I'm getting into portrait photography, both indoors and out.
Any recommendations on light meters? Scanned the forums and the l-358 seems to win, hands down. Is there a particular reason it is much better than the 308s? I don't have a lot of cash to work with, but would really like something to grow into.
Is there even a huge difference between the two? I hear the 358 is better at ratios, but I have yet to even understand those myself.
I read this online --
"I shoot manual and the shutter only priority metering is not really a problem. To balance flash with outdoor, you have to make readings in two modes."
and hear that only the 358 can meter in multiple modes. Anyone care to explain this and offer some advice?
the 308 will allow you to enter/adjust the shutter speed to determine the appropriate aperture but will not allow you to enter the aperture to get the appropriate shutter speed. the 358 will allow you to meter by either means. the 358 also has the wireless pw option , the 308 does not.
the 358 has the ability to analyze mixed lighting situations (ambient and flash) while the 308 does not: it can measure ambient or flash, but cannot give you a combined reading...as for your question regarding aperture selection--if one knows that they want to shoot at f8, some may prefer to enter that as the basis for measurement.
the first light meter i bought several years back was a 308. it wasn't long before i discovered that for me, not being able to measure in aperture mode was a pita. sometimes it is better to buy things that give you options or that you can grow into, but utlimately only you can decide whether the feature set is worth the price difference.
if you have not been to the sekonic site you should visit it as there should be several resources on the fundamentals of metering which may be of value.
bka20d wrote:
the 358 has the ability to analyze mixed lighting situations (ambient and flash) while the 308 does not: it can measure ambient or flash, but cannot give you a combined reading...as for your question regarding aperture selection--if one knows that they want to shoot at f8, some may prefer to enter that as the basis for measurement.
the first light meter i bought several years back was a 308. it wasn't long before i discovered that for me, not being able to measure in aperture mode was a pita. ...
The 308 is my only meter, and I agree its lack of support for Av shooting is aggravating. It does, however, correctly integrate flash and ambient with your choice of shutter speed.
rico wrote:
The 308 is my only meter, and I agree its lack of support for Av shooting is aggravating. It does, however, correctly integrate flash and ambient with your choice of shutter speed.
to clarify, while the 358 measures the overall exposure, it will give you detailed info on the contribution of flash and ambient light to the exposure. the 308 does not provide information on the exposure components. in my earlier post, the phrase "combined reading" should have read "component readings"
If you buy the 308 it may meet your currently perceived needs but you will likely want to upgrade at some point. If you instead opt for the 358 you'll be buying a meter which will meet future needs which you aren't even able to anticipate at this point.
Features of the 358 making it worth the additional investment:
The way it displays flash as a % of total light and the ambient / flash components in f/stops according to their relative strength on the bottom display bar. This is very useful in fill flash situations.
The ability it easily compensate to camera ISO. Out the the box the meter will rarely match the results the camera produces because the sensitivity of the camera at the nominal ISO 100 setting isn't actually the same as 100 on the meter. You need to do a bracketed test, as outlined in my metering tutorial LINK then enter a compensation factor to the meter for the meter reading to produce correct results in the camera. The same was true when using film. The ISO rating on the box and the actual sensitivity of the film varies.
The ability to trigger Pocket Wizards wirelessly. An optional transmitter module for the meter will allow triggering the lights when setting exposure. Its a very convenient feature.
I bought the 308 and upgraded fairly quickly to the 358. For mixing ambient and flash the 358 is a lot easier to understand. I sold the 308 on ebay so it wasn't too painful to upgrade!
Thanks for all the information, guys. The clarification helps, bka20d, and makes sense to get the 358 then. Thanks for furthering that information, Chuck. And thanks for your bit, dazey.
Altogether this makes it sound like the 358 is a solid investment!
