Altitude and Light Meters

[Stuart Eagon]

I recently purchased a Sekonic L-858D-U light meter. I am currently reading through the manual and just read the line "do not use at altitudes above 2,000m (6,561 feet)."

I may be taking part in a project in which there is a strong possibility that I would be filming at altitudes above 2,000m.

Does anyone have experience with taking this light meter (or other ones) to high altitude?  If so, I'm wondering if you have actually encountered problems with your light meter at altitudes above the listed 2,000m?

Perhaps e-mailing Sekonic directly is the best option, but I wanted to ask around to see if anyone else could speak to this from experience.

[Stuart Eagon]

Anyone here have experience with taking a light meter to 8,000 feet or so?

[Jordan Beard]

I recently used a Sekonic L-308X-U light meter above 8500ft in Ethiopia. Exposed and metered normally and didn't have any issues. I'm sure there's some technical reason they give that warning but this was my experience. I would definitely recommend using a UV filter if you're shooting at high altitudes.

[Daniel Klockenkemper]

I took a quick look at the 758's manual and it doesn't have any altitude warnings, only an advisory that the display might update slowly in low temperatures.  

Googling for Sekonic and altitude, it looks like there are only altitude warnings for the touchscreen models...  I'd speculate that the touchscreen they used might not be vented to accommodate a large change in air pressure.  It's possible that pressure could build up in the display and cause damage as you ascend. 

Stuart, did you ever get in touch with Sekonic?  What did they say?