Ease of use.
The scales marked out all the way to extreme values.
Will do Cine f.p.s. speeds.
(See an online manual on the web).
Battery cover stays put if it is screwed all the way, it will not fall off.
Rugged and lightweight.

No deluxe features:
1)It won't work on incidence, only reflected light.
2)No auxiliary swing out panel for very low light situations.

In 20 years of using the L188, never got a bad reading! Of course I usually know what the meter is going to say before consulting it, but when the guess is wrong then I go by the meter meter reading, it is trustworthy. Takes a G13 type battery. Specifically the Energizer EPX76 (silver oxide chemistry) was always my choice. A better lanyard and case than the Sekonic supplied accessories are advisable.

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None! This gets the job done.

Very small, flat and light weight. Can easily and comfortably fit into a shirt pocket. Simple and direct to use for general purpose, non professional photography.

Battery cover is easy to lose and impossible to replace.

Someone was kind enough to give me this meter because it did not work. I cleaned up the corrosion in the battery compartment and it was as good as new. I use it as a general purpose meter when taking pictures with some of my classic cameras which either do not have meters or the meters in them are untrustworthy or simply do not work. My only problem with it is that I lost the battery cover and I can't replace it. I just bought another one of these on eBay for$29 as a backup.

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Sekonic Auto Lumi 86 (older selenium meter, a little smaller but thicker and heavier)

Compact and easy to use.

none

I have bought it to yield an optimum value for the focus of my 8mm camera. It is very handy, and quite useful for the movie camera.

size, weight, ease of use, battery life

accuracy not always 100%

For the money, this is a great little meter. I bought it to use with a large format camera and have not had any problems with exposure. Of course, it is not always 100% accurate, but the variance was nothing that couldn't be compensated for in the darkroom. It is extremely lightweight any easy to use, but sometimes I found myself carrying my 35mm camera with a built in meter just to double check the exposure. If you need a meter but don't want to bust the bank, this is a good deal.

Customer Service

never used

Battery check still is ok after using the meter since 1996; which is 6 years ago.....I use this meter alot...

None; this meter is not a spot meter; its angle of acceptance is about 75 degrees....

I bought this meter because it meters down to 1/15 @f1.4 with ASA 400 film; is of low cost; and will fit in ones pants pocket........(unlike my main full bore meter; the Gossen luna Pro)...... It only weighs 51 grams...My meter reads with 1/2 stop of my 25 year old Luna Pro; so I am happy......

Have not found yet.

If I could start it again, I would not buy this product. Simple as it looks, it never give you a stable meausuring. To start with, it alway 2-3 stops off compared with the meter on my Nikon FM2n, or, another meter, Sherperd 990, which I like very much. That is OK as long as it stays constant. However, it is always within 2-3 stops off, or, sometimes close to the reading of another meter. I never trust to use it, but as a rough reference. It is not worth $80 some dollars as some verdors price it at all.

Low cost

Photocell need some kind of shroud. Measuring angle is too large.

I would not recommend it.

Customer Service

None

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Minolta Flash4
Gossen LunaProSBC

The cost facter when compared to the quality of the light meter is outstanding. It is very user friendly while being small and light in weight.

I would have liked to see a full length neck strap included with the meter. I also felt that a better case could have been provided for the meter.

If you are looking for a light meter that is both easy use and carry, I don't believe you can beat this one.

Customer Service

The manufacter has included a mail in coupon for a free extended warranty and a book about using light meters. I believe the promotion is good through the end of this month. The book has a value of $19.95.

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I have owned some very expensive meters only to find that I seldom used the functions that caused the extra expense.