Thanks guys for all the response,
I am actually warming up to the idea of using a hand held meter.
It doesn't seem that annoying, and it will help me be able to eventually not even need a meter.
So what is the best hand held meter these days?
-Kyle
If you don't need to be able to meter flash, I would argue that the best meter, all things considered, is the Sekonic Studio deluxe. They are a bit over $200, and are such well designed, simple, and capable meters that they have remained practically unchanged for about 60 years, due to lack of necessity. The hi-slide kit is a great accessory. It seems spendy, but it's worth it IMO. Their big weaknesses are: 1) they are not very good in low light (though you can take the dome off to get an "emergency reading" that you then adjust five stops below the no-slide arrow, according to the instruction manual for my old one from the '50's), and 2) they do not meter for flash. On the plus side, they don't need any batteries and they are quite compact.
For a do-it-all (except spot metering) electronic meter, I like the Sekonic L-308.
The Gossen Digiflash and Digisix are extremely convenient to carry, but I find them to be a pain to use while working. They feel like they should be about $40 or $50. That is the most I would pay for one; at that price, they would be worth it. But the fact is that their prices are actually quite high when compared to what you could get for just a bit more.
