Spotmeters the good, the bad and the ugly.

[Ian]

I'm looking for a spotmeter for my up comming LF outfit. Any advice and coments would be welcome.

Ian.

[jovo]

The Adorama digital spot meter (which is a rebranded Soligor meter) has worked well for me for years. They're about $250 new, which is far less than the Pentax meter that it emulates. Certainly worth a look. Both the Soligor and the Pentax (especialy the older version) show up regularly on ebay too, btw. Definately consider the digi over the analog....they're much easier to see in low light. According to Richard Ritter, digital meters fare much better than analog when dropped or immersed. Good luck.

[Frank Petronio]

My Pentax Digital Spot has been going strong since 1984. That says it all.

[kaiyen]

Every so often a Soligor can be nabbed on ebay for about $50-75. They usually go for more than that (~$150). I just got one for $28 and it's dead accurate. This is the Spot Sensor II model. You have to be patient, though - I had snipes on over a dozen auctions until I finally won one at my desired price point.

Not sure if you're on a budget, but it's an option to consider.

allan

[Deniz]

I am very very happy with my Soligor Spot Sonsor II which i bought for $100.

If you have the funds, go for a Pentax digital meter, if not go for soligor(adorama)

[blanco_y_negro]

Gossen.

[Rlibersky]

I bought my Pentax in 1988. Never needed another one or fixing.

[Dug]

Big ol' clunky Pentax ANALOG spotmeter. Jeez - all this digital talk on APUG

Seriously, watching the needle move in the spotmeter allows my little brain to calculate the number of stops in a more efficient manner. YMMV

[gchpaco]

I use the Adorama analog spot meter (thought I was getting the digital). It's actually not bad; I presume the digital is similar save for a little LED number, but I don't photograph in low light with my 4x5 particularly often and so the visibility issue isn't a big deal to me.

[Loose Gravel]

Ian, you need to decide if you want new or is used okay. Pentax is a big favorite, both analog and digi. I don't know if they are still available new. You also need to know whether you'd like one that is spectrally corrected for BW, such as the Zone 6 modifieds or the Pocket Spot. Some folks don't like the Pentax and others, because they can look like a gun (how sick is this?) in this crazy society. Will you need flash metering? These decisions will narrow your choices.

Personally, I've used Pentax for years, but now use the Pocket Spot.