Sekonic L-308S Flashmate Digital Incident, Reflected & Flash Light Meter

For those Photographers who are just getting started or have been shooting photos for a while. This Sekonic is a great item to have. Digital Cameras have built in meters. But I have found this Sekonic to really cut the guessing time and depend on it. I chose Sekonic, because it is a product that has established credibility in photo meters. I shoot a lot of landscapes and ocean, beach scenes. Please read the reviews by amazon because many of them are very good and informative. I was convinced after reading all of them. This meter operates different modes giving you the opportunity to use it accordingly. Im sure you understand that Exposure is a real challenge when taking photos. Please familiarize yourself with some of the challenges of Exposure . There are books , e books written , as well as on-line classes. Once you understand the concept of exposure; using this meter really makes the different and saves you a lot of time and guess work. I get my reading from the meter and use the aperture priority mode. The meter will give me an aperture reading as well as a camera speed reading. I set the camera to the Aperture reading and allow the camera to adjust the speed. Almost all my photo results turn out with a well balanced exposure result and a very fine photo. I also do bracketing and have found that the meter is very much on target. Please note. You will get outstanding results, save a lot of time, and almost eliminate the guess work. But , do acquire some instruction the the challenges of Exposure. This meter has become a life line for my photos. Just to give you an Idea, if I bracket I can shoot 200 photos in a short while. The meter really keeps me in the ball park and editing has become much more enjoyable. This is a must have for any photographer enthusiast .

Simple instructions and I was up and running in minutes. I did Ytube reviews on how to use it before I bought it. I shoot with speedlites inside and outside. I use a grey card and or color checker passport before all my shoots. I calibrate my monitor every two weeks. I wanted to try the light meter to add to my workflow. So far, I can see where I can gain time as well as increase the quality of my pictures by using light meter. I would recommend it to anyone. I have used it about 30 times including practice sessions. I think it would be helpful for anyone still honing their exposure skills. It gives you a great place to start with the correct exposure then you adjust based on your creative needs. Most of the time I shoot in the manual exposure mode. I use it to get ambient, ambient and shutter and with flash. While it gives you the EV it also allows you to convert to show you the F stop, shutter and ISO setting for the EV. Sorry I don't waste time or carry a EV chart around with me. Easier for me to set the ISO on the camera and light meter and let the light meter give me the shutter speed and F stop. If I want to change one of those the light meter gives me the correct matching change. i picked this model because it was flexible and at a reasonable price. I wasn't sold at the time if you needed a light meter with the capabilities of my Nikon D600 and D7000 internal metering. I am glad I bought it and find it very very accurate and useful.

This light meter does the job and is accurate. However, there are several things about it I don't like. First and foremost is the physical layout of the meter. I am regularly clicking the button to take a reading when I want to click the up or down buttons to change the f-stop. Doing that results in a lost reading and having to take the light reading once again. And the sensor should point in the opposite direction. It's fine for incident readings but its wrong for reflected readings which is what I mostly use the meter for. Also, the plastic cover of the PC synch terminal has a tab on it and it appears to be very delicate. No way that tab is not going to break if you use the tab to remove the cover which is very tempting because the cover is a very tight fit. Lastly, the meter turns itself off after only about 5 minutes. That's too soon.

I am a professional photographer who owns several different light meters. The more expensive versions are nice in that they do more, but the truth is that most of the extras are not stuff I ever use. For instance, one of my meters will "do the math for me" and tell me the ratio between my main and my fill. The thing is, I am so used to calculating this manually, that I don't use the meter for it. If you understand how f-stops work, then you don't need that feature. And anyone buying a $500 light meter probably knows how f stops work. Further, I don't use pocket wizards (as all my studio lights are now Baja B6s). As such, I use the Dynalight triggers that came with the strobes. And before that, I used Photox triggers. So, again, it is a feature I don't use. I also don't like the touch screens of the newer models. Anyway, I find that this little guy gives me all the information I need, and does it well. In truth, I do actually use it's big brother in the studio, but really this is only because I happen to own the big brother. If my light meters all broke and I had to replace them, I would buy two of these guys. And while I don't use it in the studio, this guy is in my bag, and gets used any time I am on location.

Sekonic is a name that I have known and trusted for decades as a professional photographer. So, I knew it was a name I could trust when purchasing a meter for strobe / flash lighting. I am thrilled to report my faith has been rewarded. This unit presents great dollar value. Metering both incident and reflected, strobe and ambient light, the readings produced are absolutely accurate down to 1/10th of an f-stop (adjustable to 1/3rd increments) if you like that degree of accuracy. The unit also comes with a snap on adapter to read flat lighting for copy work. The meter can be connected by a pc-sync cord to the camera or remotely. Simply push the button on the meter, leave it in place, and fire the strobe. The meter will retain the reading. This is surprising simple to use, compared to its quality and reliable accuracy. About the size of a larger cell phone and surprisingly light weight also.

Sekonic Light Meter does just what I want, for off camera flash exposure mode with just a test, reflective light mode, available light mode, Just set your ISO and Shutter speed that your going to use, and it will give you the f/stop, and your ready to set your camera for your image. Recommended to set your EV steps to 1/3 stops as the same used in camera, (when first time to set up the meter.) Also recommended for doing your settings in manual mode (working in manual.) Comes with a neck strap for easy carry. Some photographers think that this is just another gadget... As they say they don't need one. True, if you experiment with your settings to find the correct exposure for your image. To me it finds the correct exposure faster then experimenting around, and saves time. Can be used for night photography also as the shutter speed go way down past tripod use. Very handy to use, and I love the way it works, easy to use, I think it's worth the money.. I rated it five stars. Thank You.

Pros:Easy to use.Easy to learn how to use.Has a wide range for selecting film ISO.Aperture is more precise and has readings as fractions within each stop interval.Allows incident and reflected light reading.The carrying case, which is a leather bag the size of a wallet, is of premium quality.Lanyard is included, which makes carrying it easy.Another item was included, which included a piece of leather and a string. I am not sure what it is for.Cons:The materials convey a sense of low quality and cheapness, although this may not be true for the sensor and the electronics inside the device.The materials do not feel durable.Overall: Very satisfied with this purchase.

I have kicked around the idea of buying a light meter for some time now and was looking at some of the more expensive ones before deciding (not settling) to buy the Sekonic L-308s. The price can't be beat and after reading reviews all around the web I believe I have made a wise choice. It's small & lightweight but feels very rugged and durable. It's extremely easy to use. I was worried before my purchase about only having TV mode, since I shoot mostly portrait photography, and having to hold the ISO button while scrolling through various exposure combinations but I must say that it is very easy to get the hang of and very easy to do.... I am extremely excited and pleased with this light meter.UPDATE: 11/19/2015Still use this light meter on 99% of all shoots and it still works wonders. Very pleased!

Veramente una manna questi piccoli ma molto utili esposimetri..!Rispetto agli esposimetri integrati nelle fotocamere infatti consentono di misurare con esattezza sia la luce del flash che la luce ambientale, in modo da calcolare un valore che non presenti aree troppo scure o chiare nell'immagine. Basterà impostare il valore di tempo scelto e gli iso, puntare verso la sorgente flash e il valore restituito sarà l'apertura, così se sulla fotocamera avete impostato 2.8 e l'esposimetro restituisce 4.0 dovrete aumentare la potenza del vostro flash o viceversa diminuirla.Il modello superiore del sekonic consente anche di fare l'inverso, cioè di settare l'apertura e lui restituisce il tempo (utile per i time lapse)Pro- Compatto e leggero- Preciso, utile e costringe a "pensare" l'immagine prima di scattarla- Serve una sola batteriaContro- Una costruzione più solida e dei bottoni più grandi sarebbero graditi..- E' possibile solo dare l'input del tempo e degli iso ma non dell'apertura

It is a cute little light meter, giving you accurate F stop, ISO and Shutter speed measurements. The handling is so simple, you can get used to it withing ten minutes. The reading given by the meter is accurate and no more guess work while exposing difficult to expose lighting conditions. It gives reading for both incident and reflected light along with studio flash readings. There is lumidisc provided which can be used while photographing flat artwork or while measuring contrast of flat surface. It runs on 1.5 volt single AA battery. I suggest you better use High Quality Alkaline battery, instead of using ordinary manganese batteries. NO NI-MH rechargeable batteries as they do not have 1.5 volt rating. A high quality alkaline battery should work for more than six months, if you are not using the meter continuously. In short a good piece of camera accessory to have if you are after HQ photography.

He hecho varias pruebas y pese a que a simple vista el Sekonic L308S parece un juguete, su uso es sencillo y la configuración por pasos enteros, medios o tercios es muy sencilla. Trabaja con prioridad a la velocidad, y aunque muchos se quejan es idóneo para poder sincronizar con la velocidad de los flashes en manual, cambiar el f. es tan sencillo como variar los parámetros de ISO/velocidad con los botones o calcularlo.Tiene un modo de cine para calcular según los fps utilizados en la grabación y medición reflejada/incidente para luz natural, flash o flash con cable. El peso es muy reducido por lo que llevarlo encima no te resultará un problema.Con el precio que tiene es un producto 100% recomendado.

I wanted a more modern meter because although my Weston is very accurate, it has its limits - it was never intended for for night photographyfor example - and at 65 years old, cannot expect it to last for ever. I knew very little about modern meters but saw favourable reviews for the L-308. The product description indicated that it would do everything that I might want it to and the price was very reasonable.The instrument is reasonably small and light - definitely pocket sized - and although not made of metal like the Weston, has a robust feel. The instructions do need to be read carefully to understand how to select the various setting and functions, but once understood, it is easy and quick to use. The readings in normal light correspond exactly with the Weston. In very low light, the suggested speed and apperture settings are very similar to what I have previously worked out to be right through a lot of bracketing. Most importantly, the exposures of the resulting photographs are turning out about right!The third-stop function is particularly useful for me. The default settings coincide with modern camera speeds and appertures, but the third-stops also cover the pre-war standard settings on my Leica III.I am no professional and will probably only ever use a limited number of the functions, but it does everything I want it to. For now, I mostly use the L-308 and the Weston together (because I like them both), but the new one is a very worthy successor.

Very good product for price