with one hand. At this point, I cannot see the face of the meter to dial in the reading - but no matter. The meter remembers the reading for about 30 seconds. Pressing the green button recalls the reading from memory, and now I can turn the dial to get the reading while still facing the subject.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Compared with other stand-alone light meters (Sekonic, Gossen and Pentax) it is inconsistently 1 to 2 stops off. One or two stops off is something you can adjust to, it is the inconsistently part that is annoying and renders the Sekonic L-208 Twinmate meter pretty useless. All the others meters, including my old, now defunct Gossen Profisix, agreed within 1/3 stops.

You need to send all the meters to be calibrated by the same person. I can recommend someone in the US, but I do not know someone in the EU to do the calibration.

 

[runswithsizzers]

You need to send all the meters to be calibrated by the same person. I can recommend someone in the US, but I do not know someone in the EU to do the calibration.

I am curious what that kind of calibration service usually costs?

 

[Sirius Glass]

I am curious what that kind of calibration service usually costs?

Quality Light Metric in Los Angeles charges $88 per light meter plus shipping. I drop the meters off and pick them up a few days later. I had one calibrated but it had nonlinearity that he told me about, so when I sent it in about a year later asking for the nonlinearity being measured [quantified] he recalibrated it for free and got rid of the nonlinearity.

All my meters in my cameras, Nikon N75, Nikon F100, and the PME 45 degree prism for the Hasselblad, the Sekonic L308U and Pentax Digital Spot Meter all agree exactly. Calibrating all the meters is important and worth the money.

 

[BradS]

I agree, the "front" facing sensor of the Polaris and many Sekonic meters is more ergonomic for incident readings than the "top" sensor position of Gossen's better analog meters.

However, I have found that it is not necessary to turn around and face the light to get an incident reading with my Gossen Luna-Lux SBC. Instead, I hold the meter out towards the subject, but with the incident dome facing back towards me. I can push the red metering button while holding the meter with one hand. At this point, I cannot see the face of the meter to dial in the reading - but no matter. The meter remembers the reading for about 30 seconds. Pressing the green button recalls the reading from memory, and now I can turn the dial to get the reading while still facing the subject.

The Gossen approach , having the light sensing element straight out the ned has always seemed like a better design to me.
I've always thought that the angled incident meters, like Sekonic and Minolta, run into the difficulty because while taking an incident reading, the photographer's body is quite naturally between the meter and the light source. With the Gossen, the photographer can stand behind the model (for example), hold the light meter next to the model's ear, pointing it back at the main light and take a reading without needing to jokey his own body out of the way...seem so much more natural to me.

...but, I confess, I've only ever owned and used Gossen light meters.

 

[runswithsizzers]

Compared with other stand-alone light meters (Sekonic, Gossen and Pentax) it is inconsistently 1 to 2 stops off. One or two stops off is something you can adjust to, it is the inconsistently part that is annoying and renders the Sekonic L-208 Twinmate meter pretty useless. All the others meters, including my old, now defunct Gossen Profisix, agreed within 1/3 stops.

When I was comparing my Sekonic L-208 Twinmate to the meters in my Pentax cameras - I was beginning to suspect my L-208 might be about a stop off. However, comparing it to my new (used) Gossen Luna-Lux, incident readings have never disagreed by more than 1/2-stop, and more often, by no more than 1/4-stop. Of course, it is possible both meters are inaccurate to about the same degree.

But none of ths is useful to the OP, who clearly prefers a digital meter to our analog ones. Apologies to abruzzi for the off-topic side discussion.