For general photography an incident light meter will provide you with the most consistent results, if you bother to learn how to use it. It will be easier to use than a spotmeter, and more accurate then a a built in meter. Every incident meter I have ever owned could also be used as a reflective meter as well.
Several of us have said this, over and over, over the years here on the list. But of course techno-geeks will continue to insist that a 1 degree spotmeter is best (it is, in those 2% of cases where nothing else will work, in which case I just use my best guess), but you need ten minutes to get your readings and determine the best possible exposure, plus you need to be able to recognize various tonalities to read. I can recommend from personal experience (I have never owned a Gossen or Minolta) the Weston Master series of meters --old-old--, the Vivitar 250XL --old-- (do not use it in the cold, the dial motor draws too much current and burns out the IC, otherwise it was my favorite of the all meters I've ever owned), the Sekonic Studio meter --old to current-- (I am on my 3rd one now. No they aren't unreliable, I just wind up selling them thinking I am going to get something better), the Sekonic L-308B (mine is dead, after 10-12 years) my second favorite of all the meters I have owned. Note: both the L-308 and the 250XL had flash capability which was very important to me when I was a working photographer. You will note that all of those except the L-308B have analog dials, the advantage of the L-308 is that is is shit pocket sized which overcomes the lack of an analog dial a bit. The advantage of the analog dial is that you can see all the shutter-speed/f-stop combinations without having to juggle them in your head. -- graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf "Idiot Proof" <==> "Expert Proof" ----------------------------------- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I hadn't thought of that, I could always use my K10D (once it arrives). :) > > Quoting "P. J. Alling" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > >> Heck I've been using my *ist-Ds as a light meter to shoot with my >> "new" >> Kodak Medalist. Those 6x9 exposures are just too expensive to >> waste. >> >> Scott Loveless wrote: >> >>> On 10/10/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>> >>> >>>> Once I have a P6x7, I will probably not have a metering prism and >> will therefore >>>> need to purchase and use a handheld meter. Never having done this >> before (I >>>> started playing with photography well into the age of in-camera >> metering) I have >>>> little idea of what I need or how it works. If I'm largely going >> to be doing >>>> landscapes, am I right to assume that a reflective meter would be >> best? How much >>>> will a half decent meter set me back? It may be cheaper to buy a >> TTL metering >>>> prism. >>>> >>>> Any advice appreciated as hand held metering is a mystery to me! >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> You might take a look at a point and shoot digital. Some of them >> have >>> an exposure metering function. If you zoom the lens, you can >> narrow >>> down the area you're metering. Although not as precise as a 1 >> degree >>> spot meter, and perhaps not as accurate, it certainly would be a >> cost >>> effective path to take. I've used the 750z in this capacity with >> my >>> C220 quite a few times. Plus, if you run out of film you can keep >>> shooting with the digicam! >>> >>> >>> >> >> -- >> Things should be made as simple as possible -- but no simpler. >> >> --Albert Einstein >> >> >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> [email protected] >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> >> >> > > > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
