Sekonic L-478DR, 57 mm, 140 mm, 26 mm, 130 g, AAA, 1,5 V

Great meter especially for portrait photographers. I got mine with the Elinchrom transmitter, but ended up not being their lights, so if you arent sure which brand lights youre going with or you dont need that option, save a little and get one that doesnt have a transmitter in it. You can always trigger the flash with a trigger and the light meter will wait for the flash to fire. Wish I would have gotten the cheaper one and saved $50.

I had high hopes for this piece of equipment but this is a poor replacement to my old light meter. Issue number 1: Eats through batteries - I looked forward to being able to use AAA batteries instead of the special battery in my old Sekonic light meter...unfortunately after 3 shoots, I have had to replace the batteries twice. Issue number 2: While adjusting the Shutter and ISO settings, I miss the buttons...I have had a ton of frustration with fat finger syndrome - an issue that is not a problem when you can feel the button. If I could solve the battery issue it would be a good piece of equipment, I am sure that once I got used to the touch screen it would be fine, but I cant believe that I will be using 6-8 AAA batteries per month running my light meter.

I wanted(needed) a new flash meter so had a look at several options. Sekonic was always high on my list. With the PocketWizard integration it became a no brainer. Its fast and SIMPLE to use. Before switching all lighting over to PW, I had some using a cyber controller. ;-) NO comparison in speed or ease of use...or flexibility. Those have been switched to PW also. And thats just the PW part. The meter itself is great. Simple to use and being about the size of a cell phone its easy to read. Changing modes is dead easy as well. Everything about it makes me WANT to use it...so it wont stay on the shelf like a previous meter.

-Poor battery life -Rubber on the side loses its adhesion after a few weeks of use. For something this pricy I would expect a better build quality.

I had my reservations when ordering due to prior experience with elaborate meters, but this one delivers. The units takes very little time to 'master', is somewhat customizable and the display of f-stop by group is nice. Startup is fast and triggering reliable. My only criticism is that the touch screen is not highly sensitive, a light finger touch isn't sufficient. It would also be nice if a later firmware update would enable two-way comms with lights to show light IDs & WS power setting by light.