Which light meter ???

I like the Sekonic L-358.

OK and thanks to everyone who chimed in their i now feel i have made a well informed choice in purchasing my first Light meter the Sekonic l-358

The Sekonic also has the added bonus of being an L.

vegasboy wrote in post #5917332
now is a light meter REALLY necessary? or, something that will make life easier.

I will be picking up a meter here in the near future.

I myself don't mind tinkering w/ the flash levels, distance, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO; I have plenty of time. Your model however, may not be into it. I have found that not using the meter can disrupt the flow and mood of the shoot (at least for my stlye of shooting). This is whats is promting the purchase for me.

doidinho wrote in post #5918945
I will be picking up a meter here in the near future.

I myself don't mind tinkering w/ the flash levels, distance, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO; I have plenty of time. Your model however, may not be into it. I have found that not using the meter can disrupt the flow and mood of the shoot (at least for my stlye of shooting). This is whats is promting the purchase for me.

i will be using just an abr800 here for a while before i purchase any strobes... would you think it would be necessary for that?

vegasboy wrote in post #5919862
i will be using just an abr800 here for a while before i purchase any strobes... would you think it would be necessary for that?

I have no idea, I'm new to the lighting game and just learning myself.

DDCSD wrote in post #5917300
The Sekonic L-358 is a great meter. Can't comment on any other ones as this is the only one I've ever used.

I can comment on a few others, and I like the Sekonic very much.
If Minolta were still around that could be a competitor.
I like Gossen less.

vegasboy wrote in post #5917332
now is a light meter REALLY necessary? or, something that will make life easier.

A meter saves time, chimping and is easier / more precise. You decide

vegasboy wrote in post #5919862
would you think it would be necessary for that?

See above.

pulled the trigger yesterday on sekonic L 358.=D i prefer to have a meter to save time and more precise.=D

goodness the lighting game gets expensive

so essentially light meters are used to tell you what would be the best setting to set your camera to, to obtain the best photos using strobes/flashes, correct?

Yes. They can meter flash or ambient light.

tim wrote in post #5925849
Yes. They can meter flash or ambient light.

::and the crowd goes silent::

i got into a car accident the night before last. my inability to sleep got the best of me behind the wheel and i nodded off.

let's just say i didn't wake up in the nick of time.

to sum up my love for photography, despite this horrendous event piled onto what has already happened earlier this week...it all meant nothing as i got to finally use an 85mm 1.2L II.

i can only imagine what cloud i'll taken to when my sekonic L-758DR gets here. these are two of my longest anticipated purchases (meter model varied).