Sekonic twin mate (or other small meter)

[grahamc]

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3 hours ago, Fotoklaus said:

That´s why i prefer the Digisix "on the street": One Click and I got all the combinations of time/ aperture due to the EV range dial, without changing menues.

 

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If you press and hold the "M"- Button and pan through your scene, you can read out the difference in lighting directly:

I can do that all, including switching from direct to incident metering, with one hand within seconds.

That´s the reason why my more "advanced" meters stay at home.

That looks really useful.   At this point I’m choosing between Digisix and L-308 I think 

[Jon Warwick]

I like the 308 a lot, very compact, very simple, not clunky in use (better than the more flagship L858 spot meter I also owned IMHO in that regard).  I have the older 308 one which is shutter priority only (newer X one added aperture priority too). I use it only for incident readings, I find it pretty hard to tell what I was measuring in reflected mode. 

Edited January 18 by Jon Warwick

[grahamc]

Update here : L-208 seems to have been edged out in favour of Digisix 2 or L-308

I’ve been leaning toward the Digisix, based on size - it does look super compact and handy. But the feedback on it eating batteries / not having an on/off switch is a worry. 
 

How bad is this issue ... and are there workarounds? I presume the battery only drains if the meter is placed in conditions where buttons are being pressed ?!

thanks. 

[madNbad]

I tried using the Gossen case and it worked but kept catching on the short strap I was using. Some users have found little cases at thrift stores. The batteries are readily available and not very expensive, it’s just easier to carry a spare. If you do choose the Digisix, you won’t be disappointed. The battery life is variable between users but it will never last as long as the AA in the Sekonic and they don’t die as quickly as in the Reveni. The lack of a switch or auto off hasn’t presented any problems for me. The Digisix display is generally easy to read but some lighting can cause difficulty. The EV display is great and the dial give a wide range of exposure options. Changing ISO takes a few steps but working through the menu becomes instinctual quickly. The incident dome is a handy feature and slides into place with the flick of a finger. If you don’t need to read flash and just want something small, it’s a good choice.

[Fotoklaus]

Well, there is also the Digiflash which is able to measure flashlight, additionally.

[madNbad]

10 minutes ago, Fotoklaus said:

Well, there is also the Digiflash which is able to measure flashlight, additionally.

Also a good choice but the Sekonic is much easier to use for flash metering.

Edited January 21 by madNbad

[grahamc]

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1 hour ago, madNbad said:

Also a good choice but the Sekonic is much easier to use for flash metering.

In this case .. Sekonic still in the race !   Would this be useful for on camera flash (eg a SF-24D on MP) or is it more applicable to a studio / strobe environment .  

[grahamc]

Also can I ask - do any of these shortlisted meters have an 'average' function for their reflective metering , that acts in a similar way to using a multi/average metering type function in-camera?

 

 

Edited January 21 by grahamc

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Fotoklaus]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb grahamc:

In this case .. Sekonic still in the race !   Would this be useful for on camera flash (eg a SF-24D on MP) or is it more applicable to a studio / strobe environment .  

More for a studio environment. If you use a flash mounted on the camera in Auto Mode the flash will control the lighting. This works very well for most

standard situations.

The Digiflash could be a adjusted to the X-Sync- time of the camera. In Flash Mode the Sync time is shown in the display. You press the Measuring button once, then the

Digiflash is waiting for the flash (showing "F" in the display) to fire and you can read out the measuring afterwards. This works in direct- or incident measuring.

So pushing the "M" button once, I don´t know how it could be easier on the Sekonic :-)

On the Sekonic you can also use a Sync- Cord to fire a flash for measurement. But as most Studioflashes are using a wireless remote control it is not a big deal.

But to be honest: It is yeras ago that I measured a flash with a meter anyway. So it is nice to have if you buy a new meter, but not really important.

[Pyrogallol]

3 hours ago, grahamc said:

Also can I ask - do any of these shortlisted meters have an 'average' function for their reflective metering , that acts in a similar way to using a multi/average metering type function in-camera?

 

 

I would use the incident meter diffuser, that must average the light.

[Fotoklaus]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb grahamc:

Also can I ask - do any of these shortlisted meters have an 'average' function for their reflective metering , that acts in a similar way to using a multi/average metering type function in-camera?

On the Disgisix/ Digiflash you are able to pan through your scene holding the M-Button and read out the difference. The Sekonic is not able to do so, as far as I know.

The Digisix has a measuring angle of about 25°, the 308 about 40° in direct metering mode. So you have to take care about that.

Too much bright sky when holding the meter upwards, and so on.

There might be some spotmeters which can calculate an average value out of several spot measurements but both the 308 and the Digisix don´t.

Doesn´t make sense, by the way. But an incident measurement might be better than the best built in 3D-Matrix multi module of any camera.

 

 

Edited January 21 by Fotoklaus

[grahamc]

The circumstances I would find average useful would be for a contrasty scene such as sunrise/sunset landscape. Is it feasible to use incident metering in those circumstances ?
And if so, how - which direction ?  I assume the diffuser toward you but not in your shadow 🤔 

i have a lot to learn about light metering I’m afraid 

[Fotoklaus]

vor 41 Minuten schrieb grahamc:

The circumstances I would find average useful would be for a contrasty scene such as sunrise/sunset landscape. Is it feasible to use incident metering in those circumstances ?
And if so, how - which direction ?  I assume the diffuser toward you but not in your shadow 🤔 

i have a lot to learn about light metering I’m afraid 

As all natural light comes FROM the sun it is hard to make it BEHIND it for an incident reading of sunset/ sunrise 🙂

 

[madNbad]

The Digisix 2 is featured an excellent video from Silvergrain Classics that shows how to operate the meter, including using the averaging feature. It’s worth watching and may help answer a lot of your questions. As for learning to use the meter, that just takes practice. Both the Digisix and the Digiflash are the same size and close in price. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1CDoH8ieaI

Edited January 21 by madNbad

[Aryel]

3 hours ago, grahamc said:

The circumstances I would find average useful would be for a contrasty scene such as sunrise/sunset landscape. Is it feasible to use incident metering in those circumstances ?
And if so, how - which direction ?  I assume the diffuser toward you but not in your shadow 🤔 

i have a lot to learn about light metering I’m afraid 

I don’t think there is a yes/no answer: if the light falls similarly where you are then yes, otherwise better use reflective. At least, this is what works for me. If you are shooting the sunset then I’d tend to use reflective based on the above. Not sure how others are doing it.

I am sure you will quickly learn when and how to make it work for you. It quickly becomes intuitive.

 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Pyrogallol]

It depends what medium you are using, digital, B&W film or colour film or even colour slide, each will handle a very high contrast scene differently. With a sunset/sunrise you might like to take a reading of the scene without the sun in it and another directly into the sun. And probably best to make over and under exposures. If the sun is still fairly high in the sky the contrast range might be too wide for any metering.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[250swb]

I think I’d be exaggerating if I said I used the invercone on my meters more than once a year. I was taught to use reflective metering and how to use the information it can give to manipulate exposure and development with B&W, and C41 has so much latitude pointing the meter at something that reflects 18% grey is very accurate. I think if you want to fully average the scene properly you need a spot meter.

[madNbad]

For whatever it's worth, I was out wandering around with the L-398 and the Digisix 2 with the incident dome in place and the readings matched every time. 

[lmans]

I use the Twinmate L-208 when needed. I like it because this is pure analog again...no digits or lights or whatever. I usually need glasses to read and often do not have them on while photographing the streets. But this twin-mate has enough contrast between the "F" and 'shutter' that I can read it pretty easily without glasses, so that was a big one for me.

Also, it is 'light'...plastic....small. I just keep it in my pocket instead of placing it around my neck with the strap.

The only thing to watch out for is the ISO which might get accidentally moved. So just check it from time to time. Otherwise, nice product 

[Fotoklaus]

Is there an update on the buying process?