Sekonic L-398A Light Meter Studio Deluxe III (401-399),Black

This the third of these I have used. The first was the Norwood director, the next a studio S and finally the L398. The Norwood continues to work, the Studio S is not a backup and I find the L398 is exactly the same meter with some easier to address features. Yes, I have taken some bad shots with these meters but it was operator error. The meters are dead on and in agreement with each other. These meters have accompanied me in the air and tp the ground by parachute, been on long bike trips and for household portraits. They are simple to learn and their operation become second nature in just days. I have used a well know brand with a battery and I have had the batteries die in the middle of nowhere at the worst possible time. The Sekonic aways works. Buy one and you will not regret it.

Background: I own a Sekonic L-758DR, a Gossen Digisix 2, and a Lumu light meter. This is now my favorite light meter, above all those others. Why? Well, the L-758DR (really, they need to work on these names cause I can never remember these stupid numbers), may be supposedly weatherproof, but I think they are some of the shoddiest meters on the planet. The buttons stick, the buttons break, and the unit feels cheap for how much money it costs. The L-398A is solid, and feels solid. No sticky push buttons = nothing to wear out or pop off. The needle button on this is a simple spring; no circuit boards to replace. The only reason I still have a L-758DR? Wireless sync with my Bowens via PocketWizard. Really though, that's about it. The spot meter never seems sensitive enough to read the shadows I point it at so that's a non starter either.So what about the Gossen? I hear a lot of people saying they would go with that over the L-398A. Probably a Ken Rockwell thing. The Digisix has a bunch of digital features like an alarm clock and temperature. But so what? I can't tell you how many times the stupid button got pressed in a bag and the alarm was set and I get woken up in the middle of the night trying to figure out where the hell that phantom beeping is coming from. Plus you have to press and hold to change ISO, which is wasted seconds when you're trying to work fast. I like that the Digisix reads some low EV, but the dial is set up backwards to how my mind works. Maybe I'm the only one, but if I'm on some third stops away from a full EV, it takes time for my brain to figure out if I'm increasing or decreasing time when reading the dial. The Sekonic is laid out the opposite way; the apertures and the speeds increase towards the left, which make it so much easier on my brain. The real problem though is that you have to awkwardly hold the Gossen to take your readings, and it's hard not to have your hand affect the light. It's like it was meant to be attached to the shoe on a camera (which I have the -added accessory- to do), but that's only useful with the reflected meter mode. The Sekonic was designed to be held and make a reading at the same time moving only your thumb. Much more ergonomic.And the Lumu? Great meter with a lot of options! But really, if you're shooting film (which I'm assuming most people buying this who aren't cinematographers are), using your phone is a bit awkward, especially when you have to hold it upside down, and have have to keep flipping orientation between readings or autolock. And there's the battery issue. But if I need to sweep a backdrop in footcandles to check eveness, the Lumu gives me a digital readout to the tenths, so I can get an order of magnitude more scientific on my scene that I ever knew I needed to get. Honestly, I use it over the Sekonic in these sitautions. But for general indoor and outdoor reading I prefer using the Sekonic. I do have a Lumu Power on order, and really that along with this Sekonic will be in my bag for all situations (Lumu Power for low light, digital precision and color temp, and Sekonic for regular EV reading). The L-758DR will primarily collect dust and fall apart with long dead batteries.Cons of the Sekonic:- EV 4 @ ISO 100 is not very sensitive. But it's sensitive enough in my opinion. If you're shooting a medium that needs precision metering (like slide film), then that's not really a limitation because your scene is going to need at least that much light to record anything within useful settings anyway. If you're in a situation that dips below EV 4, put it on a tripod and use a manual preset from an EV chart, factoring in reciprocity. Or add lighting like the cinematographers this thing was invented for would do. The Sekonic then becomes the threshold to tell you if you have just enough light to shoot with sensible settings or if you're going to call the room candlelight and give it a default low light exposure. If you're shooting low light on film there's no getting past the testing you're going to need to do to determine what works best with your camera and stock. If you're shooting digital.. who cares. Pump the ISO and chimp it, man.- Analog needle: there's always a worry about damaging a needle, but judging by the reports of people using these things for decades I don't think I'll worry about it too much. My L-758DR needs 1000x more babying than this thing does.-Size: ergonomic, yes. But can be a bit fat and heavy for a shirt pocket. Unless you're on a set, you're going to look like a doofus if you've got it swinging from your neck. Or you can put it in the supplied fanny pack. Either way, you're going to be nerding it.-Reflected readings: wouldn't trust it.-Flat disc attachment: jury's out on how much I'll use it.

I began working as a photographer in the 1957. There were two different situations that required two different light meters: outdoors, the Weston Master. In the Studio, the Norwood Director or its clone, the Sekonic 398.I did little studio work so I loved and depended on my Weston. That technology got old and unfashionable, but that meter still gave me the information I needed for great pictures. I moved on to other professions and the camera equipment sat on a shelf. The shutters got rusty and the leather got moldy. And the sensor in my Weston died. Eventually I retired and got back into photography. Digital is great. And whaduyu know, there was a place in England would rebuild my Weston Master IV!. but it died again. (Why does the built in light meter on my Rollieflex, made in 1962, still work, with the same technology?)But now that repair company in England has gone out of business, but the Sekonic 398 is still around and you can get it new. I Love It! Fits right in the bag with my Panasonic LX5 and gives me readings I understand even if it is not the Weston. And it never needs batteries.

I don't know how I've managed for so long without a light meter. This is a game changer. I always figured a light reader was for film photography, and over-the-top for digital photography, but boy am I wrong. My Sekonic L-398A arrived today, and I've spent the past 3 hours learning how to use it (thank you YouTube) and experimenting with it both indoors and outdoors, with the high slide and without, and in various settings with various subjects. The results have been absolute perfection. I think it's time to say goodbye to in-camera metering and say hello to manual metering.If you're contemplating a light meter, stop - just buy one and you'll never look back.

Incident readings right on with my digital meter. Can not really compare reflected readings as the area of my digital meter is only 7 degrees but seems accurate if you know how to adjust for scene conditions. For general us prefer it to my digital meter that has a startup time plus eats batteries. Nice not having to carry spare batteries! Nice being able to look at the scale and see all the shutter speed/aperture combinations. This meter looks a little complicated at first but is easy to use and provides a lot of information at a glance. The only time I use the digital now is when I need more of a spot reflected reading.

This model has been around so long there must be a million reviews, so I will keep mine short. I have had an L-398 for about 20 years, and I bought this one for use by my employer. This is a well made, solid, basic light meter with capability of measuring both incident and reflected light. The sensor swivels to facilitate reading the meter while making the measurement, and the needle can be locked in place to hold the measurement if desired. No batteries required! I carry it on my belt in the case that was included.

I received my light meter today, and was so excited to test it out. Upon taking off the dome, I noticed what seemed to be an abnormality with the light sensor. Doesn’t seem right so I’ll be returning it, but does feel like solid meter build otherwise.