Help me choose a flash/light meter

[Wavy C]

I'm thinking about getting a flash/light meter and wondered if anyone could help me choose between the Sekonic 308s and 358.

I want to use it for both for available light photography and for setting studio lights (don't have my own studio lights but occasionally use borrowed ones)

After reading some other posts here, my impression is that

(1) The 308s, being smaller, is easier to carry around in a camera bag and is (possibly) easier to use.

(2) The 358 offers more functions, the most useful of which might be the ability to display the percentage of flash compared to ambient light. Can anyone explain what this means in practice, and how useful it is?

Any advice/information would be appreciated.

The 308s is a little cheaper, but I'm happy to pay the extra if the 358 would be more suitable for me. I don't have pocket wizards so that feature on the 358 wouldn't be a factor.

[FlashZebra]

Unless the 358 has a specific feature you need, save you cash and get the 308.

Also, read this thread.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=282314

Enjoy! Lon

[Wavy C]

Thanks for replying Lon!

I'd like to know more about the flash to ambient ratio reading on the 358 meter. Am I right in thinking that is the main thing missing from the 308s meter? Do any 358 owners find this feature useful (or are there others things I should be thinking about?)

[yendikeno]

I have the 358 and find the ambient/flash percentage readings a great feature. I use it quite a bit to balance flash against ambient for different effects. YMMV

[Wilt]

Ambient vs. flash ratio <yawn>, I can do that in my head just as fast. Might not be as precise as the meter computing it, but there is only so much precision that even your eye can appreciate in the photo before it doesn't matter. That would not be the feature that makes or breaks my selection of a meter.

[FlashZebra]

Thanks for replying Lon!

I'd like to know more about the flash to ambient ratio reading on the 358 meter. Am I right in thinking that is the main thing missing from the 308s meter? Do any 358 owners find this feature useful (or are there others things I should be thinking about?)
Like Wilt, I can do ambient to flash ratios in my head easily.

But, it is a feature, but is it worth the difference in price of a 308 and 358, it may be for some, but personally I would rather have the $80.00 or so in my pocket for burritos or other sundry things.

Enjoy! Lon

[Wavy C]

I hope this is not a silly question but can anyone explain the purpose of calculating the ambient to flash ratio? Is it a case of taking an ambient reading, then a second with using flash, to find how much influence the flash has on the picture (eg, if it provides say 50% of the light)

Thanks again for taking time to reply.

[Wilt]

If your main subject is illuminated by flash, you will know the relative brightness of the surroundings and people/objects in the background lit by ambient light. Something wedding photogs are accustomed to doing all the time, in their head...faster (but less precise) by doing it in their head rather than pulling out a meter all the time.

[Wavy C]

Let me see if I'm understanding correctly....

Say I'm taking a picture of someone indoors and decide I want to use flash to light them better. Typically I'd make sure my camera was in manual mode and set the exposure by taking a reading from the background. Then I'd stop down maybe half or one stop and take the picture - allowing Canon's e-ttl system to pump out enough flashlight to properly expose the main subject.

So does the flash-to-ambient reading on the 358 meter help with that type of situation? I'm guessing that after taking a test shot it's possible to get an idea of the flash's strength compared to ambient. I must admit I'd probably not use this much, but maybe more useful with non-ettl manual flash?

[Wilt]

Let me see if I'm understanding correctly....

Say I'm taking a picture of someone indoors and decide I want to use flash to light them better. Typically I'd make sure my camera was in manual mode and set the exposure by taking a reading from the background. Then I'd stop down maybe half or one stop and take the picture - allowing Canon's e-ttl system to pump out enough flashlight to properly expose the main subject.

So does the flash-to-ambient reading on the 358 meter help with that type of situation? I'm guessing that after taking a test shot it's possible to get an idea of the flash's strength compared to ambient. I must admit I'd probably not use this much, but maybe more useful with non-ettl manual flash?

Wavy, your camera ETTL automation takes care of paragraph 1, and the meter is superfluous. The meter would be fooled by the preflash and therefore its reading would be totally bogus.

If you had a regular Auto flash (no preflash for ETTL), you could use the 358 to read the flash output and also the ambient light simultaneously and it would tell you how much stronger than ambient your flash was outputting. If you saw a -1EV differential, you would know the subject would be 1EV brighter than the background (good for drawing the viewer attention to them!) If you saw a -3EV differentila, you would know the background is very very dark and would not be able to really see much detail back there...almost a cave. (Since I don't own a 358, I may be expressing things differently from how the meter says it in reality!)

Without the handheld, you meter the ambient (e.g. f/2.8 1/20), then you know that at the desired f/stop (e.g. f/5.6) and shooting with the camera in M at 1/20, the subject is 2EV brighter than objects in the background. No meter, it's all done in the head.

[Wavy C]

Thanks for that great explanation, Wilt - certainly makes this concept a little more comprehensible to me!

From what I can tell, the flash-to-ambient metering appears the main feature missing from the 308s meter but it doesn't sound like something I'd use anyway. Other things being fairly equal, I'd probably prefer the 308s meter for its more compact size.

[Wilt]

That's what londuck was trying to communicate!

[Wavy C]

Indeed! I just wasn't sure if the flash-to-ambient ratio reading was a specific feature I needed or not :)