Light meter for landscape photographer? i.e. Sekonic L758D or similar

I recently had a really short conversion with 2 Pro landscape photographers on the field. Both of them have this L758D light meter. They said this is a really great tool and way better than in camera metering system. It can help to make good pics. I didn't have a chance to ask them questions at all but their pics look better than mine (same location, same camera).

So, questions:

For landscape (digital) shooter, do you guys think light meter is really a critical tool? Does it do far better job than in camera (5D MII) metering? I thought PS can do pretty much anything. i.e. blend different exposures, etc.. but I believe that there are reasons these light meters still exist.

I googled Sekonic L758D, WOW! It's $$$$$$ and looks complicated to use, so your inputs?????

The L-358 is more than capable for the purpose you state.

I find that for landscape or still life, an incident meter works much better than a meter built into the camera that is measuring reflective light, therefore is affected by the color of the subject.

I have and use the Sekonic L-758DR. Its great for metering something far away as well as everything else. Price wise it did go up over $130.00+ since I bought mine a year and a half ago, but I think its still worth it if you need to meter something far away. Have a look at youtube. It has a few videos that show what and how to use this meter. Heree is one comparing the Sekonic L-358 and the L-758DR.
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=d7gGNTQRt2g
http://www.youtube.com …SjTTQ0UTyI&feat​ure=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com …1QgyEAJAEM&feat​ure=relmfu

Take Care,
Cheers, Patrick

Take Care,
Cheers, Patrick

for a landscape you should have time to set up the shot, take some test frames and use the histogram on the back of the camera to judge proper exposure. Unless you are using film, I don't think the light meter is worth the cost.

tkbslc wrote in post #12229922
for a landscape you should have time to set up the shot, take some test frames and use the histogram on the back of the camera to judge proper exposure. Unless you are using film, I don't think the light meter is worth the cost.

This is what I thought.

If landscapes is what you shoot, I would get one.

How does a light meter compensate for filters - often an essential tool for landscapes.

bohdank wrote in post #12230034
If landscapes is what you shoot, I would get one.

I almost will get one but... OK, is that spot metering function important? Sekonic L758D is twice the price of L358, I wonder it's worth the extra money cuz I am not gonna use it for studio type of shoot (don't have one).

Any field users are currently using L358 for landscape? Is it good?

I got the L358 and then got the 1 degree spot attachment. I'd re do with getting the spot meter integrated.

tkbslc wrote in post #12230092
How does a light meter compensate for filters - often an essential tool for landscapes.

That's what Filter Factors are for. Often the filter affects the in-camera meter reading adversely. There's at least one thread that was posted within the past couple of weeks where someone wasn't getting what he thought he should when using the TTL metering of his camera with ND filters.

tkbslc wrote in post #12230092
How does a light meter compensate for filters - often an essential tool for landscapes.

Who said it did ?

Two entirely different things.

Anyone who knows the zone system, also knows that a good spotmeter is a excellent tool.

tkbslc wrote in post #12229922
for a landscape you should have time to set up the shot, take some test frames and use the histogram on the back of the camera to judge proper exposure. Unless you are using film, I don't think the light meter is worth the cost.

Histogram does not tell you what parts of the scene are at what values or their relationships to one another. There are times when you need to make the choice of what is the modt important part of the scene that needs to be properly exposed and the histogram gives you squat information on this.

I find a spot meter invaluable for landscapes.

What advantage does a handheld spot meter give over a camera spot meter?

thenextguy wrote in post #12231019
What advantage does a handheld spot meter give over a camera spot meter?

I like composing the shot with the camera and then using a hand held spot meter figuring out how to expose the image. If you use the camera as the spot meter, you have to move the camera around as you take spot readings, ruining your composed image.

thenextguy wrote in post #12231019
What advantage does a handheld spot meter give over a camera spot meter?

3.5 degree in camera (5DII) to 1 degree (L358 attachment)