Small, Light, portable, uses 1 AA battery (this is important, as you can get AA's pretty much anywhere in the world), runs forever on 1 battery (mine is about to be out of juice, but have been using it for over a year on the same battery!) and of course, very accurate. The Flash metering is accurate as well.

Lack of Aperture priority Battery test comes up first, wasting time Sometimes forget to read the bars, and so you might be as much as almost a full stop off.

My friend who's a pro, wanted me to buy a Minolta meter. They were a bit big, and there were a lot of functions that I thought I'd never use. The meter I finally fell in love with was this Sekonic. It fit my four primary requirements: 1) Small enough to fit in my shirt pocket. 2) Uses AA batteries 3) Easy enough to use without an instruction manual 4) ACCURATE (After all, if it's not accurate, everything else is useless right?) Well, a friend of mine wanted a meter recommendation, and I told him I was going to buy this one for myself. So he bought one. He felt the use of a meter too cumbersome, and so he decided to sell it. I bought it off of him for half price, and have been using it ever since. It's small, and it does one thing and one thing only, gives you an accurate metered reading. That's exactly what I wanted. It is very accurate (tested it against a bunch of bigger sekonic models as well as Minolta models, and it yielded the same consistent results. So far, it's been near perfect. I would make a few adjustments, but overall, wonderful. I would have liked to have another button that would have let you switch between shutter priority vs. aperture priority. Also, I would have preferred a decimal vs. the bar system. I would have also preferred that the battery test didn't show up right away when you powered up, it does indeed, steal precious seconds. I would have preferred had you held the power button for a few seconds, it would show the battery level, or gives a warning when the batteries are almost dead. I have used this meter with slide film, and it gives accurate exposure. It's solid, no real moving parts, and have been very reliable, in fact, more reliable than my friend's other meters. It's got a leather case so you can carry it on the belt, but I usually carry it in the shirt pocket. One of the advantages of it's size. Repeatability of metering is excellent. I love the compactness and simplicity. It's easy enough for a beginner, but is pro level on all fronts.

Customer Service

None needed thus far.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta IV, Minolta V, Minolta VI.

All

no spot meter

This is really a PRO meter at a amateur price.It is as simple as that.It follows me everywhere even at the studio for flash measurements and it is so light and easy to use.Its like a box of small cigarettes -wauw.It is so very precise and accurate and i use it often with my beloved Pentax 67 and others and the pics get Awesome! Bravo Sekonic( next time make it with a spot meter please!) Buy it .Now.

Customer Service

none

Similar Products Used:

many from gossen minolta sekonic and alike

Light weight, cheap, multifuntional. Uses very little battery. Very accurate also. PC socket may be used very conveniently.

Has low sensativity in low light situations. Has cheap feel to it.

This lightmeter has all the features I need to take good pictures. I take this meter wherever my camera goes, whether I take wedding pictures, sports or portraits.

NO MOVING PARTS!!! Easy battery replacement, accuracy & consistency.

None I've found for my photography.

I've owned many meters and this is my favorite. I don't need anything fancy, just reliability and consistency. This meter succeeds in spades. I've had 2 Luna-Pro's, for example, and both required repairs within a year, based on the moving needle and rotating exposure dial. I love the 'no moving parts' about this. I had two Gossen Pilot meters, loved their tiny size, but again, they weren't consistent and ended up going in the shop. I've had this meter more than two years and it's worked perfectly. And, no, I'm not hard on equipment, but do a lot of walking, vibrating, etc. I love this meter!

Customer Service

No service needed!

Similar Products Used:

Gossen Luna-Pro, Gossen Luna-Six, Gossen Pilot, Gossen scout, Weston Master

Build quality Truly pocket sized and lightweight Accuracy and consistancy AA Battery Comes with a really nice pouch that can attach to you belt Also comes with a Lumidisk attachment

To make this meter absolutely perfect I would add: Aperture and shutter priority Memory function If this added another say £20 to the price it would be worth it

I''ve just bought this beautiful little Sekonic L308BII at a good price and I am absolutely pleased as punch!! It''s great. I have a Sekonic L778 Dual Spot which is 9 Years old and very accurate athough quite cumbersome to carry about which is the reason for buying this truly pocket sized meter that will go anywhere. The first thing I did was to compare the L308 with the spot and I was astounded at the results. Both meters matched - exactly! Ambient measurement reading with the L308 precisely matched the spot reading of a Kodak grey card. Reflected reading off the grey with the L308 precisley matched the L778!! Nine years between the two meters and they match exactly...I tried to explain to my wife what all this meant and how significant this all was but the look on her face just told me perhaps I should ''get a life!'' Anyone reading this will know how it feels when you buy a new peice of kit and find that it more than lives up to the sales blurb and really does deliver the goods...you relax happy knowing you''ve made the right choice. The money saved by not buying something which would give me a shed load of features which I would never use I can now spend on film and D&P.

Customer Service

Not needed yet - but just take a look at Sekonics web sight and compare to Minolta''s!

Similar Products Used:

Sekonic L778 Dual Spot Minolta Autometer III (Bought secondhand and found to be three stops out) Westonmaster V with Invercone (given to me by my father inlaw - accurate but I thank my maker I was b

light weight, easy to use, can toggle between f-stops/shutter speeds with great ease.

non so far,don''t think backlight will matter to me,although that is a perk.

I''ve just received my L-308b,not bII, I must say & agree that it is very light & easy to handle. I''m still getting use to all controls which so far have not confused me at all. This is my first light meter & it appears to be very accurate, I''ll test it today with some slide film for assurance. I bought this meter 1)because of the studio light set I''ve purchased 2) due to the great reviews it''s received 3) I got it used at a great price from KEH. I''ll update my review in a few weeks after testing & my trip to New York for some shooting time. But so far, so good.

Customer Service

asked them to send me a manual, received it in 2 days at no charge,very friendly people.

Similar Products Used:

have used my fathers gossen pro f,liked it, but no sync socket

High level of accuracy, small enough to slip in top pocket when on a shoot

None so far

This is the only meter I need to take on a shoot, due to its reliability and accuracy. Very pleased with it! This meter would serve amateur and professional alike.

Customer Service

Never needed

Similar Products Used:

Minolta IV

very accurate,small, light and that little incident adaptor looks so neat in the little bag

nope

buy it, its cheap and very good

Customer Service

never

Similar Products Used:

none this is all i need

my review is of the L-308b, not the II
Excellent meter, does everything anyone would need except detailed spot metering. The battery lasts forever, and the meter always tells you this when you turn it on. Amazingly broad shutter and aperture range, beyond most users' needs. Easy one-hand operation.

NONE

I read a review, went to the store, saw it and bought it. A perfect light meter, and I only wish I had the newer version.

Customer Service

never needed any

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Autometer III, IV

1. Cheap
2. Accurate
3. Compact Size(easy to use)

Nope

Highly recommended!
It will be very helpful for accurate exposure.
If it will be broken, I would buy again.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

None