Good Old Fashion Light Meter

[Stephen Baldassarre]

I have several light meters but have an affinity for the Gossen Luna Pro SBC.  I currently have two of them but they won't last forever; I broke one a year ago by dropping it on a concrete floor.  They're mechanical devices, the domes on some units I see online are obviously yellowed and mine will probably do the same over time.  The thing about this meter: you can take a reading, turn the dial till the needle reaches "0", then every combo of F-stop and shutter speed on the dial will yield a good exposure.  What makes this my favorite meter is I can have the dial set and click the button to see "+1.5 stops", or take reflected light readings to see how highlights/shadows will render.  I can go on-scene and set the meter for say, 100 ISO, 1/60, F4 and the meter will simply show how many stops over/under I am in a given area.  Now I know you can SORT of do that with modern meters but they all seem to do it in a less intuitive way.  Like, instead of saying "-1" when I want to light for F4, it'll say F2.8.  Also, I don't like navigating menues or click through options to get it to behave the way I like (I knew a DP that just set his meter to show Lux and didn't bother with anything else).  The dials just stay where I put them.  It's a minor nit pick, I get it, but I feel I can work more comfortably with a meter that's older than I am than the newer ones I've used.  Do any of you know of a MODERN meter that shows relative exposure in stops?

[Tyler Fukuda]

This is a fantastic meter and I keep one as a back up. I like and have gotten used to my L608 which has become my go to meter. It’s also combo which comes in handy when you need the spot so I’m not pulling out a separate meter.
 

What I hate most about the Gossen is that the lumisphere is on the top, which makes it really awkward to point towards camera as you are looking down at the meter or you were turning at 90° on its side.

 

But I agree with you in the null system in which you can just turn the dial and know how many stops you are over or under.

 

I don’t think there is anything modern that has this type of system, but once you get used to the newer stuff you sort of forget about using the older meter anyhow

[Stephen Baldassarre]

17 hours ago, Tyler Fukuda said:

What I hate most about the Gossen is that the lumisphere is on the top, which makes it really awkward to point towards camera as you are looking down at the meter or you were turning at 90° on its side.

That actually doesn't bother me.  I put the meter in front of my face and point forward, click, then look at the meter.  Since it retains the reading for a few seconds, I have time to turn the dial afterwards.  Sometimes when I'm lighting for stage, I'll turn it sideways and point it towards the audience while I walk across the stage, holding the button to see the needle move, VERY HANDY!

I've been suspecting I might have to bite the bullet on this one and "modernize".  I feel like a simple software update could make a newer meter do what I want though.

[Don H Marks]

I use the Sekonic l558. I don't have the Cine version, but all the Cine versoin adds is easier adaptation of the exposure to shutter angle. 

The L558 has two main ways to manage exposure deviation. One way is to take advantage of its two ISO seettings that can be quickly switched back and forth. Second is to use the "Filter Factor" which is easily set with the dial and displayed on the main screen. 

For analyzing a scene it can do averaging and read out lighting ratios. 

[Abdul Stone Jackson]

I never had the pleasure of owning the Luna Pro. A DP showed me how to use it on a shoot once. It's solid! I was taught with the Sekonic L398 and fell in love with it. I’ve worked with other DPs who absolutely love their Gossen Luna Pro, and some use it as a backup. I’ve gotten used to my Sekoninc 858, but I will always have the 398 as a backup. I feel the Gossen Luna Pro is a better mechanical meter (Compared to the L398); however, over the years, I just became comfy with Sekonic.   

To Echo DON, You can do averaging with an L558 or any of the newer Sekonic models. Just take and save your multiple F-stop readings. Then, you can calculate an average in the unit. 

[Tyler Fukuda]

8 hours ago, Stephen Baldassarre said:

That actually doesn't bother me.  I put the meter in front of my face and point forward, click, then look at the meter.  Since it retains the reading for a few seconds, I have time to turn the dial afterwards.  Sometimes when I'm lighting for stage, I'll turn it sideways and point it towards the audience while I walk across the stage, holding the button to see the needle move, VERY HANDY!

I've been suspecting I might have to bite the bullet on this one and "modernize".  I feel like a simple software update could make a newer meter do what I want though.

Well there ya go. Honestly you could probably get away with purchasing a few of these and they'd still be cheaper than anything modern. I think it could also be handy to find someone who repairs electronics to diagnose a broken one so if it goes down, maybe you replace a small component and viola! you're fixed

[Stewart McLain]

I'm kind of just echoing Abdul here but, the Sekonic L-398A Studio Deluxe 3 is a modern analog meter.  (modern meaning that is of recent production. I don't think it is appreciably different than the meters they were making back in the 50s.)  It's a little less fancy than the SBC.  It employs reflective metering using a 30 degree angle so it's not as precise an area as the SBC.  Other than that though, I think you might find it similar to use.  You  can use the + - EV system if you want and you can watch the needle swing as you walk through different areas of the set.  

I might be wrong, but I think it's the only option out there if you're looking for a brand new analog meter.

https://sekonic.com/sekonic-l-398a-studio-deluxe-iii-analog-light-meter/?srsltid=AfmBOooWI8hF5FauNyJuHBqW_OMcRaSNjHH4K9SjNfIUP9T0gWBiCo2M

[Stephen Baldassarre]

On 2/14/2025 at 6:56 PM, Abdul Stone Jackson said:

I feel the Gossen Luna Pro is a better mechanical meter (Compared to the L398); however, over the years, I just became comfy with Sekonic.

My first light meter was (and still is) an old GE I bought from a clerk at a local camera store for $5.  I mean, it was his personal first light meter and sold it to me when I was in high school.  It still works and is fairly accurate, but just measures footcandles, which you enter into a rotary computer on the case.  I have an old, lower-end Sekonic that does similarly, but I like the Gossen better.

Now here's another consideration: I've heard a few people say that older meters don't play well with LED lighting.  I still work primarily with tungsten lighting but I do a some hybrid stuff as well and never noticed a difference.  I tried looking up the spectral response of silicon photocells but it gets kind of murky.  Some types are noticeably more efficient in the blue end of the spectrum, others are fairly flat across the spectrum.  I suppose I could grab an RGB light and test to see which flavor my meter has.

[JB Earl]

i love the 398A but had too stop using it some years ago.  We're often working with only a few FC and it's just not accurate enough down there.  I suspect the Luna Pro is the same.  

[Giray Izcan]

Spectra Professional 

[Stephen Baldassarre]

On 3/20/2025 at 11:06 AM, JB Earl said:

i love the 398A but had too stop using it some years ago.  We're often working with only a few FC and it's just not accurate enough down there.  I suspect the Luna Pro is the same.  

I figure out the camera settings I want and light to that.  I'd be hard pressed to get satisfying results shooting in anything less than about 60 Lux.