A Gossen Lunapro SBC is a good "cheap-ish" choice, can be found on ebay for ~$50 or so & takes 9v batterys
Also avoid meter that requires mercury battery. They are not worth it and there is no real solution for that.
Except for the cheap solution that the member has suggested in #4 I can't speak for the situation in the U.S, but certainly in the U.K. and seemingly in Italy where the member is from the cells of which he speaks are very cheap
pentaxuser
But for incident readings I’d recommend a real light meter. I like the Sekonic L-308, but they are not what I would call cheap.
I will agree with others who recommend various Gossen light meters -- if you can tolerate the size of them.
The more recent ones use 9V batteries, which avoid the complication of powering the older meters which were built to run on mercury batteries. However, the more recent 9V versions are rather large. I love the look and functionality of my Gossen Luna-Lux SBC (also known as the Gossen Lunalite). But when it comes time to load my camera bag, I tend to leave the Gossen at home and take the slimmer Sekonic L-308s instead.
For taking reflected readings, I think the Gossen Luna-Lux is a little more ergonomic. For incident readings, I like the Sekonic better. The Sekonic is easier to operate with one hand.
In 2019, I paid $50(US) for my Luna-Lux on eBay, and a year later I paid $160 for my Sekonic L-308s, also used on eBay. They are both great meters, but I use the Sekonic far more often. However, if dropped, I am guessing the Gossen is more likely to survive. And the Gossen, with it's magnificent analog dial, is much sexier than my digital Sekonic.
The forward voltage drop of a small signal shottky like the BAT85 is around 0.21V at the very low current drain of an exposure metre, and a silver oxide cell yields 1.55V, thus the resulting voltage of the concoction is 1.34V. I compared the readings with that of my minolta spotmeter F and they match well beyond my ability to proper aim the arrow on the lunasix dial.How much different in price is a Gossen Luna Pro and Gossen Luna Pro SBC? Not much I would say. Also any adapter will not make the the voltage a constant 1.35V like a mercury cell. Also the Cds cell would suffer from aging much more than the silicon cell.
Yes, it is! And has an analog dial, as well! However, I did not like mine and sold it. For me, the problem was the dial was too loose. Sometimes, I will take a photo and then want to make some notes. If I put the L208 in my pocket, and then walk a few steps to find a shady spot to take notes, invariably the dial will have moved, and cannot be relied on to show what exposure I just used. Both the Gossen Luna-Lux and Sekonic L-308 retain the last used setting.The L208 on the other hand is cheap, tiny and uses readily available batteries. If bought used, it would certainly be cheap.
If its a big thing to carry i may as well carry the FE. How does it compare in size.
What is the "FE"?If its a big thing to carry i may as well carry the FE. How does it compare in size.
I want the kind that i point at the subject. A spot meter would be great.
The forward voltage drop of a small signal shottky like the BAT85 is around 0.21V at the very low current drain of an exposure metre, and a silver oxide cell yields 1.55V, thus the resulting voltage of the concoction is 1.34V. I compared the readings with that of my minolta spotmeter F and they match well beyond my ability to proper aim the arrow on the lunasix dial.
The zinc-air cells provide 1.35V and, again, when checking against my minolta I couldn't find reading differences.
The CdS remark is solid though, silicon cells are more durable. The lunasix sell for quite lower prices wrt other metres though, possibly because of the pesky power supply.
Those big meters (I have a few) are great for large format and tripod photography but I find them impractical for hand-held photography. Especially when the meter is larger than the camera.
If you are doing hand-held photography, you might want something small that fits on the camera. I use this Revini meter that fits on the cold shoe. I don't think they make it any more, but they make something similar.
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