anchorlessfilms Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I've been torn lately between buying a spectra IV-a and a sekonic light meter. this will be my first light meter as i am just 19 but i work quite frequently with them but tired of renting and need my own finally. any suggestions on reliability, ease of use, awesomeness, professional standards... etc? thanks! ~Ryan Nethery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert duke Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 The spectra is a fantastic meter, as is some of the sekonics. I own a sekonic 508cine. I love having two meters in one. I have had it for several years and have had no issues with it. The 508 is no longer available, To that end I have heard complaints about the 708 and the 558c. mostly some sort of dumming down the controlability. Check it out yourself though. I know a lot of pros who use the sekonics and a lot that use the spectra. Either one is a good choice for a beginner. The sekonic is made for both still and motion so it has more capabilities than what you might need, which can make for confusion to the uniformed. The sekonics have spot and incident meters in one body making it a 2-4-1 purchase. The spectra is a workhorse. either way you go you will have a great meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchorlessfilms Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 The spectra is a fantastic meter, as is some of the sekonics. I own a sekonic 508cine. I love having two meters in one. I have had it for several years and have had no issues with it. The 508 is no longer available, To that end I have heard complaints about the 708 and the 558c. mostly some sort of dumming down the controlability. Check it out yourself though. I know a lot of pros who use the sekonics and a lot that use the spectra. Either one is a good choice for a beginner. The sekonic is made for both still and motion so it has more capabilities than what you might need, which can make for confusion to the uniformed. The sekonics have spot and incident meters in one body making it a 2-4-1 purchase. The spectra is a workhorse. either way you go you will have a great meter. thanks for the word! anyone else have any horror stories about either meter? or just bad news about them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 I <3 my Spectra IV :) Just sayin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Chris Keth Posted January 26, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted January 26, 2008 I'm going to interject a third option: a minolta IV. I love mine and know a lot of other people who love theirs. It's very simple to control, very hard to accidentally change something and throw yourself off, and it's nice and small compared to a lot of other meters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member John Brawley Posted January 26, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted January 26, 2008 I've been torn lately between buying a spectra IV-a and a sekonic light meter. this will be my first light meter as i am just 19 but i work quite frequently with them but tired of renting and need my own finally. any suggestions on reliability, ease of use, awesomeness, professional standards... etc? thanks! ~Ryan Nethery I think it's already been discussed here a bit. not sure if you looked in the archives. Anyways, I have the spectra...in fact...i have TWO of them ! I love it just because the thing is so bullet proof and SO simple. The plus side with the sekonic is that you get two meters for the pice of one. But i reckon that's it's downside. it's got SOOOO many more buttons, and it's physically bigger. I've heard from other DP's (who own sekonics) who've messed up shots because of not setting their meter's correctly. It's just a little more fiddly. Some will like it. Some won't and will find it a bit overwhelming when they are under the pump. (and i own sekonc spot meter and minotla colour temp meter ) jb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I nearly bought a Minolta one, but then they sold their meter production to some other company, I don't remember the name right now. So you have to send it to them to get it calibrated I suppose...and who knows what their customer service is like. Gabriel at Spectra is great and a good communicator so you know your meter is in good hands while it's away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Chris Keth Posted January 27, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted January 27, 2008 o you have to send it to them to get it calibrated I suppose...and who knows what their customer service is like. Quality light metric. They'll calibrate anything made by anybody. I actually want to see if they'll calibrate and make a few new slides for my old Spectra Professional so I can use it as a backup meter. I'd like to use it with slides but my set only goes up to 400. I'd prefer to cover up to 1000 even though I'll rarely go that high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchorlessfilms Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 thanks for the tips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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