Sekonic L-308X-U Flashmate Light Meter (401-305) with Deluxe case

This, along with a Color Checker Passport are necessities on a set for both new-ish gaffers and DPs that want to make quality films/tv shows/commercials and work in the industry or even those that see themselves as indie filmmakers. Granted, over time, your eyes will attune well enough to lighting that this meter just becomes a safeguard to check your work, but even then it's nice to have this gadget for insurance. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles. There's no spot meter and I prefer one in some instances. It's a simple tool, but it's accurate and won't let you down. I use it a lot, mainly to check the consistency of light on green screens before shoots. I had to get the optional lumidisc for that. Not sure why it isn't included at this price point, but all in all, the best budget light meter for beginners and intermediates when you can't afford the top of the line ones.

I finally upgraded from a Cambion EF-1. It's about 43 years old and had served me well, but this new Sekonic L-308X-U is so much smaller and easier to use that I should have bought one years ago. I no longer need to attach my light meter to my flash transmitter with a sync cord when using it, since the Sekonic measures the flash without needing a sync cord. The lighted screen of the Sekonic is a big help too, since the screen clearly shows the ISO, shutter speed, and the F Stop readings, so you can see all three while taking every reading. With my old EF-1 I had to be careful not to bump the ISO and shutter speed dials off position or my resulting F Stop readings would become meaningless and I somehow managed to do this often.

A light meter that is absolutely necessary especially when you are shooting film.And this is an affordable light meter, worth the money.However the reflected light metering is not useful. I will certainly go for the more professional model with spot reflected metering.

Simple and easy to use product. Good value for you money and if your are beginner for photography, great product to have.

Excellent light meter. Works for ambient and flash. Flash metering takes ambient light into account (as it ought to do).Problem is setting the X-sync interval, and keeping precision. In normal mode, exposure time may be set in full stop increments from one second, to ¹/500s, then ¹/75th, ¹/80th, ¹/90th, ¹/100th. In this mode, the meter shows ¹/10th stop precision, so one's studio strobes can be set accurately. Why is this a problem? Because my X-sync interval is ¹/180s.I can change the mode, so that the exposure time can be set in ½ stop increments, then set the exposure time to ¹/180s, but then the meter no longer shows ¹/10th stop values, defaulting to ½ stop precision.The mode can also be changed to ⅓ stop increments for exposure time, with the meter showing ⅓ stop precision. Again, this means that I cannot set the exposure time on the meter to ¹/180s.Nevertheless, great meter for continuous and strobe lighting, or mixed lighting conditions. It has other features too, such as one touch metering. In strobe mode, press the button once, and it is ready to meter the strobe, giving a value when the flash occurs. Not happy with the lighting? Want to adjust the strobes? Go ahead, fire again. The new value shows on flash, no need to press the button again.It also has a sync-cord socket, for metering on strobe trigger, —I do not use this feature, as I have a radio tigger in my hand,— and two cine modes, for those who do cinematography or vlogging, and can work in incident or reflected light mode. There is an optional accessory, the Lumidisc, (about 12% of the cost of this product), used for measuring light ratios, or checking for consistency of flat surface lighting, or light fall-off.PROs → Fantastic meter, high precision, multiple modes, high EV range.CONs→ Does not offer certain exposure times at highest precision setting.

I like everything from this product,as a beginner in photography,this product will help me obtain the best exposure and understand how it works.

Im having a bit of trouble using it but it may be my ignorance. I cant figure out why i cant get the shutter speed i want programmed, it jumps speeds

The ease of use and its accuracy. I have nothing bad to say about this light meter.