Which Sekonic light meter ?

So far I've been doing everything by eye and really see the need for a light meter.

I don't know the differences between the $200 Sekonic's and the $300-$350 Sekonic's...

I want to be able to read ambienta and flash, no continous, strobe only (thats about all I know). Do I need the more expensive ones?

Anyone that can give me the basics - that would be cool.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Looks like the Sekonic L-358 is the most popular.....

I highly recommend the Sekonic L-358 unless you expect to want to use 1° spot metering frequently. If I wanted to do that, I would go to one of the bigger models that have built-in spot metering. I do have the 1° spot metering attachment for my L-358, but use it maybe one time out of 200 that I use the meter.

If you're using pocketwizards, the sekonics have direct pocket wizard capability which may be a plus for you.

The 758D is rock solid for me

I bought a L-358 today.

The Sekonic L-758DR is a fantastic meter but it's more than most people need. The L-358 is something of an industry standard and will get you through just about anything.

Having said that, if 1 degree spot metering is something you need then you can't beat the L-758DR. Adding the spot metering attachment to an L-358 is an expensive and inconvenient accessory.

Custom profiling is also a powerful feature of the L-758DR but it's far from necessary and if you were to poll 758 users you'd find that they all love the meter but few actually use or understand custom profiles.

^ thanks guys - sorry to open another one of these threads.

got my answer - Sekonic L-358 it is!

I do use pocket wizards (MiniTT1 & FlexTT5). - whats the advantage with the L358 and PW combo ?

m.shalaby wrote in post #12358247
^ thanks guys - sorry to open another one of these threads.

got my answer - Sekonic L-358 it is!

I do use pocket wizards (MiniTT1 & FlexTT5). - whats the advantage with the L358 and PW combo ?

It just allows you to trigger your flashes directly from the light meter.

kuma1212 wrote in post #12358347
It just allows you to trigger your flashes directly from the light meter.

awsome, simple... cool.

yeah, i know nothing about meters - lol.... any strobe work you've seen by me is all done by eye. i desperately need a meter to keep the momentum going during a shoot.

m.shalaby wrote in post #12358247
^ thanks guys - sorry to open another one of these threads.

got my answer - Sekonic L-358 it is!

I do use pocket wizards (MiniTT1 & FlexTT5). - whats the advantage with the L358 and PW combo ?

Not so easy.

How you going to make them work? FlexTT5 won't get triggered from the radio module in L358 unless you put flexTT5 in standard channel mode. Then you get no remote power control or faster than max sync speed. if that is how you going to use, then why not have plus II to being with instead of mini/flex.

Could someone explain 1 degree spot metering as opposed to other?

leeport wrote in post #12358486
Could someone explain 1 degree spot metering as opposed to other?

Spot metering uses optics to gather light from a 1° cone. It allows you to measure the light reflected from a small area of the scene at relatively long distance. Spot metering allows the photographer to selectively meter bright and dark areas of the scene to plan how to capture the range of brightnesses he/she wants to.

Spot metering is always measuring reflected light, by the way. There is simply no way to do spot metering with an incident light receptor.

Meters that are not spot meters measure light from a much larger angle cone - as much as about 60°, for example.

bobbyz wrote in post #12358462
Not so easy.

How you going to make them work? FlexTT5 won't get triggered from the radio module in L358 unless you put flexTT5 in standard channel mode. Then you get no remote power control or faster than max sync speed. if that is how you going to use, then why not have plus II to being with instead of mini/flex.

so I'll have to fire off the flash some other way... i'll just use my RC-6 Remote to trigger the shutter, no? any problem doing that?

m.shalaby wrote in post #12358970
so I'll have to fire off the flash some other way... i'll just use my RC-6 Remote to trigger the shutter, no? any problem doing that?

There is no issue if using your flashes in manual mode and using mini/flex as simple triggers.

But if you using your flashes in eTTL mode then L358 can't trigger them. Even if you use your remote to fire the camera which in turn triggers the flashes how do you meter them individually?

All depends on how you uisng your flashes.

bobbyz wrote in post #12359103
There is no issue if using your flashes in manual mode and using mini/flex as simple triggers.

But if you using your flashes in eTTL mode then L358 can't trigger them. Even if you use your remote to fire the camera which in turn triggers the flashes how do you meter them individually?

All depends on how you uisng your flashes.

I have an the AC3 which will I can turn one off and put them on different channels.