Spot Meters

I sold my spot meter off this last year from what i remember and now just use a handheld incident and reflective meter. I can't say it's done my photography any harm as I always seem to get good results. The spot meter just seemed to give me too many options; Sort of like Photoshop if you know what I mean. I've thought about buying another, but an incident handheld meter is just so much more useful, especially for flash and 4x5 portraits. You might want to watch for a incident meter that takes a spot attachment, or you can get the higher priced combo's.

Meters get hashed over frequently, and usually each person responding recommends the meter they use. Funniest thing.

My suggestion is to first give the types of meters a bit more in-depth thought - mostly in relation to how they meter (reflected vs. incident), what that tells you, and how the different styles match your typical shooting situations. Then add a few flash-capability, low light, and battery sprinkles - again, based on what you do.

After having "upgraded" meters a half-dozen times over the years (Westons, Gossens, Pentax spot, etc.), I finally settled on a Sekonic L-508 that does just about everything - ambient/flash, reflected/incident, zoom spot, EV, etc. The later models add other features, such as radio-slave capability, etc. Having everything in one meter is really convenient.

Perhaps the coolest pistol-grip spot meter I've used, and still do on occasion, is the (unfortunately, discontinued) Sekonic L-778. Like the later all-in-one Sekonic meters, it does multiple readings with memory, and displays the results (up to 3) on the screen with little dots in the display. The L-778, however, also has 3 little triangles that can be adjusted as to spread (e.g. shadow, mid-tone, highlight or equivalent Zones), and can be moved in unison to pick the optimal average from the 3 readings. The L-778 was quite expensive when new, but you may be able to find one on the used market.

Ryan, you mention that you are entering LF photography, have you thought of the Gosson Profisix?

It's an old analogue type with a swinging needle, very easy to read and with the Spot meter attachment will do 1º, 5º & 10º readings.

Then by picking up the Fibre optic attachment, you are able to do TTL readings off the groundglass, trust me when I say it can give you very accurate readings that way. It also allows you to work out just how much fall off is happening, as you get to the edge of the lens covering power.

As a bonus it also has another 7 or so attachments that can make the meter do repro flash work, enlarging meter, flat copy meter etc, etc,.

When I was short of cash and needed a meter to run my cameras, I looked long and hard before settling on this, value for money system meter.

Mick.

I use a Soligor Digital Spot that I bought used for $76. It's a decent meter, but I'll eventually get Pentax Digital Spot.

Several folks have advised you to get an incident meter. They are good for some uses, but not for others. I wouldn't use an incident meter for shhoting transparencies because I need to place the highlights correctly (overexposure with slide film is a disaster). And I need a spot for B&W when I'm using the Zone System.

Buy a spot meter if you think you might learn to use zones. It really is simple - expose for the shadows and alter development time to bring the highlights to the desired level. Lot's of control.

Robert

rbarker said:

Meters get hashed over frequently, and usually each person responding recommends the meter they use. Funniest thing.

My suggestion is to first give the types of meters a bit more in-depth thought - mostly in relation to how they meter (reflected vs. incident), what that tells you, and how the different styles match your typical shooting situations. Then add a few flash-capability, low light, and battery sprinkles - again, based on what you do.

After having "upgraded" meters a half-dozen times over the years (Westons, Gossens, Pentax spot, etc.), I finally settled on a Sekonic L-508 that does just about everything - ambient/flash, reflected/incident, zoom spot, EV, etc. The later models add other features, such as radio-slave capability, etc. Having everything in one meter is really convenient.

Click to expand...

I second this recommendation. I'm a photo student at the local college and I have had many instructors and fellow student to chew over this problem with. After MUCH deliberation I ended up with the Sekonic L508- but because I wanted the radio transmitter I traded to the L558 (same meter with the transmitter built in) I could have just bought the trans and added it but just got a new meter at student prices. I digress...
I really liked the Pentax spot but wanted incident metering as well. The Sekonic 558 has everything I want/need and more is in a meter!! It has options I have only dreamed of using and some I may never figure out- ha ha! I am very confident that unless it gets broken, lost or stolen it will serve me for decades to come. From amateur to professional shooting.

Now that having been said I do want to get on of them there Pocket Spots!!!
I do attempt to use zone system and I would like to have a small accurate spot meter to carry around with me- always, this however would be purely a luxury!

IMHO
Beckie

An incident meter is not a replacement for a spotmeter and in my experience will not generate as good results for outdoor work where the subject is "over there" rather than "here". There are a number of reasons for this, but primarily

Any single meter reading methodology is sub-optimal when your film can cope with much less contrast than the eye. It is at least helpful and sometimes essential to know (measure) the brightness range within the scene and relate that to the capabilities of your film. A spotmeter can help you do this, an incident meter doesn't.

The light "over there" -which the spotmeter measures- is often not the same as the light "here" whiich is what the incident meter measures. Days when there is a mix of cloud and sun, or with varying cloud thickness, demonstrate this very well. Standing in shade to photograph a scene in the sun-which I often do- are another example.

There is no real debate about how to use a spot meter, but the same isn't true of an incident meter. Take a look at any online debate on this issue and you'll see a huge debate on how best to orientate an incident meter to cope with contre -jour situations and sidelight. Every expert has their own theory and frankly they can't all be right.

My own experience, which has to cope with the fact that most of my photography involves high contrast colour slide emulsions, is that taking multiple readings from round the scene with a narrow-angle spot meter is by far the most accurate way to meter in landscape /cityscape type situations, and that incident metering is a quick and easy way to get an approximation.

With regard to brand of spotmeter, most of my experience has been with Sekonics, particularly the 508 and I find these work well for me. However I have no doubt that meters made by others are just as accurate and that the brand choice between the credible players (Pentax, Minolta, Gossen, Sekonic)should depend on the fit with the way you work( they all work a little differently) rather than on inherent accuracy.