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Which Sekonic Meter?
I am ready to spend some omeny and want to do it wisely. I am looking at Sekonic Flash meters.....L358 and L308-S. There is about a $70 price difference at B&H. Is is worth it to step up to the L358? I shoot some outdoors, and also in a small home studio with monolights. Any input or suggestions would be appreciated. Jun 01 06 03:54 am Link i have the 358 and love it.. never had a issue with it.. Jun 01 06 04:24 am Link Go with the 358. I love mine!! -Keith Jun 01 06 04:39 am Link Glen Pendleton wrote: Go with the L358, it is well worth the additional cost, is designed better, and has more capablities. The L308S is an improvement over the L308B, but doesn't come close to the L358. You can buy a radio transmitter module for the L358 to enable the meter to be used with the Pocket Wizard wireless system. More bucks, but some find this feature very convenient. Jun 01 06 04:46 am Link Will you be using the meter mainly in studio, or will you be traveling a lot? I opted for the 308 because of the compact size and design. It fits in a small pocket in my camera bag, which is a benefit for my travels. The metering is great. It replaced the L328 (RIP) I had for 15 years. Jun 01 06 05:41 am Link I will use the meter mainly in the studio. I know what you mean though about the 308 being more pocket friendly. Jun 01 06 06:49 am Link Glen Pendleton wrote: Then... no question. The L-358. Great for studio and I even use it for location as the size doesn't really matter. Wear cargo pants! Jun 01 06 09:17 am Link The L-308 is always in my camera bag, small, compact, great for what I use it for, outdoors, while travelling light, etc. I have used it with indoor lighting, it's ok, better than nothing at all to be sure, and while I haven't used the L-358, over the life of a meter, $70 is not much more, and I suspect it's well worth the added investment. I can say the Sekonic L-558R DualMaster is amazing for studio use/pocket wizards... Jun 01 06 09:34 am Link I got the L-558R and did not like the single-ness to the metering nor did I like the imbalance of hue (way too much white and did not correct with a gray card). While using it I actually started to rely on my camera's meter 100% of the time. A few weeks of wrestling I brought it back and picked up the L-358 and have never had a better meter.  Jun 01 06 09:35 am Link I use the L-358 and it is a great meter, I use it with strobe units. It was also recommended by the guys over at shootsmarter.com who believe strongly in using flash meters for shots. Jun 01 06 09:45 am Link Personally I use a SEKONIC L328 I bought on eBay for US$90 (US$300 new). It is a great device: Precision, first of all, but also flash and continuous light metering. In the hand of a photog can give great satisfactions. No frills, such as Pocket Wizard plugin enabled, but do you really need this feature ? I don't, as of now. So, when I will, I'll buy the L358. Enjoy it ;-) Jun 01 06 10:05 am Link Donato wrote: I owned my 358 for a year before getting the PW module. I didn't think I'd need it until my first foray into the studio realm. Remembering to unplug the sync cord from the camera to the meter EVERYTIME I needed a reading was a pain. After tripping over the cord one-too-many times, I figured the PW investment was justifiable. Jun 01 06 10:49 am Link Another vote for the L358 w/Pocket Wizard Transmitter. Jun 01 06 10:56 am Link MoMo Photo wrote: I can agree with you, it's a convenience if you can afford the US$400 for the Pocket Wizard kit, but if he doesn't have ... anyway he needs only to shoot photos, so any good lightmeter is ok. It depends on what he is looking for. Jun 01 06 10:59 am Link Ya know, I have them both. I normally use the 358, just because it is more convenient (I keep the spot meter attachment on the 308). When I go out, I typically take the 308 since it has the kewl belt puch. The 308 is simpler and does less, but it is just as accurate as the 358. So which should you get? I dunno, whichever one feels better to you. I prefer the 358, but the 308 gets used as well. Jun 01 06 11:05 am Link I have an old Sekonic 308 and it works great. Got it new years ago when they were $300 but now you can get them on Ebay sometimes for about $150. I find that newer meters have all kinds of gimcrack that doesn't actually help but gives the manufacturers an excuse to keep coming up with new models. Back in the day I had this little $11 flashmeter (not a typo) that came free with a Novatron fun kit. It was _great_ - it just put a little bar where your F-stop would be if you were using 100ASA film. That's all you need. Flash-metering is really not anything like rocket science.  mjr. Jun 01 06 11:09 am Link Alan from Aavian Prod wrote: Price difference on Ebay is only about $50. Of course $50'll buy you a nice lunch and considering that the 358/308 are basically the same software and sensor in a different plastic case, I'd go with the 308 and a nice lunch. Jun 01 06 11:16 am Link I think I am going to purchase the Sekonic 358. More features than I need right now, but I will be able to grow into it. Where do you think is the best place to buy? Jun 01 06 09:35 pm Link I've got a 358, and, like others, I love it. I don't use the wireless. I have a sync from my secondary strobe to the meter, and keep the sync to the primary connected to my camera. Both have optical slave, so it doesn't matter which I use to trigger. Jun 01 06 09:50 pm Link Glen Pendleton wrote: B&H: New $259 Jun 01 06 10:01 pm Link Get the 358 and get the PW transmitter... 558 is dumb. big and clunky and not as smooth dials at all. Unless you would use a spot meter all the time get the 358. Jun 01 06 11:47 pm Link I have and love it ! Feb 26 08 04:24 pm Link 308 is great Feb 26 08 04:26 pm Link Mickle Design Werks wrote: Being from Chicago, I'll vote several times for the 358 Feb 26 08 04:40 pm Link Alan from Aavian Prod wrote: For the love of all that is holy, I hope you mean, when you go out shooting and not out for dinner, to a movie, etc. Feb 26 08 04:42 pm Link Rob Domaschuk wrote: Just spilled my coffee Feb 26 08 05:09 pm Link |
