Anyone know the quick & dirty on the differences between these two meters? I was looking for an L-558 but noticed the L-508 which is noticeably less expensive.

Hi Alex,

Here's my understanding of the main differences:

The 508 has no display in the viewfinder, the 558 has.

The 508 will accept the Minolta Booster II and the little plug-in incident dome, the 558 won't.

The calibration of the incident and spot are independent on the 558, they aren't on the 508.

The 508 has a 1° to 5° spot, the 558 is 1° only. Who uses anything other than the 1° setting of the 508? I don't.

By the way, the L-758DR is now available, and it may be cheaper than the 558. My brief review of it is here (http://www.hybridphoto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80) on Hybridphoto.com

Best,
Helen

Thanks Helen, that helps a lot. I had not heard of the L-758DR yet. I opted for the L-558. A new toy is on the way! :)

I have both meters, the 508 is my backup. I use the 558 in aperture priority mode as a spot meter and can access the half stops(like 6.3, 13, 19, etc), while the 508 does not seem to be able to do this. Makes things really difficult for me when I have to use my backup meter.

I just double checked and I still can't get the 508 to read the between stops, and I haven't been able to figure out how to use the little number in parenthesis after the f stop. Comparing the two meters against each other the 508 seems to read scenes as needing slightly more exposure than the 558, but I suspect it's that decimal reading I'm not sure about or how to apply to the exposure time that throws the readings off.