Light Meter

[Jamesthefirst]

I have an old Nikon F and i can't find the parts for the light meter. i will have to buy a light meter but do not have any experience with handhelds. Any suggestions on what i should buy that will not be too complicated or just too much for what i want. I would like something effective but not too complicated to get started. Thank you.

[Michael Fanelli]

I have an old Nikon F and i can't find the parts for the light meter. i will have to buy a light meter but do not have any experience with handhelds. Any suggestions on what i should buy that will not be too complicated or just too much for what i want. I would like something effective but not too complicated to get started. Thank you.

I still have my old analog Pentax spotmeter. Cheap, accurate, effective.

[another view]

Depends on what you want to do with it. If you're just looking for something to replace the meter that's in the camera then you only need a reflected light meter. Many newer digital meters will do this, but it's not their primary function. For very little money you could find a used analog one at a camera store or on ebay but make sure it's fairly accurate. You could get an idea if it works by comparing it's reading to the sunny 16 rule.

A lot of times people will use handheld meters because reflected light meters aren't very precise just in the way they're used. Spot meters are like reflected light meters but they only measure a tiny area - a spot within the composition. Very useful when you have tricky lighting situations. Incident meters measure light falling on the subject and commonly used with portraits. And there's also flash meters to measure studio lighting. I've got a Sekonic L358 which will do all of these things (with a spot metering accessory) and it's really handy. At about $250 it's pretty inexpensive for a meter of this type - but it is a fair amount of money.

But will it help you? It's one other thing to carry and another step required in taking a picture. If you're shooting things that don't move and/or in lighting conditions that don't change then it's probably not a big deal. Doesn't the F use a metered prism like the other F-series cameras? You might find a used metered prism out there too.