Sekonic L-358 Flash Master Light Meter by Sekonic Corporation
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Digital camera reviews of Sekonic L-358 Flash Master Light Meter
Digital camera Review: Absolute winner
Summary: 5 Stars
You want a meter for everyday use, that can do almost all the things you need done with out much fuss, this is the one. Helped me in doing some of the things i do, see more at [...]Digital camera Review: Awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
Absolutely love my light meter. It makes shooting a million times easier. Every photographer should have one.Digital camera Review: Does what it's supposed to do - a couple tweaks would've been nice
Summary: 4 Stars
Using primarily as a studio flash meter and for church formals.
Unit meters as expected for a $240 unit, so no applause for that.
I like:
- The retractable lumpishere (from dome, to flat). VERY useful.
- Ability to show ambient/flash as a percentage. Useful.
I HATE:
That the unit requires two hands to operate. For every operation, you
need to hold down one of the functions buttons then scroll the wheel
to change the value. This really stinks, since I'm usually holding
something else in my other hand. Another 'dip' switch, as Sekonic
calls them, should be added that allows the unit to be operated with
one-hand (ie., automatically 'holds' certain function button while you
toggle).
Digital camera Review: Easy to use, but you probably want to change one thing out of the box
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a somewhat advanced amateur and not a profesional, so take my comments with a slight grain of salt.
I got this meter as a Jesus-day present, so I haven't yet had a lot of time to play with it (I'm writing it the same day). But, so far, I'm very impressed with it. I've abused it and my camera for a couple of hours so far.
Basic operation is pretty straightforward, and without even reading instructions it's pretty obvious how it works. The controls are intuitive and well marked, and the display is easy to read.
I've never worked with an incident light meter before, nor has anyone instructed me in how to use one. So, there are a few features that are beyond my understanding at the present time, but that will change with some quality time with the manual. By the way, I was worried that the manual might be difficult to understand, but I think it's actually pretty well written.
All the above being said, this is probably not a tool for the complete novice to photography. I would strongly encourage you to have a fairly good grasp of the fundamentals of photography, most importantly those concerning the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO speed. This product assumes that you know how to work your camera in either aperture or shutter priority modes; if you don't know how to do this, buy the field guide for your camera, experiment a bit, and come back to this item in a few months.
Also, construction is nice. The manual states that it is splash and rain proof (though not "wash" proof), but I'm probably not going to test it. :)
One of the features that I really like about this meter is the option to plug a radio transmitter (like a Pocket Wizard) directly into the unit (in the battery compartment). Makes for a nice easy exposure setup.
Finally, about the f-stop settings. If you're in a controlled environment such that you can stop to use a light meter, my guess is that you're probably shooting in an aperture priority or fully manual mode. Shutter speed is probably not an issue. Out of the box, this meter displays aperture priority settings in full stop increments. Even basic cameras like the Canon Rebel often display stops in 1/3 increments. This setting is changed via DIP switches in the battery compartment. My recommendation is to set the stop increments to 1/3 straight away. On my model, that means moving DIP switches 3 and 4 to "on".
Have fun!
Digital camera Review: Excelent meter
Summary: 5 Stars
Have used it for 8 to 10 years, have worked great for all those years. I use it with strobes mostly, sometimes with contrast light situation for ambient.