[geru2000]

Thanks for all your input! I haven't made it through all the replies yet!
The light meter is a Sekonic Flashmate L0308S.

I have the Sekonic 308S bought it last month. I don't or won't use it all the time but there are many times it is used especially inside and with flash, for the most part the camera does a pretty good job of metering the light.

With this meter you can measure reflective and incident light as well as flash.

I have the K30 and I can tell you that the camera and Sekonic meter readings are seldom the same. The sekonic seems to get it right much more than the cameras meter.

When I use the Sekonic I just set the camera as it recommends and don't bother with the the light meter in the camera which in many cases shows 1 to 2 stops lower.

[gofour3]

I have a decades old Gossen Luna Pro SBC

Yep I also use one frequently for my Pentax 6x7 & 67 cameras, the Gossen is perfect for shooting b&w film where you need to add EF for coloured filters.

Phil.

[stevebrot]

Thanks for all your input! I haven't made it through all the replies yet!
The light meter is a Sekonic Flashmate L0308S.

The L-308S is a very nice unit and worth using, IMHO*.

Strong points:

• Size/weight
• Flash metering
• Supports incident measurements

Too bad it does not have:

• Extended sensitivity. The sensitivity (low and high) is about the same as the meter in your camera.
• Spot metering

High sensitivity would be nice, but is not particularly important. The flash capabilities are a big plus in my opinion. The lack of spot metering is not a big deal and is pretty much the norm.


Steve

* Seriously considered purchase of this model a few years back when I was meter shopping...

[tibbitts]

Just looking at the specifications, it seems like it would be useful mainly for flash. If you anticipate demands for flash, particularly multi-flash setups, that might be a good reason to keep it.

I'm not knowledgeable about current meter offerings (well, my L398 is still current, I guess... but definitely not recommended, at least not by me), but my guess is you'd pay a lot more for a new meter that does flash, incident and spot, and has a substantially extended EV range.

If it was a gift, and you can exchange it for another photo-related item that you need/want more, I know I wouldn't be offended if I'd given it to you, since the intent to give you something for photography would still be realized. However you might try to determine whether the person who gave it to you has some photography experience, and feels strongly that a light meter would help you, in which case you might factor that in, and either keep it, or exchange it for a meter with more features.

[TraciA]

I've decided that it is not something that I need at this time and have returned it to b&h for store credit. I was beyond the 30 day return window. So now I need to decide what to buy next. I am thinking of maybe a strobe & umbrella. I definitely need a reflector. I'm waiting until they confirm that I have a balance w/ them before I go "shopping".

Thanks for all your replies!

[tibbitts]

I've decided that it is not something that I need at this time and have returned it to b&h for store credit. I was beyond the 30 day return window. So now I need to decide what to buy next. I am thinking of maybe a strobe & umbrella. I definitely need a reflector. I'm waiting until they confirm that I have a balance w/ them before I go "shopping".

Thanks for all your replies!

Thanks for following up and letting everyone know what you decided.

[adwb]

If you buy a strobe and a umbrella you should buy a light stand to put them on, a radio trigger to activate the flash remotely and a Seconic l308 meter to measure the flash and get actuate exposures first time.