Customer Reviews

Gossen Digisix GO 4006 Digital / Analog Exposure Meter

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The digisix meter is advertised as a "five-in-one" device, but truthfully speaking, I've only ever found it useful as a light meter. Besides the meter, it has a countdown timer that you can set to whatever length of time you want after which it starts to beep incessantly in a high pitched electronic chirp; it has a clock; it has an alarm for the clock; and it has a temperature thermometer. I've never really used the temperature thermometer although it's there whenever I end up pushing the mode button by mistake and have to cycle through all of the other modes to get back to the light metering mode. That's another thing that's wrong with this meter, besides having all these extra "modes" that I never use, if the meter is the only mode that you want to use then accidentally pushing the mode button makes you have to push the mode button four more times to cycle it back into light metering mode.

As a light meter, this Gossen is nice little gem. It's small (just about the size of a well-sized skipping stone), it's light (made almost entirely of flat black matte plastic on the outside, and not the cheap kind), it's got a sliding incident reading bulb (for taking incident reading light measurements or in other words, readings from the subject to where the camera is going to be), a digital readout (it's a digital light meter after all, or in other words with one push of the metering button it will display its light reading almost instantly), and an analog reading wheel (or in other words, a dial that you can turn that will simultaneously show all the readings for all the aperture settings and shutter speeds that are available for that current reading, for that current film speed that you're using). As a light meter by itself I've found this meter to be very accurate for exposing normal everyday black & white and color negative film. I'm not exactly sure how accurate it would be for slide films (which have less exposure latitude than negative films and are more sensitive to small variations in exposure).

Now, some caveats for this meter. The analog dial only runs from 4 minutes down to 1/2000 seconds, but that won't stop you from etching in your own readings on the edge of the dial if your camera can go longer than 4 minutes or shorter than 1/2000 seconds (it is a simple geometric scale in other words, a doubling or a halving of the speed of the shutter to let double or half the amount of light through the camera and onto the film; it's not like the wheel stops turning just because it gets to the end of the numbers, Note: the wheel turns all the way around).

Another caveat is that it is a multiple step process to change the ISO Speed reading of the film that you are metering for with this meter so if you're changing filmspeeds very often using this meter is going to be a pain in the behind. If you only use one speed of film or if you're not going to change it very often then the multiple step process to change the film speed shouldn't be too much of problem, but it will be a caveat.

A third caveat is that the way this meter works is you take your light reading with it and then dial into the analog wheel the number that it gives you in its display. The analog wheel, in other words, is split into three layers: the outside layer has all of the shutter speeds on it, the middle layer is etched into the meter itself and has all of the aperture sizes on it, the inside layer is visible through a little magnifying bubble at the "twelve o'clock" portion of the meter and in it is displayed the "EV" numbers which correspond the actual number that the meter itself digitally displays after you press the reading button when taking a reading of a scene. Now, this may seem kludgy at first but in actuality it combines the best of both the worlds of digital and analog light meters (and by the way is the only meter I've found that does this). In other words, it combines the analog physical wheels (that Gossen is famous for) with the speed of the digital meter.

I like it, if you haven't noticed, but this little meter really doesn't need all of the extra modes that Gossen put into it as it slows down the operation of the meter on occasion and they're never really used. If you ask me where they could improve it I would say make it solely a light meter, make it easier to quickly change the ISO speed of the film for the readings (maybe even include the ISO speed on a fourth layer on the wheels, as by the way it is done on Gossen's normal analog wheel meters). Combine the wheels of the old with the fast digital readout of the new and you've got yourself a bonified five star light meter, but cluttered as it is now, although the meter itself is accurate and quick and easy to use, I'll have to say that in the end it's only really worth four stars.

This is an excellent choice if you're shooting Polaroid (or Fuji) pack (peel-apart) film with a non-automatic camera such as a Polaroid 600SE, Mamiya Universal Press, Polaroid 180, 195, etc.

Exposure is accurate and the thermometer and count-down timer are exactly what's needed to determine correct development time (i.e. how long to wait before peeling apart the developed print) for pack film.

Accurate, compact, light-weight, accessory shoe mountable, it's a superior choice for instant photography. My only suggestion is the ISO setting should have its own "wheel" rather than cycling through the main button's functions.

Most of my work is urban decay which requires all different types of lighting in many dark, backlit situations. This meter is dead on, both for my digital rig and my medium format rig.

My only change to this would be to get rid of some of the extra features such as the temperature gauge.

This tiny Gossen light meter has been my constant companion ever since I bought it a year ago (sorry honey, but I do spend more time with it than you : ). I have tested the readings against other more expensive meters, as well as in-camera meters on my Mamiya 6 & 7, Pentax 67, and Nikon FM2, and found it very accurate.

A convenient feature that I like and prefer over the more exensive Sekonic digitals is the exposure dial that allows you to quickly and easily see all combinations of aperture and shutter speed at a glance (the Sekonic displays a digital readout and you can then scroll up and down for other combinations. This one shows a digital number that you match up to on the dial. A small detail but one I find practical).

Where this meter annoys me a bit is that in setting film ASA/ISO you have to scroll through all possible speeds in one direction only from 4 to 3200, and if u miss the one you want you have to go all the way around again. Minor, but annoying nonetheless.

The battery lasted me about a year; there is no way to my knowledge to turn the meter off, so it's always using a bit of battery. You could take the battery out I suppose when not using it for extended periods...if anyone knows a way to turn it off I'd love to know!

More positives, it's very compact and lightweight, hangs around your neck nicely...and the case stays attached to the cord so you don't have to worry about losing it. It has a bunch of other features which I haven't used too often, including an alarm, a timer (very useful for timing long exposures), a temperature reading, and perhaps something else.

I give it an overall 5-star rating and highly recommend it.

A perfectly small feather-weight meter that provides instant digital Ev readings at the push of a button (great for Hasselblad users), with a rotating analog dial to calculate exposure settings.. All functions are easily managed with one hand; even the incident light dome can be flicked aside with an index finger for instantly changing from incident to reflected light modes.

Made in Germany (not China), the plastic construction feels sturdy despite its weight. The controls are simple, and the calculator dial operates very smoothly, though its audible 'click' as it turns is a bit loud for my taste.

The Digisix is calibrated in 1/3 stop increments. Testing it along side my 'Luna-Pro F' and 'Luna-Star F' meters, as well as the Sekonic L-398, I've found it to provide comparable accuracy.

Having a built-in air temperature thermometer is handy, though the one featured in the Digisix isn't accurate enough for darkroom purposes. The clock, alarm and timer functions are superfluous, just bonuses really, but don't take away from the meter's functionality.

This meter can read down to 0 Ev @ iso 100, which is perfectly adequate for metering in very dimly-lit rooms and even by the light thrown by my TV or computer monitor. And this is *wow* 3 stops better than the L-208, Sekonics similarly priced and sized unit, Sekonic L-208 Twin Mate Light Meter (Black/White), which is powered by the same CR 2032 battery. This difference sealed the deal for me, though I do still love Sekonic meters.

The CR 2032 battery can be found cheaply at almost any drug store or Walmart here in the US. The one that came with mine lasted 14 months with everyday use, and I've just replaced it.

I mostly use hand-held meters for measuring incident light, and this unit is just perfect for that and a far better alternative for control freaks like me who would otherwise be fumbling around with ridiculous grey cards.

One small annoyance is that setting the film speed can be awkward, since if you click too far you have to loop all the way through the available speeds to get back -- it could use 'up' and 'down' buttons. Small thing, but worth mentioning.

You can't beat this for the price; excellent, overall.

Gossen Digisix GO 4006 Digital / Analog Exposure Meter

Firstly the pros:

Makes good measurements
Tiny
The dial makes it quick and easy to adjust your exposure when using a 10 stop filter. You just take a measurement and twist the dial by 10 stops to get the exposure you should use with the 10 stop filter on the lens. No mental effort needed.

Cons:
Flimsy, makes it seem very overpriced
MADDENING "extra" features. Remember the scene in the movie 'Love Actually' where one of the characters goes to buy the necklace in the department store and the seller keeps adding lace and dried flowers etc etc to the packaging? The buyer is in a rush and just wants to buy a necklace and get out of there and the seller spends ages making it look fancy and nice. Using this meter is a similar experience.

There is no off switch. This means that when it is in your bag, the mode button will get pressed and it will go into one of the extraneous modes. The following happens:
It ends up in some mode other than light metering mode. This was annoying at first, now it's making me hyperventilate just thinking about it.
It ends up in timer mode and the function button gets pressed which starts the timer. A short time later beep beep beep.......beep beep beep from your bag or pocket. MADDENING. "We are gathered here today to join together in holy matrimony Jane and ...beep beep beep...."
It ends up in alarm mode and the function button gets pressed setting the alarm for midnight. beep beep beep and stern words from the wife ensues.
It ends up in temperature measuring mode!!! Whoever had the idea of adding this function must have also invented a chocolate tea pot at some point. You have no idea if the reading is accurate and besides, why would you want to know the air temperature anyway??? Especially when you don't know if it's accurate or not?

Anyway, the point is that you have to look at the display and press the mode button to cycle to "light measuring mode". The button has a slight delay so you tend to press, get no change, then press again when in fact the meter has received the first button press. It then skips forward 2 modes. This makes it very easy to skip past the light measuring mode and have to cycle through them all again.

Overall it's a battle to get to the mode you want when all you really want to do is whip it out and click the button to get you reading. The extra features turn this from a 3 second task to a 10 second task.

Be prepared to say the words "er... hang on a second" when shooting people and hear a lot of beeping if you buy this.

Personally I wouldn't buy again. I also own a Sekonic L-358 and although it's much bigger I find myself using it over the digisix, even when I just have my jeans / jacket pockets for storage.

I love this meter! It's light, small, and reliable. It has the capability to do incident and spot metering. After only using various spot meters for all of my life, I love incident metering. With the incident metering, it takes the guess work out of making sure you are metering off a "middle gray". If you need spot metering, the little white bubble on top slides off to the side to make it a spot meter.

I first got a Voigtlander VC II meter, which is tiny and nice, but it is only a center-weight spot meter. When I was using slide film, I'd spend too much time fussing over whether I was getting a correct reading, and the readings could vary a great amount depending on what you were pointing at. It also could get fooled by such things as light bouncing off water. Even though the VC II meter is smaller, I prefer the Digisix.

Operation is simple. After setting the ISO, just click the red button and it will give you a readout. Then you can spin the white wheel until you get to you EV value. The resulting combinations of f/stops and shutter speeds along the rim are the various combinations that would give you correct exposure.

I often just leave it on ISO 100, because EV 12, to me, means 3 stops off sunny 16. If you change the ISO to 400, the reading will say EV 14. If you are experienced, or after some use, you won't need the white wheel anymore. Usually I'll take several quick readings and sometimes there is a 1/3 stop variation. For example, I'll get reading of 12, 12, 11 2/3, 12. So I pick 12. If I had just done one, I might be off a little. (In the picture, the reading of 12 with two black dots means 12 2/3).

I don't know why the other high profile reviewer is hung up about the extras. If you don't like them, don't use them. You need to press the bottom red button to cycle through to the extras. If you want to just stay on the meter, don't press the bottom red button. However, some extras have come in use. When traveling, I've used the clock, the alarm, and the temperature readout.

I trusted Gossen name until this age (57). I'm a camera collector and amateur photographer. I have great regard to better names from the past. So I bought this item, to use with one of my Mamiya 645 cameras. At first the readings seemed to be off, so I checked it against a few Nikon cameras, incl. F6 and D2X. The reading are WRONG especially in the reflective reading mode. It can be used maybe only in the studio, where there may be a uniform lighting. This mode is at least 2 stops off, and whichever trick you use won't help. (like pointing to the floor etc.) The Incident mode is better, but at least 1 stop off. At least these 2 readings should somewhat match, but they don't. I have 18% and 12% gray cards, which I tried, and then I'm writing this report.

They also inform that the power usage is very small, and that's why the unit does not turn off. This is not correct. My meter consumes a 2032 per week on the average. A few days usage, and it goes blank with BAT indication.

This item ruined all the trust towards GOSSEN. It looks more like a cheap Chinese product (who knows, it may be so). If you need to contact me here is my mail address seyhunSPAM@gmx.net (remove the SPAM part). Best regards, Seyhun

I initially bought this because I needed a meter, and I needed it to be cheap. Well, cheap it is in both senses. I wish I'd paid more for something more reliable, or just put faith in a used different model.

This completely died in less than a year. The first battery, which came with this, lasted 9 months or so. The next one lasted about 1 month -- and I had to remove it and replace it after every use of the meter, because the meter would give a "BATT" low-battery rating after every use. I'm pretty sure that's the meter's fault, not the battery's. Needless to say, this is a big pain and I've given up on the meter.

It does not seem overwhelmingly reliable -- I took 15 rolls of film on a trip, using the ratings from this each shot, and there are some over- and under-exposed shots. It also doesn't have as extensive options as I'd like. Though it has a lot of ISO choices, it doesn't end up giving many options for, say, 3200 iso film in low light -- the numbers go up to 4 min, but this wasn't sufficient for a lot of photos I wanted to take. It also drives me nuts that this has no on/off switch! No wonder it gives up in a matter of months.

Got this in 1 day shipping I installed the new battery (included) but did show any signs of being ON, installed several times and nothing, the screen looked like a cheap calculator screen, and it's made with cheap plastic,remind me of a prize toy in a cereal box..back in the day...